Three days inside the fish · the prophet who ran away and the God who saves
A Bible story to tell as a family · Jonah 1:1–17 · ages 4–12 · 10 min
The story
God called a prophet named Jonah and gave him a mission: go to the great city of Nineveh and warn the people there, because their wickedness had come up before God. And what did Jonah do? He got up... and went the opposite way! He went down to the port of Joppa, paid the fare on a ship bound for Tarshish, far, far away, and went down into it. He wanted to run away from the presence of the LORD.
But can anyone run away from God? The LORD sent a great wind over the sea. Whoooosh! The waves grew, the ship creaked, crrreak, crrreak, about to break apart. The sailors, people used to the sea, were terrified. Each one cried out to his own god, and they threw the cargo into the sea to make the ship lighter. And Jonah? He was down below, in the lowest part of the ship, fast asleep. Zzzzz.
The captain went down and woke Jonah: “How can you sleep?” And he told him to call on his God. The sailors cast lots to find out who was to blame for the storm, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then came the questions: who are you? Where are you from? Jonah answered: “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” The sailors froze: he was running away from the very God who made the sea!
The sea kept getting wilder. Jonah said: throw me into the sea and it will calm down, because this is my fault. The sailors didn’t want to; they rowed as hard as they could to get back to land, but they couldn’t. So they prayed to the LORD, picked Jonah up and threw him into the water. Splash! And right away the sea grew calm. The sailors were filled with awe and offered a sacrifice to the LORD.
And Jonah was sinking under the waves... when suddenly: gulp! The LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah. The Bible doesn’t say what kind of fish it was; it only says it was great and that God appointed it. Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. Dark, wet, cramped. In the prayer he prayed in there, he said the waters closed around him and seaweed wrapped around his head.
And there, in the deepest, darkest place anyone can imagine, Jonah did what he hadn’t done on the ship: he prayed. He remembered the LORD and knew that God had heard his voice. And he ended his prayer with a short, enormous sentence: “Salvation is from the LORD!” Then God spoke to the fish, and the fish... blech! It spat Jonah out onto dry land. God gave him a second chance; this time Jonah went to Nineveh, and the whole city repented.
Many centuries later, some people asked Jesus for a sign to prove who he was. Jesus said the sign would be that of the prophet Jonah: “as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Jesus was talking about his death and his resurrection. Jonah came out of the fish; Jesus came out of the tomb alive, forever. And Jesus also said that someone greater than Jonah was there.
1Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, 2“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.” 3Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. 4Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. 5The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” 7“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?” 9“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. 11Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?” 12“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.” 13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more. 14So they cried out to the LORD: “Please, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.” 15At this, they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm. 16Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him. 17Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.
What the Bible says
- v. 3: Jonah runs away to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
- v. 15: when the sailors throw Jonah into the sea, the sea stops raging.
- v. 17: the LORD appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spends three days and three nights in its belly.
What we learn
Jonah ran away, but God didn’t give up on him: he sent the storm, appointed the fish, heard the prayer and gave him a second chance. The link to Jesus is explicit: in Matthew 12:40, Jesus says that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, the Son of Man would be in the heart of the earth, pointing to his death and resurrection. Seeing in Jonah, thrown into the sea so the sailors could be saved, a picture of Jesus, who gave himself for us, is a traditional Christian reading.
Questions to talk about
For little ones
- Where was Jonah sleeping during the storm?
- Who appointed the great fish?
For kids
- Jonah ran away from God, and God went after him. Why do you think God didn’t give up on Jonah?
- Jesus talked about the sign of Jonah. What happened to Jesus after three days?
For teens
- Jonah spoke beautifully about God to the sailors (v. 9) while he was running away from him. Where do you notice that gap between what we say and how we live?
For adults
- What mission have you been putting off, heading for Tarshish instead of Nineveh? What would be the first step back?
Activity
Jonah inside the fish: build a giant fish with a sheet or blanket over two chairs, leaving the mouth open. Turn off the lights and use a flashlight. The child playing Jonah goes into the fish and says a short prayer. The family counts very slowly to three (three days!) and, at the end, everyone goes: blech! Jonah rolls out onto dry land. Finish by reading Matthew 12:40 and remembering that Jesus came out of the tomb.
To memorize: Jonah 2:9
Prayer
Lord, sometimes we want to run away from what you ask. Thank you that you don’t give up on us and give us a new chance. Thank you for Jesus, who was three days in the heart of the earth and rose again. Salvation belongs to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.