Jonah’s Experience: Retching as Spiritual Symbolism
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
An unusual topic, but it appears frequently enough in the Bible for us to ponder its symbolism. I am reading the Book of Jonah, and the great fish vomited the prophet up on dry land. This act signifies the destructive nature of sin and disobedience, including biblical instances where vomiting represents evil, such as God’s rejection of lukewarm believers. I highlight the stark imagery to illustrate spiritual truths.
Who in their right mind would blog about vomit on a Christian blog? Me, that’s who!
I was reading John MacArthur’s commentary Jonah & Nahum: Grace in the Midst of Judgment. I got to the part where the great fish vomited Jonah up on dry land. For the record, I believe every jot and tittle of the book of Jonah. I believe a great fish swallowed Jonah, that God preserved Jonah’s life in the belly of the great fish, and that God spoke to the fish and the fish obeyed by hurling Jonah up on dry land.
So we read the following insightful nugget from the MacArthur commentary. Here’s MacArthur-
“While this vomiting resulted in Jonah’s return to dry land, vomiting in scripture is generally associated with evil. The Lord threatened that Israel would be vomited out of the land (Lev 18:25). Christ said of Laodicea, “I will spit you [vomit you] out of my mouth” because their love for Him was lukewarm (Rev 3:16). Job 20:15 describes a scene in which God cause a rich man who swallowed riches to vomit them up. Peter said that false teachers are like a dog returning ot their own vomit (2 Peter 2:22). In Jeremiah 22:27, vomiting is associated with drunkenness. Every other time the word “vomit” appears in scripture it is used negatively. That same connotation applies to Jonah as well: the fish vomited Jonah up as a final and unforgettable reminder of the despicable nature of Jonah’s disobedience.” –end John MacArthur quote from Jonah & Nahum p 74.
We all know that when we retch, it’s a negative thing. It means our bodies are sick, or it means we overindulged in food or drink. It means something is wrong.
I remember a Seinfeld TV show scene from the 1990s where Jerry Seinfeld was relating to another character that it had been almost 20 years since he had gotten sick in that way. I had thought about my own length of time I had gone without retching, it was about 50 years. But that ended recently when my doctor put me on a medicine that did not agree with me. After 3 months of my body rejecting this med in the most negative way, I quit it. Perhaps that is why this unsavory topic resonated with me when I read about the fish expelling Jonah. But more importantly, then I read the commentary and I gained a deeper insight and tis connection to sin’s uncleanness.
Here are some biblical references:
Proverbial references to vomiting
Prov 26:11 See also Prov 23:6-8; 25:16-17; 2Peter 2:17-22
Metaphorical references to vomiting
As an illustration of exile and destruction Lev 18:24-28, Lev 20:22-24
An illustration of punishment Isaiah 19:13-14, Jeremiah 25:15-29; 48:26
An illustration of corruption Isaiah 28:7-8
An illustration of the fate of the wicked Job 20:12-15
Source for these references: Manser, M. H. (2009). Dictionary of Bible Themes
The Bible doesn’t talk a lot about bodily functions, thank goodness. But there are times when the LORD sends a disease to this or that person involving their bowels. And we read about women and their monthly discharge and what they are supposed to do during that time.
The Bible briefly discusses going to the bathroom in Deuteronomy 23:12-14, which instructs the Israelites to go outside the camp to relieve themselves, bring a spade and dig a hole to bury their waste, keeping the camp holy and clean.
The LORD knows we are flesh, frail, human and our excretions are gross. Even at that, the Bible is such an amazing book that the LORD covers these topics, knowing we are flesh. I suppose if the Bible was made up (it isn’t) no one in their right mind would include such mundane and repellent topics. But He did. When you come across one of these verses, remember, vomiting is forceful and revolting, and that is why it is a vivid picture of sin.
