I grew up in Montana as an avid fan of the outdoors. I still love the opportunity to get outside and enjoy God’s amazing creation, and last week I had a great time to do just that while staying at a friend’s beach house on the Puget Sound. I was there to get twenty-four hours of silence, study, and solitude as I prepare to preach Jonah 3 and 4 at our Shoreline campus in the coming weeks.

Sitting near the water, reading the book of Jonah, considering the mysteries of sea life, I watched the following scene unfold…

Little flies hovering above the water were being snatched up by dozens of jumping fish. A sea lion floated by, trolling for the fly-fed fish in between breathes of air. An eagle landed on a boat lookout fifty yards offshore. He considered the view and prepared for his own attempt to insert himself into the aquatic food chain below. Less graceful was the dumb seagull that also wanted in on the action. He paddled onto the scene with no tact whatsoever, lurching after countless jumping fish—striking about eight seconds too late every time. Eventually, he took off for Ivar’s where the fish are already fried and personally served from the hands of excitable tourists.

As the world in front of me and the world of Jonah coalesced in my mind, I was just waiting for this living biology tableau to explode in a mountain of whitewater as some gnarly sea beast from the deep emerges to consume the flies, the jumping fish, two sea lions, the eagle, and a handful of seagulls all in one gulp. It never happened.

Nonetheless, it was an interesting setting for studying a book that deals with God’s hand in nature. If you’d like to study alongside Mars Hill Church as we learn from the book of Jonah, Crossway has a unique resource available online. Their ESV Study Bible is still on pre-order, but you can already get free advance samples online, including the full book of Jonah and all associated commentary. Download the PDF and visit the official website for more info.