What Glenn Writes

I am sure my sister and her husband are not a minority in college romances leading to wedding vows and joint repayment of student loans.  Their love blossomed, and on May 10, 2000, they harvested the product of their love – a newborn baby boy. 

Their stories about college life are interesting, specifically some of those unique trivia games they play on campus — such as Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon.  The concept of the game is to track selected celebrities to Kevin Bacon by linking them through co-stars in various movies or television shows.  Considering these profound, analytical, and thought-provoking games, should I be surprised at their method for naming their baby? 

They took her name, Malena, and combined it with his name, Joshua, to arrive at their baby’s name, Jonah.  I am not sure how many degrees it takes to track Jonah back to Kevin Bacon, but I know the little tike is lucky his name is not Mojaleshanjoamsheluan (no offense intended to those named Mojaleshanjoamsheluan).

Now with a name like Jonah, the perfect theme for the baby’s room is from the Book of Jonah in the Bible.  In looking for decorations though, there are varieties of different versions of the same tale. There seems to be creative license taken with the story of Jonah.  Many have debated the story as fictional, so perhaps the reason for blurred facts is to make the story believable.

Wait!  We need to look at the basics before we change history.  As the Bible presents the facts, they are believable and credible. 

In the first chapter, God calls upon Jonah to preach to the City of Nineveh.  Jonah is a Jewish man with a severe dislike toward those in Nineveh.  He runs away and hides in the bow of a ship traveling away from the city. 

After a great storm threatens the safety of the ship, Jonah convinces the crew their only rescue is to throw him overboard.  Verse 17 follows what happens to Jonah with, “Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah.  And Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.” 

Is this difficult to believe?

“Great fish” translates from the Hebrew word TANNINUM, which means a large sea animal or sea creature.  This could mean fish, whale, shark, or a species created by God for Jonah’s purpose. 
Research reveals the Great White Shark has the size as an adult to swallow a man whole if the teeth do not rip the victim to shreds. 

A Sperm Whale has the capacity to swallow chunks of food eight feet in diameter, proven through autopsies finding shark skeletons in the stomach of these large creatures.

One candidate providing the best evidence to support Jonah’s historical account is the Whale Shark, with a report of one found off the Florida Keys in June of 1923 and towed into the Port of Marathon.  The reports show the Whale Shark was 32 feet long with the circumference behind the eyes at 14 feet.  The largest circumference was 23 feet behind the pectoral fins. 

Some counter this story with questions on how Jonah survived the stomach acids in the fish or how could he breath?  Two of the animals mentioned above could have swallowed enough air with Jonah to allow him to breath and float on something while “visiting”.  And again, we are talking about God - can’t He do anything without us questioning or denying what He does? 

These are three examples of existing evidence to support Jonah’s experience.  Beyond these species, the Lord is able to make whatever creature required to accomplish His will and desire.  With Nineveh, the Lord needed a preacher to convert an entire city. 

Historical and archaeological evidence from Nineveh show a ministry for a pagan god named Dagan, part man and part fish.  Images of this fish-god guard the entrance to the palace and temple in the ruins of Nineveh and they appear on ancient Babylonian seals. 

Jonah records the entire city of Nineveh repented, fasted, prayed, and begged the Lord for mercy when he preached.  This was shortly after Jonah 2:10, “And the Lord ordered the fish to spit up Jonah on the beach, and it did.”

When we know historically Nineveh worshiped a pagan fish-god and there were many fishermen in the city, it is very possible there were witnesses to Jonah’s arrival on the beach – a man spit from the mouth of a sea creature.  No wonder the entire city listened and repented… they probably thought Jonah conquered their god before coming to Nineveh! 

The archaeological discoveries at the site of ancient Nineveh also unearthed the preserved name of YUNAS, or translated – Jonah.  By his preaching, the entire city avoided God’s wrath and destruction through repentance and prayer.  This provides secular evidence of Jonah’s place in Nineveh’s history. 

I wonder if you can get YUNAS in six degrees to Kevin Bacon?

Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com