And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. Jonah 2:10
I love the story of Jonah because I identify so well with this man who believed in God and yet remained so deeply flawed. I empathize with his self-inflicted misery and I understand that he only became willing to follow God when all else was lost. I’m not suggesting that Jonah is a model to follow. I’m just saying I get him.
I’m hesitant to admit this, but I sometimes wonder if Jonah is a true story or if it’s fiction with a lesson, like Jesus’ parables. I’m not going to make a case for either interpretation (history or fiction) here. I’m just going to point out that for some, belief in the Jonah story is a litmus test for whether one is a true believer or not: If you don’t believe in a literal Jonah story, then you don’t truly believe the Bible or follow God.
I will insist though, that whether one follows God in his behavior is a far better litmus test for faith than whether one believes in the great fish or not. Most of my life, I’ve believed in the Jonah account as historical fact. During this same time, I lived mostly for me. My belief in Jonah meant very little.
The true importance of Jonah’s story, to me, is that this man followed himself to disaster and in that disaster, repented and followed God. He didn’t do it perfectly, but he obeyed God and went to Nineveh. Jonah believed in God, and that belief (eventually) affected his behavior.
That, according to James, is a far better litmus test for faith (James 2). If we say we believe in the Bible, but we still live only for ourselves, we have a false faith. Belief or knowledge alone, isn’t enough. Faith must translate to changed behavior or it is just useless knowledge. Even the demons believe—and shudder (James 2:19)!
If God wanted, he absolutely could keep a man alive inside a giant fish. I believe that. The point of Jonah though, isn’t about the fish. It’s about true faith and following God, even when we want to run the other way.