JONAH: IN THE BELLY OF A FISH

IN THE BELLY OF A REALLY BIG FISH

(Jonah)

The word of the Lord came to Jonah;

I want you to go and preach.

Go to Ninevah and see,

How many of them you can reach.

So Jonah paid the travel fare,

And sailed in the other direction.

But he was soon to discover,

He no longer had God’s protection.

The Lord was upset with Jonah,

So He sent a great wind on the sea.

Jonah had run away from God,

But God he could not flee.

While the sailors cried to their gods in fear,

Jonah was fast asleep,

Unaware of the trouble he’d caused,

For he was sleeping so deep.

“Get up,” cried the sailors, “and call on your god;

We’re sinking faster and faster.”

They then drew lots to determine,

Who caused this near disaster.

The lot fell upon Jonah,

So they questioned, “Who are you?

Who and where are your people?"

He answered, “I am Hebrew.”

I worship the Lord God of heaven,

Who made the land and the sea.

“What have you done” they asked him then,

“That your God caused this storm to be?"

The sea got rougher and rougher;

They wondered what they should do.

“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said.

"It’s my fault this storm came on you."

The seamen tried to row to land,

But the waves grew wilder and wilder.

So they quickly hurled Jonah overboard.

At once, the winds became milder.

Jonah was instantly caught,

‘tween the devil and the deep blue sea.

Tangled in seaweed, he cried,

“There’s a whale of a fish after me!”

Down its slippery tongue Jonah went;

He began to toss and careen.

Though it was dark, he saw the light,

In the belly of the live submarine.

There was Jonah in the fish’s tummy,

(It was usually the other way ‘round.)

He had plenty of time to think,

And wonder to where he was bound.

Three days and nights in his think tank,

On a waterbed he rested.

The folly of ignoring his calling,

Was the only thing digested.

Jonah remembered the Lord, then prayed,

It was then God’s plan unfurled.

For the second time in three long days,

From his resting place Jonah was hurled.

With a splat he landed on dry land,

And proceeded to obey the Lord.

In Ninevah he had success,

Except with a stubborn gourd.

Becky L. Wall