Jonah and the Big Fish
The Story
God called Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh and tell the people to stop doing wrong and turn back to God. But Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. Instead of obeying God, Jonah ran away! He tried to go to Tarshish by ship, in the opposite direction from Nineveh. While Jonah was on the ship, God sent a terrible storm. The waves were so big that the sailors thought the ship would break apart! They were terrified and cried out to their gods. Meanwhile, Jonah was sound asleep below deck. The captain woke him up and told him to pray to his God. The sailors cast lots to find out who was responsible for the storm, and the lot fell on Jonah. Jonah admitted that he was running away from God. He told the sailors, 'Throw me into the sea, and it will become calm. I know it's my fault that this great storm has come upon you.' The sailors didn't want to throw Jonah overboard, but when the storm got worse, they finally did. As soon as Jonah hit the water, the storm stopped! But God didn't let Jonah drown. He sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah whole. For three days and three nights, Jonah was inside the fish's belly! It was dark, smelly, and scary. Jonah had plenty of time to think about what he had done. He prayed to God and said he was sorry for running away. He promised to obey God and do what He asked. God heard Jonah's prayer and commanded the fish to spit Jonah out onto dry land. Then God spoke to Jonah a second time and told him to go to Nineveh. This time, Jonah obeyed! He walked through the great city and told everyone, 'In forty days, Nineveh will be destroyed unless you turn away from your evil ways!' The people of Nineveh believed God's message. From the greatest to the least, everyone fasted, put on rough cloth to show they were sorry, and stopped doing wrong. Even the king took off his royal robes and sat in ashes! When God saw how the people turned from their evil ways, He had compassion on them and didn't destroy the city. God gave the people of Nineveh a second chance, just as He had given Jonah a second chance.
Key Bible Verses
“Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
Jonah 1:17
“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: 'In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.'”
Jonah 2:1-2
“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.”
Jonah 3:10
The Moral of the Story
Jonah's story teaches us that we cannot run away from God. No matter where we go, God is there. When we disobey God, there are consequences, but God is always ready to give us a second chance when we repent. God cares about all people, even those we might think are our enemies. He wants everyone to know His love and turn away from doing wrong. Sometimes God asks us to do difficult things, but we should trust His wisdom and obey Him, even when we don't understand or don't feel like it.
How to Honor and Glorify God
We can glorify God by obeying Him the first time He asks us to do something, instead of running away like Jonah did. Like Jonah, when we make mistakes, we should pray to God and ask for forgiveness. We honor God by showing His love and mercy to all people, even those who are different from us or whom we don't like. God's compassion for Nineveh shows us that He loves everyone and wants to give people chances to change. We should have the same heart of compassion and forgiveness that God has. When God rescues us from trouble, we should thank Him and keep our promises to obey Him, just as Jonah eventually did.
Ways to Apply This Story:
- 1Obey God right away, even when His instructions seem difficult
- 2You cannot hide from God - He knows where you are and what you're doing
- 3When you make a mistake, pray to God and ask for forgiveness
- 4God gives second chances to those who repent and turn back to Him
- 5Share God's message of love with everyone, not just people you like
- 6God cares about all people and wants everyone to know Him
Let's Talk About It
Discuss these questions with your family or Sunday school class:
1. Why do you think Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh?
2. What do you think it was like inside the big fish?
3. How did Jonah change after being in the fish for three days?
4. Why did God forgive the people of Nineveh?
5. Have you ever tried to hide from God or disobey Him? What happened?
6. Who is someone you find it hard to be kind to? How can you show God's love to them?