Jonah 1:1—2:10
God was not happy with the way the people in Nineveh acted. God told Jonah to warn the people in Nineveh that God would punish them for all the bad things they kept doing. But Jonah didn’t like the people in Nineveh and didn’t want them to get a warning. So Jonah decided to disobey God. Jonah got on a boat that was going the other way.
God wanted Jonah to obey Him. God sent a storm that made the boat start to sink. The people on the boat were afraid. Jonah said, “God sent this storm because I ran away from Him. If you want this storm to stop, you must throw me overboard.” The people on the boat threw Jonah into the water. Suddenly, the sea was still.
Jonah went down, down, down. Jonah wanted to breathe, but he couldn’t. Jonah saw a giant fish swimming toward him! Jonah tried to swim away, but the giant fish opened its giant mouth and swallowed Jonah. Gulp!
Jonah was in the belly of the big fish. Now Jonah could breathe. It must have been very smelly! Jonah was sorry he had disobeyed God. He prayed and promised to obey God. Finally, God made the fish swim to the shore and spit Jonah up on the beach.
