Jonah & The Beast I

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People. Years had passed, the fire was gone, the sword sheathed, the heads buried or rotted into the earth. Jay whose rain limped toward its end not with trumpets, but with bureaucracy. 00:00:19 Speaker 2: You didn't serve the Lord, Jay who not really you served your rage. You heard the call of heaven and used to feed the fire in your own gut. 00:00:31 Speaker 1: Golden calves still stood in Bethel and Dan polished like heirlooms. No one remembered the origin of He had done evil in the sight of Yahweh, and everyone knew it. 00:00:44 Speaker 3: Let me tell you this, Hearing God's voice isn't about knowing secrets for your own game. 00:00:50 Speaker 1: It's about trust, the kind of trust that lets you act when He calls and stays silent when he doesn't. 00:01:01 Speaker 4: Shello, my friends from here in the Holy Land of Israel. I'm ya l Exstein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. Each day we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible, stories filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel's story, we will find this truth that we are all chosen for something great, So take a moment today to follow the podcast. If you're feeling extra grateful for these stories, we would love it if you left us a review. I read every single one of them, and if you're interested in hearing more about the prophetic, life saving work of the Fellowship, you can visit IFCJ dot Org. Let's begin. 00:01:51 Speaker 1: Jonah stood upon the shores of Joppa, his eyes fixed on the endless sea. The wave surged forward, fell back, ceaseless and restless. He breathed deep the salt and wind, savoring the moment of tranquility. Jonah was a man who guarded his peace jealously. He was a prophet in name, but his temperament was far from the likes of Elijah or Elisha. Jonah was loyal to the Crown of Israel above all else, and dedicated to the ease of its kings. Jonah guarded his peace, often stealing away from King Jeroboa in the Second's throne room to lounge by the sea. He was a man of comfort and convenience, and he hated disturbing the peace. And it was in such a moment that a voice emerged from behind. 00:02:48 Speaker 5: Oh there, Jonah Jonah turned and rolled his eyes. 00:02:54 Speaker 1: Amos, another prophet, was a voice of constant doom and gloom in the courts King Rio Bohen. Jonah despised him. Amos had declared judgment against Israel and its kings, causing a ripple effective dread through the royal holes. Amos was brash, bold, and unyielding. Jonah hated him for it. 00:03:19 Speaker 6: Ugh, Amos, I've come here to be alone and enjoy my lunch. 00:03:24 Speaker 7: Leave me in peace. 00:03:26 Speaker 5: You've had plenty of peace, Dear Jonah. It's the duty of a prophet to disturb the peace. You do the king and Israel no good. 00:03:36 Speaker 1: With all your negativity and doom. 00:03:39 Speaker 6: You should be giving the king confidence, Give our nation something to cheer for. 00:03:46 Speaker 5: I cheer for the holiness of our nation, cheer for justice to our poor, repentance from the wickedness of our kings. 00:03:56 Speaker 6: You have a lot of terrible things to say about our king, our nation. But it could be worse, you know, we could be We could be like those putrid, dirty, Assyrians. 00:04:09 Speaker 8: Eh. 00:04:10 Speaker 7: Just I'd rather drown in the middle of the sea than spend one moment in that kingdom. 00:04:16 Speaker 8: You should be grateful. 00:04:17 Speaker 1: Amos shook his head at that and sighed. From Amos to Josia. Every prophet saw Jonah's potential. They saw his way with words, knowledge of the old law, and sharp mind. But Jonah couldn't find it in him to shake the boat to make waves. But Amos sensed the Lord would press his potential out of him sooner or later. 00:04:43 Speaker 5: Well, Joro, I can't say I agree with you, but it doesn't matter what I think. Your wey, We'll speak to you. I'm I'm sure of it. 00:04:58 Speaker 6: Yes, yes, whatever you say. Now leave me to my watch. 00:05:03 Speaker 1: Amos descended the grassy hill leading down to the shore. Jonah huffed, rolled his neck back, and tried to reclaim some peace. He breathed in, deeply, drawing in breath from the salt air. The cries of gulls blended with the soothing crash of surf. Yet there came another sound from. 00:05:25 Speaker 8: Behind, Juonah. 