Jonah obeyed God

This lesson is taken from Jonah 3-4

Teacher:  God talked a second time to Jonah

God:  Get up Jonah and go to the great city of Nineveh, and give the people there the message of judgment I have given you.

Teacher:  This time Jonah obeyed God’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took 3 days to see all the city.  On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds of people

Jonah:  40 days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!

Teacher:  The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and everyone decided to go without food and wear sackcloth to show how sorry they were to God.  Do you know what sackcloth is?  Well it is a coarse, rough cloth, made of goat hair, that people wore back in the Old Testament time to show that they were in mourning.  Now, when the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes and he dressed in sackcloth and he sat on a pile of ashes.  Then the king sent a message to all the people in his kingdom.

King:  No one, not even the animals, is to eat or drink anything at all.  Everyone is to wear sackcloth and pray to God.  Everyone must turn from all of their evil ways and stop all the violence.  Who can tell?  Maybe God will have pity on us and hold back his great anger and not destroy us.

Teacher:  When God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, He had mercy on them and didn’t carry out his plans to destroy Nineveh as He had threatened to do.  This change of plans upset Jonah, and he became very angry.  So he complained to God about it.

Jonah:  Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord?  That is why I ran away to Tarshish!  I knew that you would show kindness and have pity on Nineveh, God.  That You, O God, were slow to get angry and You were filled with unfailing love.  I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these people.  So, just kill me now, Lord!  I would rather be dead than alive, because nothing I say You are going to do will ever happen.

God:  Is it right for you to be angry about this, Jonah?

 Teacher:  Jonah went out to the east side of the city, there he made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see if anything would happen to the city.  God cause a plant with a lot of leaves to grow there, close to Jonah.  Soon the broad leaves of the plant had grown to over Jonah’s head, and they made a shade for Jonah from the sun. Now, Jonah didn’t get so hot during the day, so he was thankful for the plant.  But God had a plan!  You see God also put a worm in the plant.  The next morning, as the sun was coming up the worm had eaten through the stem of the plant, and the plant soon died.  So now the plant was no longer there.  And as the sun grew hot, God sent a very hot east wind to blow on Jonah.  The sun beat down so hot on Jonah head that he grew faint and wished to die.

Jonah:  Death is sure better than this!

God:  Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?

Jonah:  Yes!  I am even angry enough to die!

God:  You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put the plant there.  And a plant only lives for a short time.  But the city of Nineveh has more than 120,000 people that live in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals.  Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?

Teacher:  As you can see, God taught Jonah a lesson with the plant.  For Jonah had no pity for the people of Nineveh.  He wanted God to destroy Nineveh!  But God had pity on the people of Nineveh and didn’t destroy it.  So when Jonah went and made a shelter on the east side of the city to wait and see if anything happen, God decided to teach him a lesson.  When Jonah felt sorry for the plant when it died, God was able to show him how He felt about Nineveh.  That He would rather the city turn to worship Him than destroy the city.  God still feels the same way today, He would rather we turn to worship Him than destroy us. 

 Questions:

When Jonah reached Nineveh what did the people there do?	a.  Jonah was furious
What happened when the people of Nineveh repented?	b.  They turned from evil
How did Jonah feel when the people of Nineveh repented?	C. God decided not to carry out His threat

 Answers to Jonah obeyed God

When Jonah reached Nineveh what did the people there do?    B	a.  Jonah was furious
What happened when the people of Nineveh repented?   C	b.  They turned from evil
How did Jonah feel when the people of Nineveh repented?   A	C. God decided not to carry out His threat