Children’s Bible Program – Level 3: Lesson 44 “Jonah”
Featured Passage: Jonah 1 – 4
After the death of Elisha, God raised up other prophets whom He used to speak His words to the people. One of those prophets was a man from a town called Gath Hepher whose name was Jonah (2 Kings 14:25). Jonah usually delivered messages from God to the people of Israel, but one day God told him to deliver a message to an entirely different group of people in a city called Nineveh. The people of Nineveh were not Israelites, but Assyrians and enemies of Israel, and Jonah wanted nothing to do with them. So, instead of following God’s directions to deliver a warning to the people of Nineveh, Jonah decided to run away from God. But God wasn’t finished with Jonah. He was forming a plan that would get the attention of both Jonah and the people of Nineveh.
Discuss:
- Why do you think Jonah tried to run away from God? Is it ever possible to hide from God?
- Why do you think Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh to deliver God’s message?
- Jonah knew that he was the reason God sent the storm, so he told the men to throw him into the sea. How did God save Jonah’s life?
- What do you think it was like for Jonah to be in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights?
- What did the people of Nineveh do when they heard God’s message from Jonah? What lessons can we learn from their response?
- Do you think Jonah learned the lessons God was trying to teach? What can we learn from his story?
- What can we learn about God’s love, His mercy, and His compassion from the story of Jonah?
Memory Challenge:
Jonah 2:7
“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.”
