The Ragtag Daily Prompt this morning is BELLY
And the thought that comes to my mind first is the Bible account of Jonah being swallowed by a whale, which the old prophet compared to being in hell. We might, too! I doubt the whale was happy to play host, either.
In the Biblical book of Jonah, the giant creature is called a fish:
Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, and said, “I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heard my voice.”
Jonah 1: 17; 2: 1-2
It’s Jesus, centuries later, who specifically named it as whale:
But he answered and said unto them, “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.” Matt. 12: 39-40
Jesus often compared between the old Law and the instructions He was giving. We see many literal demonstrations in the Law that took on a more intense meaning in the New. Like where Jesus told his listeners, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil. Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matt 5:38-39
Where the Old Testament taught fairness, an even return for damage inflicted, Jesus went beyond the Law and taught forgiveness. He urged his listeners to suffer a wrong rather than retaliate with anger and violence.
What happened to Jonah was a literal demonstration of what would someday happen to Jesus. However, certain laws demonstrated literally a meaning that later was understood in a symbolic way. For example, one Old Testament law said the Jews must not weave a garment with two different fibers. So, no poly-cottons in Israel’s day. Neither could they seed a field with two different grains.
Does God, the Heavenly Father, frown on mixed fibers and grain? No, but He does frown on unequal mixes, the combining of good and evil. This law is the literal demonstration of a spiritual truth: it displeases him when we take something that comes from pagan or evil roots, swipe it with a whitewash brush of religion, and call it “good now.” Which explains why many Christian people through the centuries have rejected the deck of playing cards because they are derived from the tarot card deck, a thing of occult origin.
And this is enough about Jonah and the Whale, laws and illustrations. Have a great week, everyone.
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