A Whale of a Tale? #12

Saturday, November 18, 2023

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 KJV).

Let us consider one of the most misunderstood and most ridiculed accounts presented in the Holy Bible….

According to basic scientific data, a whale is a warm-blooded marine mammal whereas a fish is a non-mammal that is usually cold-blooded. Seizing upon this “enlightenment” as grounds for their position of unbelief, critics of the Scriptures have incessantly carped we do not have the “perfect” Word of God because Jonah on four occasions classifies the creature as a “fish” (see Jonah 1:17, Jonah 2:1, and Jonah 2:10) but Jesus taught it was a “whale” (today’s Scripture). To them, this is an outright contradiction. Is it really?

It is no secret a great many people have thoroughly (!) delighted (!) in their proud (!!) skepticism as touching Jonah, laughing heartily at the expense of sound Bible doctrine. Yet, they would have better spent their time actually professing Bible and linguistical ignorance (“I do not know!”) and doing some research instead of exhibiting Bible and linguistical ignorance (“let me show you I do not know!”). We Bible believers need not be intimidated or apostate, cowering at the feet of so-called “intellectuals” who are infatuated with self, self, self. Using a renewed mind, we arm ourselves with a simple, logical, sound defense rooted in faith.

Taking an English dictionary, we notice “fish” has for one of its definitions: “(loosely) any of various other aquatic animals.” In other words, “fish” is a general or broad term for any type of animal that lives in the water. It is a less precise term, granted, and awkward when compared to the scientific classification system of naming lifeforms, but “fish” can include any and all types of marine animals. In fact, a whale is defined as a “marine mammal” and… horrors!!!… the dictionary says a whale has a “fishlike body.” It just gives us chills, friends. Whales and fish, while quite different, have similarities. Even lexicographers admit it.

Hence, how unfair and hypocritical we are if we protest God using the same phraseology we do….