A Fish Tale or What We Think We Know

Mention the story of Jonah in the Old Testament and what comes to mind is Jonah and the whale. We have heard that so often that it is set in stone in our minds. So we think we know that as a Bible Fact.

If you actually read the book of Jonah you discover that no where does it say "Whale" it just says "Big Fish" and people assume they know what it is and go from there. To top that off the fish tale is a very small part of the story. Because we get so caught up with the fish tale we miss the main message of the book.

Jonah is the first foreign missionary that God sent and he so  hated the people he was sent to that he ran the other way. Jonah was reluctant and had to be convinced to go. When he did go and preach God's words to the Gentiles he was successful and the people repented.

Now if I had that much success in the mission field I would be filled with joy. Not Jonah, he got angry and went out on a hill and sulked because God did not destroy his hated enemy.

The message that God loves all his children often escapes us and we want God to hate the people we hate while God wants us to love the people He loves. We all need to really read the message of God in the book of Jonah and forget the fish tale.