There is so much in this one verse, I'll try to keep it short. First off, God tells the fish what
to do. He is the God over everything - the land the sea AND the animals. He's the God over us. Here's the thing though - the fish doesn't have a choice like Jonah had - God said vomit, the fish vomits. God told Jonah to 'go' and Jonah decided he didn't want to - because God has given us free will. It makes me think of the movie "Ella Enchanted" where she was given the gift of 'obedience' and whenever she was told to do something - she had to do it. God wants us to 'want' to do what He asks us to do because we love Him, not because He's making us. Okay, moving on...The whale vomits Jonah onto the shore. I know Kay had commented about the smell - and truly at this point the smell has got to be unbearable. But here comes the irony - did you know that whale vomit, also known as ambergris, loses the awful smell and becomes a very good smell, one that people pay a lot of money for today. When a whale vomits, it floats on the ocean, it comes in various shapes and sizes and colors. The tossing of the ocean waves and the salt in the water have a "curing" effect and soon the vomit has a very pleasant aroma that's used medicinally and in perfumes - very expensive perfumes because of the rarity of ambergris. Jonah, ironically, is whale vomit. He is stinky and yucky right now, but he's been tossed through the storm he's been 'cured' by God and now (and we haven't come to these verses yet, but we will) he will become the sweet smelling rarity that God needs for His purpose. The question today is - Are we willing to hang in through the tough, stinky times - so that we can become that sweet aroma for Jesus?
