Jonah runs away

Teacher background

The book of Jonah is a short story in four chapters. In Jonah 1, God tells the prophet Jonah to go to Nineveh, a great city of Assyria, the empire that later conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, and to speak against its wickedness. Jonah gets on a ship going the opposite way, toward Tarshish. God sends a storm. The sailors, who come from other lands and pray to other gods, try everything to save the ship, and they even row hard to save Jonah. At last, at Jonah’s own word, they put him into the sea, and the sea grows calm. Then God sends a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and he stays inside it for three days and three nights.

This is the first of four lessons on Jonah. The next lessons tell of Jonah’s prayer inside the fish, his visit to Nineveh, and the plant God grows to teach him about mercy. So that this lesson can stand alone, the read-aloud story ends with the fish putting Jonah on dry land (Jonah 2:10).

The main idea for children is that Jonah ran away from God, and God kept caring for him. Wherever we go, God is with us. The memory verse comes from Psalm 139, which asks, “Where could I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7), the same words the book uses for Jonah’s flight. Tell the fish as God’s rescue, a safe place where Jonah could pray. Keep the storm exciting with sound effects and swaying, and reassure any child who is afraid of storms or deep water that God took care of Jonah and the sailors.

For more background, read Jonah and the big fish.

Welcome activity

Opposite game (5 minutes). Play a quick game in which everyone does the opposite of what you say. Say “Stand up!” and the children sit down. Say “Look up!” and they look down. Say “Whisper!” and they talk in big voices. Say “Walk toward the door!” and they walk away from it. Laugh together at the mix-ups.

Then gather in a circle and ask:

• Was it hard to do the opposite?
• Have you ever been asked to do something you didn’t want to do? What happened?

Say: “Today’s story is about a man named Jonah. God asked him to go one way, and he went the opposite way! Let’s find out what happened.”

Telling the story

10 minutes. Open your Bible to Jonah 1 and show the children where the story is. Jonah is a short book near the end of the Old Testament. Read this version aloud, or tell it in your own words. Invite the children to help with the sound effects and the actions in italics.

Once there was a man named Jonah. Jonah was a prophet. A prophet listens to God and tells other people what God says.

One day God spoke to Jonah. “Jonah, get up! Go to Nineveh, that great big city. The people there are doing cruel and wrong things. Go and tell them that I see what they are doing.”

Nineveh was a big city far away to the east. The people there were enemies of Jonah’s people. Jonah did not want to go there. Not one bit! (Fold your arms and shake your head.)

So Jonah got up, and he went … the other way! He walked down to the seaside town of Joppa. (Walk in place.) He found a ship going to Tarshish, far away to the west. He paid for his ride and went down into the ship. Jonah was trying to run away from God.

The ship sailed out to sea. Then God sent a great wind. Whoosh! (Blow like the wind.) The waves grew bigger and bigger. Splash! (Sway side to side.) The ship rocked up and down. Creak! It looked like the ship might break apart.

The sailors were scared. Each one prayed to his own god. They threw boxes and bags into the sea to make the ship lighter.

And where was Jonah? He was down at the bottom of the ship. He was fast asleep! (Snore loudly.)

The captain found him. “How can you sleep? Wake up! Pray to your God! Maybe your God will help us.”

The sailors wanted to know who had caused the storm. They found out it was Jonah. “Who are you?” they asked. “Where do you come from?”

Jonah said, “I am a Hebrew. I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then he told them he was running away from God.

The sailors were even more scared. “What should we do, so the sea will be calm?”

Jonah said, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm. I know this storm is because of me.”

The sailors were kind. They did not want to hurt Jonah. They rowed and rowed to get back to land. (Row hard.) The waves only got bigger.

So the sailors prayed to the LORD, Jonah’s God. Then they lifted Jonah up and put him into the sea. Splash! Right away, the wind stopped. The waves stopped. The sea was calm and still. (Hold very still.) The sailors were amazed, and they worshiped the LORD.

What about Jonah? Down, down, down he went into the water. (Wiggle your fingers downward.) But God had a plan. God sent a big, big fish. The fish opened its mouth wide and … gulp! (Open your arms wide and bring them together.) It swallowed Jonah whole.

Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. It was dark in there. It was wet. It was probably very smelly! (Hold your nose.) But Jonah was safe. And inside the fish, Jonah did something important. He prayed. “God, I called to you, and you heard me. Thank you!” (Fold your hands.)

Then God spoke to the fish. And the fish spat Jonah out onto the dry beach. Splat! (Clap once.)

Jonah tried to run away from God. God never stopped caring for Jonah. God took care of him in the storm and in the sea. God gave him a second chance.

(If you are teaching the next lesson, add: “Next time, we will hear more about Jonah’s prayer inside the fish.”)

Wherever we go, God is with us too. Even if we run away, God’s love comes after us.