00:05:29 Speaker 1: Jonah jolted back in fury. 00:05:32 Speaker 6: Lasted Amos, I said, leave me on Jonah. 00:05:38 Speaker 1: Jonah's eyes widened in fear. He recoiled, filled with awe, fear and excitement. 00:05:46 Speaker 6: It's you. You're really speaking, You're you're really talking to me? 00:05:53 Speaker 5: What is it? 00:05:55 Speaker 6: Lord? 00:05:56 Speaker 8: Arise, Jonah, go in to the great city of Ninevah. Their wickedness rises before me like a stench. 00:06:08 Speaker 6: That's right, those filthy Assyrians need judgment. 00:06:13 Speaker 2: Now we're talking. 00:06:15 Speaker 6: Shall I call down fire from heaven like Elijah, only this time will burn that entire. 00:06:22 Speaker 3: City to the ground, cinders and ash. 00:06:27 Speaker 6: Yes, King Jeroboem will be pleased. 00:06:31 Speaker 8: You shall go to Ninevah to preach against their wickedness, warn them, call them to repentance. 00:06:43 Speaker 7: No, no, of course not. 00:06:45 Speaker 2: You have the wrong man. 00:06:47 Speaker 1: I never Jonah's brow furrowed. Nineveh cruel, violent and hateful, was beyond redemption. Their atrocities were infamous, their wickedness legendary. Jonah despised them, and their destruction would bring him satisfaction, not sorrow. He would not play a part in their salvation. He would not deliver mercy to those who deserved none. 00:07:15 Speaker 6: Find yourself a bleeding heartfool like Hoseiah. He'll forgive any disciple behavior I hear, just ask his wife. 00:07:23 Speaker 1: Jonah murmured bitterly toward the heavens, turning sharply from the shore. He resolved in his heart to defy his God rather than betray his hatred, Jonah approached the docks of Joppa with a small pack around his shoulders. He took some searching to find a ship sailing far enough away to widen the distance between Jonah and God. He eventually found a ship bound for the distant shores of Tarshish, the edge of the known world. It was as far from Ninevah as a man could flee. He handed over silver to the genteel captain, his heart set on escape rather than obedience. 00:08:09 Speaker 9: Interesting, we don't get many israel Lights bound so far from their homeland. What reasons does a man of rag like you having Tarshish. 00:08:21 Speaker 6: It's none of your concern. Just get me there on one piece. 00:08:25 Speaker 7: I heard saltier than I am Ah. 00:08:29 Speaker 9: Fair enough, we'll get. 00:08:31 Speaker 2: You to Tarshish. 00:08:33 Speaker 7: You have my word by the great yam Nahar himself. 00:08:37 Speaker 9: I never lose it. 00:08:38 Speaker 7: Asn't yearned. 00:08:40 Speaker 1: As the vessel sailed from the harbor, Jonah stood upon the deck, eyes fixed on Israel as it faded into a thin strip of land and then nothingness. He had left behind the voice, the duty, and the intolerable burden of obedience. Below decks, Jonah lay in a hammock, allowing sleep to claim him, certain he had outrun the relentless God, Yet above him, dark clouds gathered ominously, blotting out the sun. The wind rose sharply, roaring like a beast unleashed from chains, lashing waves high against the harbor. The sea turned fierce, boiling and churning, each surge striking harder than the last. Thunder crashed above, shaking timbers and bones alike. Lightning tore the darkness with jagged strokes, illuminating terrified faces. As the sailors scrambled desperately upon the deck, fear filled their voices, curses and prayers mingling into one cry against the storm below, Jonah slept, oblivious to God's call. The Lord was an either distant nor done with Jonah the foolish prophet, and believed he could evade him with the doors in the wind and the waves. And the prophet's peace seems shattered upon the stormy waters. The doors of the Great burst open with a violent crash, and the captain storm inside eyes, wild lanterns swinging madly in his grip. 00:10:26 Speaker 9: Why he mustn't be a man more freeing the storm like. 00:10:30 Speaker 2: Le What what's wrong? 