BIBLE STORIES

  There was once a man who didn’t want to do what God told him to do. His name was Jonah. God told him to go to a city named Nineveh. He wanted him to tell the people there that they were being really bad and that they should stop. But Jonah didn’t want to. So he did the opposite of what God asked him to do. He went to Joppa, a different city, by the sea. When he was there he found a ship which was going to sail to Tarshish. He thought that he might like to go there. He thought to himself that God would never find him there.

 

  But God knew exactly where Jonah was and where he was going. As the ship set off, God sent a big storm out over the sea. The sailors were used to bad storms, and bad weather, but this storm was particularly bad. The ship was being thrown all over the place by the waves. They began to wonder whether they would make it to land at all. They were very scared. They tried to make the ship lighter to try and stop it from sinking, by throwing things overboard. Still that didn’t help, the storm was just too strong. The sailors began to pray. But the storm carried on.

 

  Finally the ship’s captain went and found Jonah. He had been asleep. The captain woke him up and told him to pray in case God would be able to save them. Jonah realised that God had sent the storm. He knew it was because he had run away. He spoke to the other sailors and told them what he had done. They were all very frightened. Jonah thought for a moment and told them to throw him over the edge of the ship. That would stop the storm. But they didn’t want to throw him over the edge of the ship. They didn’t want to kill him and they knew that if he went over the edge of the ship then that would happen to him. But the ship was sinking, and they were very afraid, so they threw him over the edge. The sea calmed down straightaway.

 

  Jonah began to bob around in the sea. All of a sudden, a great big fish appeared. It was as big as the biggest whale. God had sent the fish to swallow Jonah. The fish swallowed Jonah in one big gulp. Jonah stayed in the fish’s stomach for three days and three nights. It was a dark and scary place to be. Jonah began to pray. He prayed and prayed and prayed. He promised God that he would do whatever God told him to do. God heard his prayers and spoke to the fish. The fish waved its huge tail and spat Jonah out onto dry land. Jonah was very grateful to God and then did everything that God asked him to do.

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JONAH AND THE BIG FISH