The story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the oddest accounts in the Bible, originally comes from the book of Kings, but is also mentioned in Matthew 12 and Luke 11 in the New Testament.
God spoke to Jonah, son of Amittai, telling him to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. Jonah was upset at this command because Nineveh known for its wickedness and was the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel's fiercest enemies.
Jonah did the opposite of what he God had commanded. He booked a ship to Tarshish, in the opposite direction from Nineveh. You might imagine that the Lord was upset at this and sent a violent storm that threatened to destroy the ship. Jonah realized that he was to blame for the storm and told the crew to throw him overboard. When they tried rowing to shore instead, the waves only got higher. Fearing the wrath of God, the sailors finally tossed Jonah into the sea, and the water immediately grew calm.
Jonah was swallowed by a giant whale sent by God. In the belly of the whale, Jonah repented and prayed to God. He praised God, ending by saying, "Salvation comes from the Lord." (Jonah 2:9)
On the third day God commanded the whale to release Jonah onto dry land. This time he obeyed God, walking through Nineveh proclaiming that in forty days the city would be destroyed. The Ninevites heeded Jonah's warning and repented. God, in turn, had compassion on them and spared their lives.
In this story God expressed concern even about the wicked. He commands all within His creation to follow his plan. The whale is much like the tomb where Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lay following the crucifixion, only to rise from the dead into the glory of the kingdom of heaven on the third day. Jonah thought he knew better than his Creator. This foolish notion almost cost him his life. God had the power to destroy him - with so little effort - it would have taken just a moment and minimal effort - Jonah was lucky that God offered so many warnings and so many chances to come back to his beliefs in Him. Others may not be so lucky to have such a patient and forgiving Creator. They must heed the warnings.