00:10:35 Speaker 7: From the easy shit be. 00:10:37 Speaker 9: Going down unless we are be whatever plastic dog is. 00:10:41 Speaker 5: Doggies come about deck. 00:10:44 Speaker 1: Jonah followed the captain above to the deck. The sailors strained and cursed as the storm raged, balling ropes with calloused hands, muscles taught beneath sodden clothes, sails whipped furiously, tearing like parchment. Beneath the storm's merciless fury, waves crashed violently, sending torrents of icy seawater over the ship's rails, threatening to pull the vessel down into the black abyss beneath. Each sailor cried out to his own guard, prayers carried away by howling winds. Some clutched idands close. Others raised trembling hands skyward, begging mercy from unseen powers. 00:11:30 Speaker 9: Pull upon your guard, what have. 00:11:33 Speaker 7: For none of ours? 00:11:34 Speaker 1: And Jonas staggered as a wave struck like a fist, sending him sprawling to rainslip wood. And he pushed himself up again, gripping the railing and stared into the tempest. It raged like a monster. 00:11:52 Speaker 6: Can you pull in the viacin with a fishuk or tied douts tongue. 00:11:57 Speaker 5: With a rope? 00:11:58 Speaker 6: It makes the depths true like a boy like couldron. It stirs up the sea. 00:12:03 Speaker 7: Like a plot of whitningy that a many love. 00:12:10 Speaker 1: Another wave rose against the ship like a giant, and crashed against the bow. Jomah lost his footing, nearly tumbling overboard. The captain caught him with his burly hand and holed him back onto the deck. With lightning crackled illuminating faces twisted by fear, Jonah knew in that moment, with dreadful certainty the truth he sought to deny. The Lord had followed him. There would be no fight, no refuge, no peace. Jona's rebellion had drawn the wrath of the Almighty, and this tempest was his relentless summons. The sailors gathered around in fearful desperation, faces pale beneath the glare of lightning. 00:12:57 Speaker 7: Maybe not a sea long enough, loves, lormals are well plass lots to see who's the blame that rage? 00:13:08 Speaker 1: The captain turned to Jonah, eyes wide with fear. 00:13:13 Speaker 2: You're amen of rag the provits. 00:13:16 Speaker 7: Do you have a better way to consult the gods? 00:13:20 Speaker 1: Jonah shook his head, afraid to say anything. The captain huffed then took the knucklebones from his leather sack and cast them onto the deck. They scattered wildly as the wind roared. The crew watched breathlessly, praying silently to their deaf gods. As the lots came to rest at Jonah's feet, silence fell upon them, more heavier than the storm itself. Every gaze pierced Jonah. The captain stepped forward, teeth clenched, voice shaking with fury and fear. He grabbed Jonah by the collar and shouted, over the storm, has. 00:14:00 Speaker 7: This even be calling us? Speak straighter? From where have you come? And what madness have you brought upon my shoe? 00:14:08 Speaker 1: Jonah stood in the eye of their wrath, lips trembling, chest heaving light, and painted him pale, a ghost of the man who boarded so confidently in chopper. 00:14:22 Speaker 7: I'm a Hebrew. 00:14:24 Speaker 2: Your gods they ruled the sea, or the. 00:14:27 Speaker 3: Earth, or the skies. 00:14:28 Speaker 5: But my God, my God. 00:14:30 Speaker 8: Commands all of them. 00:14:32 Speaker 3: He made the sea in the wind, and he made the land, and it's from him I flee, but he has found me. 00:14:43 Speaker 1: The man recoiled, cursing and murmuring among themselves, staring at Yonah as if he were playgridden. 00:14:50 Speaker 9: You're fool, you could tap us all to death to outrun the God. 00:14:57 Speaker 5: Hold the blurb. 00:14:59 Speaker 1: The ship urged again under another wake, sending every sailor tumbling. Jonah looked up at the lightning, His throat tightened and his entire body tensed with fear and regret. 00:15:12 Speaker 2: What must do it? Please your good eh? 00:15:17 Speaker 1: Jonah staggered to the railing, gazing into the roiling abyss below. It bellowed like a great beast. Jonah shut his eyes, gathering what courage he could muster and face the crew. 00:15:31 Speaker 6: You must, you must throw me in, pick me up, and hurrow me into the sea. 00:15:39 Speaker 5: The storm will calm once I have gone. 00:15:42 Speaker 1: The men hesitated, horror etched across their faces. The captain shook his head, vehemently, torn between fear of their doom and dread of shedding innocent blood. But as the ship groaned beneath them, timbers cracking, he knew the prophet spoke the truth. 