Dr. Barlay with Something to Think About - FISH STORIES

FISH STORIES

There are a few stories in the Bible that are difficult to understand and truly believe; one is the story of Jonah and his ordeal in the belly of a great fish.

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish 

[not a whale as some stories have it] to swallow Jonah. 

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fishes belly.

So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 

(Jonah 1:17, 2:1,10)

Now, while such a story may be hard to accept, Jesus Himself referred to the story of Jonah in the book of Matthew when He replied to the Pharisees and Sadducees by saying:

A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, 

and no sign shall be given to it 

except the sign of the prophet Jonah… 

(Matthew 16:4)

And there is a fish large enough to accomplish what the story of Jonah details - the whale shark; a massive fish up to 30 feet in length, with a huge mouth, and measuring up to 16 tonnes in weight. Certainly capable of swallowing a man; so the story of Jonah may not be a fish tale after all.

And then there is the story told in Matthew 17 as to whether or not Jesus paid the temple tax. Jesus told Peter to:

…go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. 

And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; 

take that and give it to them for Me and you.

(Matthew 17:27) 

Now, if it is difficult to accept a man being swallowed by a fish, it is just as hard to comprehend catching, on the first try, a fish with a needed coin in its mouth. If you think about it, this would be a true miracle. But at the same time there is a fish, a kind of tilapia, which is found only in the Nile River, in Lake Victoria and in the Sea of Galilee.* This kind of tilapia holds its eggs in its mouth and keeps the young there well after they hatch; letting them out for only short periods of time and scooping them up again if any sign of danger. During this time she rarely swallows for fear of damaging her young. When her young are gone, the female fish are  often found with a pebble or bottle cap top or something similar in its mouth apparently to retain the habit of thus protecting her young. This apparently is the fish mentioned in this story and has become known as St. Peter’s Fish.

So, in spite of these being unusual occurrences as mentioned in Scripture, there is evidence for them being actual events and not just “fish stories.” Of course, being in the Bible should in itself give them credibility.

At the very least, it provides a few more tidbits to think about.

* The Handwriting of God by Grant R. Jeffery, p.g. 217  

 

Pastor Matthew Trott Sept. 13, 2026

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Pastor Jasmine Trott Sept 6, 2026

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TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

 

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - FOURTEEN

 FOURTEEN

There are many instances in which numbers are used in Scripture. In most, if not all of these cases, there is a definite significance to the use of such numerals. For instance, the number two is used to mean separation or division such as night/day, man/woman, two tablets of stone, etc. The number three is used to mean completeness, something real, or perfection; for example, the three persons of the Trinity, the three Patriarchs of Israel, the three sons of Noah, etc.

There are many other examples of where numbers are repeatedly used in the Bible and in those cases there is a definite significance to the way in which they were used; but the number fourteen is not one those used frequently. In fact, it is used only twenty-four times in the NKJV of Scripture - eight of those times is in Numbers 29 where it specifically refers to sacrifice.

You shall present a burnt offering…to the Lord; 

thirteen young bulls, two rams, 

and fourteen lambs in their first year…without blemish… 

(Numbers 29:13)

…and on each of the next six days; one less bull each day but still two rams and always fourteen lambs without blemish.

Why do you suspect that always fourteen lambs without blemish were required at each sacrifice? The first mention of a lamb without blemish in Scripture is at the time of Passover when God instructed the Hebrew people to take:

 

[A] lamb…without blemish, a male of the first year… 

(Exodus 12:5) 

The last mention of the same in Scripture is in 1 Peter when the reference is made to our redemption through Christ:

…with the precious blood of Christ, 

as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 

(1 Peter 1:19)

So, is there a connection between the fourteen lambs without blemish referred to in Numbers and the lamb without blemish which represents Christ in 1 Peter? Perhaps there is. Matthew 1 gives the genealogy of Christ; which apparently reveals the number fourteen.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations,

from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, 

and from the captivity in Babylon until Christ are fourteen generations.

(Matthew 1:17)

Is it possible that the fourteen lambs mentioned seven times in Numbers 29 were symbolic to the generations leading up to the birth of the one lamb without blemish who would be there for us all? It may not really be so but then the number fourteen is a rarely used number in Scripture,

At least it does give one something to think about. 

 

Blake Storey Aug 23 2026.

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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 55

 

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