Jonah 1:17 - Life from the Dead

17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

This is the part of the story that often gives rationalizers trouble. Never mind the fact that Christ our God and Saviour referred to this historical event during His ministry (as well as to Noah and to Adam) – some people still have problems with it. It is true that Christ never specifically said it was history – but neither did he say it was "myth". These things are much too serious for the Lord to leave in doubt; so let us use the rules of sound hermeneutics and receive this whole story as literal historical truth, because that is how it presents itself.

Furthermore, we can read that there was indeed such an historical figure as Jonah, son of Amittai, as we read in 2 Kings where he is unmistakably mentioned by name...

He (King Jereboam II of Israel) restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. {2Ki 14:25}

...and I believe that God deliberately included this single reference in 2 Kings to confute those who would seek to throw doubt upon the historicity of the Jonah of this book, and his story.

There is only one way that anyone can be in the belly of a fish under fathoms of water for three days and nights without being stone dead, and that’s by a miracle. The same miracle power that kept Jonah alive and conscious under such conditions can reconstitute our bodies in the final day.

"Though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God." {Job 19:26}

It is the same power that kept Jesus’ body from corruption and raised it to life again.