The Story of Jonah in the whale is one of the most incredible stories to ever take place in the Bible. It is arguably the most well-known stories in the Bible, alongside: The Ark, David and Goliath, Adam and Eve, and David and the Lion’s Den. The question is though, Did Jonah and the whale really happen? Did Jonah really get swallowed up by a big fish and spit out? Some scholars say that Jonah and the Whale was just simply a parable, and that it never actually happen. If this is the case does it take anything away from the story, and does it have the same importance? I believe that it did happen, and that God performed once again another miracle to send Jonah to Nineveh. I also believe that if it was a parable that it would take away from
Specifically, it taught about how His mercy could not be restricted by a person’s preconceptions. Jonah was a prophet of God but was ruled by his unrelenting hatred towards sinners. Despite his loathing, God was more than capable of using him in the salvation of the corrupted. When Jonah was commanded by the Lord to preach to the Ninevites, he resisted. Nineveh was a pagan society and epitomized “everything evil that the Israelites hated” (MacArthur, Jonah 112), Seeing that his enemies would be forgiven if he delivered the message, Jonah fled from his duty. However, he would not be able to elude from the will of God and, after some precarious situations in the sea, would reluctantly prophesied to the Ninevites and inspired their faith in the Lord. This came to show that while “Jonah was filled with resentment … [and his] wrath was aroused, … the Lord [could still extend His] grace” (MacArthur, Jonah
Family therapy is often needed when families go through transitions such as separations between parents and divorce. According to research, “the power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interactions” (Nichols, & Davis, p.18), as problems need to be addressed at their source. The children who are the most vulnerable, when parents decide to separate, exhibit symptoms which are exaggerations of their parent’s problems (Nichols, & Davis, p.18). Frank and Walt Berkman are the examples of how children cope and adapt to the stressors of family separations such as marital separations and
Image sitting on the beach one July morning. The sun is beaming down and decide to go for a swim. As you approach the water, you see a whale unusually close. You begin to get nervous as it continues to approach the shore. However, you aren’t worried because you know that they are confined to the sea. As the whale comes near you can see it clearly. Just as you think that it will turn around, the whale walks out of the ocean!
Their prayers not helping, the sailors cast lot to try to determine who it was that had made God so angry. So they mixed a number of small stones together, as was the custom, and when they cast the lots it fell on Jonah. They must not have know who Jonah was for when the lot fell on him they excitedly inquired of him, why this was happening, what was his occupation, where he had come from and what was his nationality. Jonah knew God had caught up with him! So Jonah confessed that he was a Hebrew and a prophet, of the true God who made the heavens, sea and land. He further explained he was running from
Growing up, many tell their children about the Bible story of Adam and Eve. Many people may not realize but most stories written today can relate to the hero’s journey, even Bible stories. The hero’s journey pattern displays itself throughout drama, myths and religious rituals. The story of Adam and Eve follow the hero’s journey except with a twist at the end. The last step of the hero’s journey ends with a return back to the normal world, but that does not happen in the story of Adam and Eve.
Near the beginning of Moby Dick, Father Mapple reminds Pequod sailors of the biblical prophet Jonah and his unique encounter with a whale. The whale, known as a Leviathan in the Bible, swallows Jonah because Jonah refuses to obey God's command to preach to a wicked group of people. Father Mapple in his sermon says, "If we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists" (47). Once Jonah admits his sinfulness and follows his maker, the whale frees Jonah. Father Mapple says that obeying God can be difficult and might not seem logical to the person listening.
When I read the name of "Jonah," I was prompted to think of the character of the same name in the Bible who got swallowed by a whale in the Old Testament. While the character goes also by the name "John," I couldn't help but wonder if there was some similarity involved in this novel.
Two men are walking to temple. The older man says to the younger man, “So, do you know why the Jewish people aren’t voting for President Bush?” The younger man replies with an inquisitive “No.” “Well,” says the older man, “the last time the Jewish people followed a Bush they wound up wandering in the Desert.”
The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.
On an opposite note, Jonah was a man whom God called upon to become a prophet. Jonah refused because he didn't desire a life of servitude. Knowing that he had committed an ultimate sin, Jonah fled to the ocean, risking hundreds of crew members' lives, believing that God would not be able to follow. In the sea, Jonah was swallowed by God in the form of a whale In the whale's belly, he repented and prayed for forgiveness. He was spit up by the whale upon dry land and all was forgiven.
The book of Jonah is an adventurous story of a prophet chosen by God to go preach denouncement to a heathen nation. With the exception of stating that Jonah is the son of Amittai, the book itself fails to reveal any background information. Nevertheless, a plorthea of scholars have attempted to provide us with some insight to the, who, when, where, and what of the book. This paper will utilize four scholarly commentaries in a quest to determine the author or authors of the book, the time when it was written, the original audience it spoke to, the occasion, the historical, social and cultural context in which it was written. It will also address the historical, social and cultural context of the book and that of the pericope of 3:1 – 10.
The story of Bartimaeus was recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke and a superficial reading of the accounts has cause thoughtless Bible critics to holler: Contradiction! Contradiction! Their claim is based upon a different perspective concerning the location of the event. Matthew and Mark state that it happened as Jesus was leaving Jericho and Luke says that it occurred as He “came near Jericho.”
That there are various perspectives to the white whale as symbol is a result of the value which Melville
The biblical narrative is one that is still going on to this day. The biblical narrative tells the story of God and how he reveals himself to us. Rhodes points out that “God comes to each through a historical event or series of events” (2). It is in this way that God reveals himself to us and this maintains the relevance of the biblical narrative in our lives. God reveals himself through formative stories in the bible such as Creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall of Man, The Flood, God’s Covenant with Noah, and the Tower of Babel. From the very beginning of the biblical narrative we see that God relates to us on a personal level. He created us, he formed us, he created the world in which we live, and he has been an active participant in the narrative since before it began.
Did the Great flood really happen? Was it all just a big made up story? Or did the Bible speak the truth. Evidence from all around the world has pointed to the fact that the flood happened. The city of Ur was destroyed by a flood. All the different stories in the world of the flood save one family. Abraham could have carried the story of the flood of Ur. The theories of the flood do not contradict the Bible. Also the Black Sea wasn’t always a body of water. Although the Great Flood was thought to be a myth, scientists may have found evidence the flood existed because scientists may have found the boat, they have found houses underneath the Black Sea, and many cultures have variations of the flood.