Relief of Jonah and the Whale

Artist: Unknown

Date: 1718

Location: San Giovanni in Laterano (Above Simon the Zealot) – Rome, Italyy

Medium: Marble

I was first drawn to this relief because of the story it represents. Jonah and the whale is one of my favorite Bible stories. At first it was because I thought it would be extremely awesome to be swallowed by a whale. But as I got older its meaning became clearer and I continued to love it. This story is one of my favorites because, like many Bible stories, it is about God’s faithfulness and forgiveness. When Jonah flees from God he brings distress on the people around him. The sailors on the boat fear for their lives and ask Jonah to pray to his god that he will take notice of them. Jonah tells the men to throw him into the sea (Jonah 1:12). They do and the giant fish swallows him up. How many times in my life have I fled from God only to wind up in a dark place similar to that of a whale’s belly? Far too many to count, that’s for sure. Yet every time God continues to love me and wait for me to come back. He waits for me to change my attitude, to change my thinking, or to change my heart. He waits until I realize how wrong I was to try and flee. Jonah calls out to God saying, “You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God” (2:6c). God hears him from the belly of the whale and rescues him. He gives Jonah a second chance to do as he is called. Like Jonah, I too call out to the Lord from my black pit. I come back, but not always with a joyful spirit. After God saves Jonah from the whale he asks him to go to Nineveh again. Jonah agrees but after he tells the town of the great destruction to come he sits and waits in expectation for God to destroy the people. When He doesn’t, Jonah is angry. “Why are you showing mercy and compassion on them?” he wonders. God is a God of compassion and mercy. He showed compassion on Nineveh, He showed compassion on Jonah, and He shows compassion on me every day. I owe my life to God. I owe my future to God.

For this blog I painted a picture that depicts my personal response to the relief of Jonah and the Whale. It is a painting of me, sitting on a beach, head cast down in shame, after being spit up by the whale swimming in the background. Basically, it is a picture of my life and of God’s ever enduring faithfulness to save me from my own sin. It was my sin that got me in the whale and God’s love that got me out. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Bibliography:
http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/San_Giovanni_in_Laterano