00:16:01 Speaker 7: What is your God's name? 00:16:02 Speaker 5: Yahoweh? 00:16:04 Speaker 1: The captain nodded, then turned his face to the raging skies. Lightning cracked and nearly striking him, and the captain raised his voice away forgive us, Lord, forgive us. 00:16:17 Speaker 7: Do not hold his bats flood against us. 00:16:20 Speaker 1: With grim determination, they seized Jonah, lifted him above their heads, and with cries of anguish, casting into the raging waters, Jonah plunged downward, the wind howling around him, rain lashing his skin. He struck the water, the ocean embracing him with icy cruelty. Salt and darkness consumed him, pulling him deeper into the heart of the storm. Jonah sank into the depths of the sea, back to the abyss, looking up as a sliver of light broke through the calming skies. Jonah began to lose consciousness as he sank deeper and deeper. 00:17:08 Speaker 2: Where can I go from your spirit? 00:17:11 Speaker 6: Where can I flee from your presence? 00:17:15 Speaker 3: If I go up to the heavens or there, If I make my bed in the depths or there, If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there, your hand will guide me. 00:17:32 Speaker 6: Your right hand will hold me fast. 00:17:35 Speaker 3: If I say, surely, the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me. 00:17:41 Speaker 6: Even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to. 00:17:50 Speaker 1: You, deeper and deeper. He sank his lungs, aching, his limbs heavy and his heart weary. The prophet closed his eyes, resigned, and accepted his fate. Even now drowning beneath the waves he had brought upon himself, Jonah felt relief, a twisted comfort, far better this death than facing the salvation of Nineveh. Yet as a darkness overtook him, a vast shadow blotted out what little light remained. Jonah's eyes opened wide in horror, chest tightening as panic filled him. Something immense, ancient and terrible drew near its great jaws agape. Jonah screamed soundlessly beneath the waves, thrashing in futile defiance. And then the jaws snapped shut, and Jonah was swallowed whole, sealed within a tomb of scales and darkness. Loss to the world and the heavens alike. Jonah awoke to absolute darkness. He gasped for breath, but the air came foul and stinging. The stench of rot and acid choked him like poison. He moved, reaching out blindly, but his hands touched only slime and scaled flesh, walls of living muscle closing tight around him. Panic rose hot in his chest, his breath coming ragged and desperate, the sound of his gasps magnified horribly by the hollow void around him. Jonah was in the belly. 00:19:44 Speaker 5: Of the beast. 00:19:46 Speaker 1: He could not scream, he could not move. The prophet of God was in an underwater grave. 00:19:55 Speaker 6: This is worse than death. He help me word. 00:20:00 Speaker 1: Hours passed in agony. Trapped in this underwater tomb. Jonah struggled, clawed, and pounded against the walls of his grotesque prison, screaming prayers and curses alike. But the beast wouldn't yield. Jonah's strength waned, his body aching with hunger and thirst, his joints cramped and raw. In bitter despair, Jonah curled into himself, his spirit breaking beneath the weight of his own defiance. So you'll follow me. 00:20:35 Speaker 6: Have waited at Tashish, but you will answer me Here. 00:20:41 Speaker 1: Jonah wished he could end it. He could feel his skin beginning to peel from the acid. His breaths were short, only able to take in enough oxygen to survive, yet not enough to bring relief. 00:20:56 Speaker 6: I'm sorry, Lord, I was wrong. 00:21:00 Speaker 1: As time stretched slowly onward, hours turning to days, darkness unchanging, Jonah's heart began to quiet. He ceased fighting, surrendering to the endless shadow. 00:21:15 Speaker 5: And there, in the. 00:21:17 Speaker 1: Quiet of hopelessness, Jonah felt something stirring around him, softer than the darkness, gentler than the crushing despair, an unmistakable presence. God was there even in the belly of this monstrous tomb. As Jonah lay curled and broken, something within him lifted. Laughter came softly, at first, half mad, yet oddly free. His laughter transformed into song. His voice echoed, strangely beautiful in its darkness, a melody rising from despair in and to praise. 