The Tail of the Whale

I had a dream the other night. Scenes of partial pictures. One I recall was of half a face. Another was of a table that was adorned with table cloth, set with empty plates, silverware, clean napkins, empty glasses. And still another was included -- half of the front of a house. At first glance I didn't realize anything was missing. But my mind did wonder at what I was being shown.

I kept hearing a voice say, "Do you want to see the Complete Picture or are these enough for you?" 

I didn't understand. Was what I was seeing, what I was being shown only part of what I needed to see?

I hadn't been curious before, but suddenly, with the prospect dangled in front of me that there was more, I suddenly wanted to see it.

The curtain was drawn back on each scene. The face was completed. Seemed to be a rugged male face with beard and unkept long hair. I didn't recognize him. Could have been any number of people. Could have been a man at a rock concert from back in the 1970s. Could have been Jesus. I don't know. There wasn't an explanation. Seemed that I gazed at the face for a long time trying to find meaning, familiarity.  

Next was the table. Where only empty plates had been set on a white tablecloth, the scene was expanded to reveal many dishes laden with various foods, scrumptious and inviting. Again, I studied the exhibit, searching for hidden meaning. Some of the platters were hot as there was steam rising. I don't recall what foods there were, but they appeared yummy. However, my appetite was not aroused.

Eventually, the table was replaced by the house. It was a rather small house. Nothing particularly notable. It was just the entire house that was placed on view. Seemed older -- maybe early 1900's, frame-style, wooden foundation with crawl space underneath....though that wasn't specifically revealed. I could tell by the steps up to the front door that it had this kind of construction. I examined it for some time. Like all the other pictures, this house did not look familiar to me. Nothing I had seen in my past that I could recall. Could have been in any town, USA. 

I awoke and was troubled. Troubled because none of it made sense to me.The voice still echoed  "Do you want to see the Complete Picture?" Having seen and studied the complete pictures of each scene, I found nothing remarkable, nothing outstanding. Actually, they were boring. There was nothing curious at all. All that was curious was that I was being shown them and asked the question.

Drifting off to sleep again, I revisited each of the 3 scenes once more as the visions returned. First, the partial pictures and then the completed scenes. And then each expanded. The man was shirtless, bronzed, wearing jeans, barefooted. His body appeared to be turning, as if he was just looking back over his shoulder. He suddenly had purpose. I didn't know his purpose, but being shown this picture caused me to seriously wonder. 

The table lavishly set with foods expanded to reveal guests....and an exceedingly long table. People of all ages were gathering. They were happy, greeting each other with hugs. It seemed to be a large family gathering, a reunion of sorts.Seemed to be much love in this warm and inviting atmosphere.

The house expanded to reveal a lot with lush green grass. Soft grass that had some length to it, though not too high. Reminded me of Kentucky blue grass -- soft and cool to the bare foot. There were beautiful blooming flowers, too, but not so much uniform in the planting -- more naturally spaced. And a very large shade tree in the front. Could have been a ficus, could have been an oak. This scene was suddenly cool, friendly, relaxing, inviting, peaceful.

I woke again. There was a sermon on the radio. It was John D. McArthur. He was teaching on Jesus calming the storm. I'm not sure which storm he was referring to, whether it was when He had fallen asleep in the boat and the storm arose as they crossed the Sea of Galilee, or if the subject was when the storm happened as the disciples were alone at night crossing the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus came walking across the sea towards them. Either way, McArthur referenced Jonah.

This will be the second week that our Sunday morning Bible Study has been on Jonah. To be totally truthful, I hadn't actually looked for anything extra in these Scriptures. Was a story we all know. Looked more at the history of Nineveh, where Jonah was from, where Tarshish was thought to be. Things like that. And yet, after my lengthy dream about seeing the Complete Picture, awakening to a sermon that is referencing Jonah, I decided this was something I needed to hear. 

Right off the bat  McArthur notes all three events have 1 major thing in common -- when the storm was commanded to cease, it ceased right then.  The instant Jonah hit the water, the storm ceased right then. We observe that when a body of water is troubled by high winds, it takes some time for the waves to calm down. But not in these cases. That was what caused seasoned mariners to be awestruck and fearful. We have seen furious winds cease abruptly. But I have never witnessed waves cease abruptly. Science tells us that doesn't happen. The energy continues until it is used up.

In consideration of the Book of Jonah, I needed to return to scripture, to search out the Complete Picture. I may not see it all. It may take a while. But there is more here than just a simple rendition of Jonah and the Whale.