How Jonah in the Bible Converted the Evil City of Nineveh

The story of Jonah in the Bible may seem far-fetched. However records in the British Admiralty suggest it is possible. In 1891 a 21-year-old named James Barkley was swallowed by a sperm whale near the Falkland Islands. He spent 15 hours in the whale’s belly.

When the whale was finally winched to the ship; they cut the whale open and found Barkley still alive. His skin was permanently bleached a deathly white by the whale’s stomach acid. He had lost all his hair and was nearly blind. James said he had felt the huge teeth grate over his body as he slid down its throat.

According to II Kings 14:25 Jonah was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II (800 BC to 750 BC). This was a time of peace and prosperity for Northern Israel.

However, the capital of Assyria, Nineveh was a dreadful place. The Assyrians were notorious for amputating hands and feet, gouging eyes, skinning people alive, and impaling captives. In Nahum chapter 3 Nineveh is described as ”The city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims.”

It is not surprising Jonah in the Bible did not want to accept the Lord’s assignment to preach to these evil people. Jonah must have wondered why the Lord wanted him to teach the gospel to these terrible heathens.

The ship Jonah chose was headed to Tarsus; a place probably located in northern Spain. It represented a place as far away from Nineveh as he could go.

The Lord had other plans. He caused a horrendous storm. The sailors were afraid the ship would be broken to pieces. They believed the storm was caused by an angry God. They cast lots to see which person had enraged their God. The lot fell on Jonah.

The ship’s captain asked Jonah about what evil he had done to anger his God and what he should do to save his ship. Jonah answered, “take me and cast me forth into the sea; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.” (Jonah 1:12)The sailors did not want to toss Jonah overboard. They showed compassion and prayed to the God of the Hebrews. When the storm did not abate they cast Jonah into the sea, and he was swallowed by a big fish.

Jonah in the Bible described his experience as “three days in the belly of hell.” Jesus would later use Jonah’s experience as an example of his own three days in the grave. (Matthew 12:40)

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

In Jonah chapter 2 we read Jonah’s prayer: ”I have been banished from your site. The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed wrapped around my head. but you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you.”

After Jonah decided to consecrate his all to the Lord, the whale vomited Jonah out on dry land.

Nineveh was a large city with about 120,000 people. The city was surrounded by miles of walls 50 feet high. Jonah walked around the city preaching for three days.

What if Jonah in the Bible had a similar experience to James Barclay? Jonah would be his own best visual aid. His skin bleached a deathly white. His hair gone. Probably the smell of fish still on him. His message was simple: do things God’s way or pay the consequences.

The message was so graphic the king and all the people repented. They repented in the Hebrew way. They removed their fine garments. They put on sackcloth made from goat hair and very uncomfortable. They fasted. Even their animals were expected to fast.

For 40 years they stopped making war on other people. When their appetite for conquest returned, one of the first countries they conquered was Northern Israel. They destroyed it completely and carried away the people, who later became known as the lost 10 tribes of Israel.