“Greatest Heroes And Legends Of The Bible: Jonah And The Whale” is a terrific animated film that vividly portrays Jonah’s story. Charlton Heston is on hand to provide an introduction. He says, “It’s the story of a man who tries foolishly to run away from God.” Mr. Heston points out that Jonah hated the Assyrians; Nineveh, the place where God wanted him to preach, was the capital of Assyria.
At the beginning the Assyrians burn homes when Jonah is a boy, events he never forgot, according to our animated feature. Now grown, he wants revenge. When God’s voice speaks to him to go preach to Nineveh, Jonah is not interested in seeing the people receive mercy, so he flees. He winds up in a ship in Joppa, headed for Tarshish. But when a storm arises and lots are cast to find out who caused the storm, Jonah comes up as the guilty one. He goes overboard and soon a whale swallows him. He finally says, “God is my salvation,” and purposes in his heart to preach to Nineveh; the whale beaches him on dry ground. We see the repentance of Nineveh’s people in sackcloth and ashes, plus the story of Jonah’s gourd—his shield from the heat—being eaten by a worm. Jonah finally gets the idea of God’s mercy. As the boy Simon says in the feature, “Jonah finally let go of his hate.”
We are more than pleased to award this wonderful animated film our Faith Friendly Seal for all ages. This movie brings the story of Jonah to life!
