Jonah 1:17 “And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

This is an interesting statement made by the prophet. God selected a large fish to swallow Jonah. He picked a particular fish out. It’s how God works. Were there lots of fish this big or just this one? We don’t know. When Jonah went overboard the great fish was there ready to take Jonah on board. Jonah chose a vessel and then God chose one. It’s how it works. Was this a whale? No reason to think so. Whales aren’t fish and this is a fish and I’m quite sure God knows the difference. Some see this word appointment as prepared. This is a special fish, probably one of a kind, created by the Creator for this specific purpose which is why it was where it was when it was.

Some see the belly of the fish as a large room with furniture in it. It symbolized a grave. Not much room in a grave and certainly not a lot of furniture. Jonah was aware of where he was and why he was. Ordinarily, Jonah would have stayed in his fish grave. That’s normally how those things work but this was not normal. A resurrection was in mind but a long enough stay to make the point was required. Three days and three nights for Jonah and three days and three nights for Jesus. Jonah needed the three days and nights to believe; Jesus needed the three days and three nights for us to believe.

Task for Today: Take a minute out of today to think about Jonah and another minute to think about Jesus. You can be in the likeness of Jonah’s death or in the likeness of Jesus death. Which will you choose today?