Wondering questions

5 minutes. Wondering questions have no wrong answers. Ask one at a time, wait in silence, and welcome every answer without correcting it. Repeat back what a child says so they know you heard them.

• I wonder which part of this story you like best.
• I wonder why Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh.
• I wonder how the sailors felt when they found Jonah asleep.
• I wonder what it was like inside the big fish.
• I wonder what Jonah said to God when he prayed.
• I wonder if there is anywhere you could go where God would not be with you.

After the wondering questions, play the quiz on the slides, or ask the questions aloud and let the children call out the answers.

Craft: a big fish with Jonah inside

10 minutes. Each child makes a big fish from a paper plate, with Jonah praying inside, to remember that God is with them everywhere.

You will need a paper plate for each child, blue construction paper, crayons or markers, safety scissors, and glue sticks.

1. Cut a pie-slice shape out of the edge of the paper plate to make the fish’s open mouth. Help with cutting, or cut the mouths before class.
2. Glue the pie slice to the opposite edge of the plate, pointing out, to make the tail.
3. Draw a big eye near the mouth, and color scales all over the fish.
4. In the middle of the fish, draw Jonah with his hands folded, praying.
5. Write “God is with me everywhere!” around the edge, or write it for children who are still learning to write.
6. If there is time, cut wavy strips of blue paper and glue them along the bottom of the fish for the sea.

When everyone is done, let the children show their fish and tell what Jonah is saying to God.

Game: stormy sea

7 minutes. Spread an old flat bedsheet on the floor. The children stand around it and hold the edge with both hands. Put a small stuffed animal or a paper boat in the middle as the ship.

1. Call “A little wind!” and everyone makes small, gentle waves.
2. Call “A great big storm!” and everyone makes bigger waves, keeping their feet in place and the boat on the sheet if they can.
3. Call “Row, row, row!” and everyone pulls back gently together, like the sailors rowing for land.
4. Call “God made the sea calm!” and everyone lowers the sheet to the floor and holds very still.
5. Let the children take turns calling out the weather.

Nobody wins or loses; the whole group sails together. If you don’t have a sheet, stand in a circle and make waves with your arms.

Memory verse

3 minutes. Teach the memory verse with motions. Explain that Psalm 139 is a prayer that says God is with us everywhere: up in the sky, across the sea, and even in the dark. “Even there” means even in the deepest sea, even inside a big fish!

Even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.

Psalm 139:10

• “Even there”: point far away.
• “your hand will lead me”: hold out your hand as if someone is leading you.
• “and your right hand will hold me”: wrap your arms around yourself in a hug.

Say the verse together softly, then loudly, then in a whisper. The memory verse coloring page lets children color the words in bubble letters.

Snack idea

Optional. Serve fish-shaped crackers in small cups and talk about the big fish that kept Jonah safe. Fish-shaped crackers usually contain wheat and milk, so check for food allergies before class, and serve water to drink.

Closing prayer

Ask the children to fold their hands or open them on their laps. Read each line and let them repeat it after you.

Dear God,
thank you for being with us
wherever we go.
When we want to run away,
help us turn around.
When we are scared,
hold us in your hand.
Thank you for second chances.
Amen.

Take-home note for families

Send this note home with the activity sheets and the paper-plate fish. It also prints by itself on the printables page.

Today in Sunday school

Today your child heard the beginning of the story of Jonah (Jonah 1). God asked Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh, and Jonah sailed the other way. God sent a storm, the kind sailors tried to save Jonah, and a big fish swallowed him. Inside the fish Jonah prayed, and God brought him safely to dry land. The children learned that God kept caring for Jonah even when he ran away, and that God is with them wherever they go.

Talk about it

• What was your favorite part of the story?
• Why do you think Jonah ran away?
• Where do you go during the week? How is God with you there?

Try this at home

Read Jonah 1 together. At bath time, or with a bowl of water and a toy boat, make a storm with your hands, then make the water calm. Say the memory verse together: “Even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.”

Pray together

Dear God, thank you for being with us wherever we go. When we want to run away, help us turn back to you. Amen.

Adapting for younger or older children

Younger children (ages 4 to 6). Tell the story with a blue blanket for the sea, a toy boat, and a big paper fish, and let the children rock the boat and be the waves. Skip the crossword and the word search, and use the maze, the coloring pages, and paper plates with the mouths already cut out. Teach only the memory verse motions.

Older children (ages 10 to 12). Read Jonah 1 together from a Bible, taking turns. Notice how often Jonah goes down: down to Joppa, down into the ship, down to sleep in the hold. Talk about the sailors, who came from other lands and prayed to other gods, and who treated Jonah kindly and prayed to the LORD. Read Psalm 139:7–12 and compare it with Jonah’s flight. Use the crossword without the word bank.