00:22:01 Speaker 6: I called out to God in my time of distress, And he heard my cry from the belly of the grave. You cast me down into the deep, into the heart of the sea, where your waves crashed over me. You drove me from your sight. Yet still I will look again to your holy temple. The waters closed over me to take my life. The abyss consumed me, weeds tangled around my throat. Yet even here, o Lord, I will praise you. Even here will my thanks rise up from the darkness. 00:22:49 Speaker 1: For the first time, peace came to Jonah, not in escape or defiance, but in accepting the painful truth he had fled from so desperately he could not outrun the God who pursued him with both wrath and mercy. The scaly tomb was his judgment and his salvation all at once. It was miserable, yes, but also kept him from drowning. It was terrifying and uncomfortable, but also drew his heart closer to the Lord. And even though Jonah could not see it, that swimming grave was moving him closer to his destiny. On the third day, Jonah lay curled in the belly of his despair, limbs aching, body weakened, numb from hunger and thirst. Suddenly, a tremour surged through his prison, muscles contracting around him, sending shivers of fear racing up his spine. The fish heaved violently, and Jonah braced himself hard, pounding once more. Hope and dread mingled as a strange glow pierced the unending darkness. A rumbling, roaring, upheaval filled his ears, and the walls of flesh convulsed around him. In one fierce moment, he was expelled from his watery tomb, cast upward, surrounded again by the bitter waters of the sea, water surged around him, filling his lungs and threatening once more to swallow him. Jonah was nearly overcome by primal and fierce panic, But then he looked up above him, burned a beacon of golden light, glorious and warm sunlight, calling him upward. Jonah clawed through the water, bones grinding muscles, screaming in protest, and skin burning against the salt water. Yet he swam, each stroke, bringing him closer to air, closer to freedom, closer to life. He burst through the surface, gasping violently, lungs burning sweetly with fresh air. Jonah opened his eyes to blinding sunlight, golden rays warming his skin. The shore stretched just beyond reach, inviting, comforting and offering salvation. With trembling limbs, he dragged himself forward, crawling through surf and sand, until he collapsed upon the shore, the soft earth beneath him like a mother's gentle embrace. He lay there, broken but alive, laughter bubbling forth from his throat. Jonah let the gentle breeze brush softly against his face, savor in the warmth of sun and earth, as if for the first time, his laughter faded into quiet sobs of relief and bitter joy. Yet even in this moment of deliverance, Jonah knew the truth he wished desperately to deny. He wasn't saved to escape and return home, but to fulfill a purpose he still feared and resented. The mercy of his God was relentless, beautiful, and terrible all at once. He was spared, yes, but only to face once more the burden he had fled so far to avoid. 00:26:56 Speaker 8: Horise, Jonah go too. 00:27:05 Speaker 2: Is it too late to return to the fish? 00:27:10 Speaker 4: If your faith has been kindled by this podcast and it has affected your life, we'd love it if you left her review We read them, and me personally I cherish them as you venture forth boldly and faithfully. I leave you with the biblical blessing from numbers six. I hashem vischmrechra Yeah Heir hashempanave e y sa hashempanavele. 00:27:39 Speaker 1: Shalon. 00:27:41 Speaker 4: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May he be gracious to you. Made the Lord turn his face towards you. 00:27:50 Speaker 1: And give you peace. Amen. You can listen to The Chosen People with You Isle Exstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yaiel Eckstein, edited by Alberto Avila, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, Kayla Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, Rabbi Edward Abramson, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot Com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the app, Apple App Store, and Google play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yail Egstein, please rate and leave a review.