Who was Jonah? CQ Kids

Jonah was a prophet. A prophet was a person God chose to deliver His message. God wanted Jonah to deliver His message to the wicked people of Nineveh.

He wanted Jonah to preach that Nineveh would be overthrown because of their wickedness. The correct course of action was to repent, (meaning, feel truly sorry and then change their ways) to avoid this consequence.

But Jonah didn’t want to deliver this message. Foolishly thinking he could somehow hide from God, he disobediently boarded a ship that was set to sail in the OPPOSITE direction!

God caused a strong wind to come, and a violent storm threatened to sink the ship. The sailors tried to figure out the cause of their misfortune. Jonah confessed that HE was the reason for the storm and advised them to throw him overboard, and reluctantly, they did. The storm immediately stopped and then Jonah was swallowed by what the Bible describes as a “great fish” - we might think of it today as a whale.

While inside the belly of the whale for three days, Jonah repented and prayed.

God then caused the whale to spit Jonah out onto dry land.This time, Jonah followed God’s command and went to Nineveh to preach that in 40 days, Nineveh would be overthrown.

The king heard the message and - remarkably - repented! He took off his royal robes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and sat in ashes.These actions symbolized that he was truly sorry for being so sinful. He issued a decree that everyone should fast (meaning, not eat or drink) for three days and be dressed in sackcloth, even the animals. God accepted their repentance, and the people of Nineveh were saved!

Why didn’t Jonah want to deliver God’s message?

Nineveh was the capital of