In 1820, an American ship sank after being attacked by a whale.

The story goes, there was this great big fish that weighed over 80 tons. A whale actually, and it attacked this ship off the coast of South America and sank it!

You’re probably saying, “Oh yeah, sure. What a fish story.” But this one is true. The 283-ton Essex was a whaling ship that hailed from Nantucket, Massachusetts. It was out at sea in pursuit of sperm whales, which were hunted for their bone and oil. When the crew went after a bull whale, it rammed the ship twice. The 80-ton whale was able to capsize the ship. The 20 crew members were able to flee the ship in three open boats, but only five of the men survived to tell the tale.

If this story sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because the incident became the plot for another famous whale of a tale, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

The Bible has its own fish story. A wayward prophet named Jonah once had a very close encounter with a large fish of his own. You remember—God told Jonah to go one way, but Jonah got on a ship and went off in the opposite direction. Then God sent a tremendous storm and the sailors, frightened for their lives, threw Jonah overboard to stop the storm.

God calmed the waters and then sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah to save him from drowning. Talk about your fish tales!

Some people think that the story of Jonah and the whale is just that—a fish story. But if we believe that God is who he said he is, then we need to trust everything about him. Jesus himself used the story of Jonah living in the belly of a fish for three days as an illustration of his death and resurrection (Matthew 12:39, 40).

And that’s no fish story!

For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40).

To Do

Read the book of Jonah, all four chapters. What do you think is the most amazing part of that story? Share it with someone in your family.

Also on this day

Today is National Peanut Butter Fudge Day.

1941—The U.S. State Department started requiring photographs for passports.

1959—The United Nations adopted the Declaration of Children’s Rights.

1967—At 11 AM, the Census Clock at the Department of Commerce ticked past 200 million people.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.