What can Jonah teach us about God's use of punishment?

I have never been swallowed by a whale. Very few people have. Luckily there's this one guy I know of who did, and then made it out alive! His story can teach us a lot about God's justice and mercy, and help us see how those two are one.

Swallowed by a Whale

As Jonah boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, a city which, geographically, was further away from Ninevah than any other city at the time, he knew he would never escape the all-seeing eye of God. While he may run from his calling, he cannot run from the Almighty. Still he tried!

As they sailed to their destination, a great tempest began to overcome the sailors. After some lot casting, it was revealed that Jonah was the cause for this trial; under the consciousness of his own guilt, he asked to be thrown overboard. At first the sailors resisted, but seeing no other option, they soon cast the wretched prophet into the sea.

As Jonah's body was caught in a torrent of waves, he was dragged downward into the water, twisting, grasping, and struggling to hold on to his life. Just as his situation could not become more dire, a "great fish," prepared long before the storm began, came and swallowed poor Jonah.

But alas, Jonah's life was not to be ended so easily! Inside the belly of the leviathan, he found himself preserved and well - for three whole days and nights! Now pause, reader, and ask yourself the following question: what was the purpose of the whale?

At first, one might believe that God was punishing a cowardly prophet or "teaching Jonah a lesson." But in all my studies of the Lord, I cannot believe that He was punishing one of his anointed servants, no matter how cowardly he may have been.

Why the Whale?

So why was the whale sent? The answer lies in the supplication of Jonah as he himself sat inside the great leviathan:

"Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. ... The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever..."

Can you see the picture he's painted? He was at the bottom of the ocean, he had weeds wrapped around his head! He should have DIED. But notice his next words:

"...yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God."

Can you see the purpose of the whale? To quote Herman Melville from his classic, Moby Dick, "Here, shipmates, lies true repentance: not clamorous for pardon, but grateful for punishment." Jonah was grateful for the whale because the whale was what saved his life. This was the purpose of the whale.

The Lord was not punishing Jonah. He was saving him.





Other Whales

I said before that people seldom are swallowed by whales, and technically that's true - but not entirely.

When Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, their so-called punishment was to be cast out of the Garden of Eden. One part of this consequence was that they were not to partake of the tree of life anymore - in fact, God placed "Cherubim and a flaming sword" to guard the tree of life, just to be sure.

But what was the purpose of the cherubim guarding the tree of life? It was to prevent Adam and Eve from partaking the fruit, yes, but not as punishment - as a protection. "Lest they...live forever in their sins," God said.

And Alma, from the Book of Mormon, offers these profound words about this: "And thus we see that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and to serve God" (Alma 42:4). Was this not what Jonah was doing in the belly of his whale?

Again, I don't think that God punishes us. Sometimes it seems like our whales have been sent to afflict and torment us - but see: your whales are not a punishment! They are a protection.

We even see this in the church today. When members have crossed certain boundaries set by the Lord, sometimes it's wise for them to refrain from partaking of the sacrament on Sunday. It's so easy to look at this and say: "Wow, I'm trying my best and all the Lord can do is punish me!" But such a view would be incorrect.

In 3 Nephi 18:29 Christ warned the Nephites against partaking of the emblems unworthily, "lest they eat and drink damnation to their souls." Again we see: the Lord is by no means punishing anyone here! But in the words of Alma, He is giving us a probation time - a time to repent and to serve Him! He is simply protecting us.

One Last Example

In 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, Lehi is warned of the Lord to take his family and flee into the wilderness. Leave your house, comforts, possessions, friends, and all things you've come to rely on! Take your journey to who knows where - and then what? Will you die out there?

 Sounds like a whale to me.

But notice what Lehi and his family did as they made camp in the wilderness. In 1 Nephi 2:7 it reads: "And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God."

Why did he give thanks? God just drove them into the wilderness! But he gave thanks because he saw their circumstance for what it was: not punishment, but protection.

We may not always have Babylonians to flee from, but we have sins and temptations. We have natural instincts. We have the adversary. Whales are meant to bring us out and away from circumstances that would destroy us; the bring us closer to the promised land, closer to God.

So the next time you find yourself praying from the belly of a "sea dragon," don't be clamorous for pardon - instead, strive to be grateful. Find the protection in the punishment.

Let's all choose to be a little more thankful for our whales. :) In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thanks for reading! God be with you 'til we meet again!

Sincerely,
Taylor, a dead missionary