The Story Of Jonah

There was once a man named Jonah, who lived in Galilee of Israel. One day the LORD spoke to Jonah. He said, "Leave right away! Go east to Nineveh, the capitol of Assyria. Announce to the people that I can no longer overlook the wicked things they have done." The Ninevites were so very violent and cruel that Jonah hated them. He also knew that the LORD was good and merciful. If he were to warn the Ninevites about their sin then they would ask God to forgive them, and God would forgive them, and they would not be punished. Jonah wanted the Ninevites to be punished so he decided not to go to Nineveh.

Instead of going east, Jonah tried to run away from the LORD by going west. He went to the city of Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid his fare and went aboard the ship.

The Prophet Jonah, as depicted by Michelangelo in ...

Depiction of Jonah and the whale on the south door...

Gods and sodas

However, after they had set sail, the LORD sent a violent wind over the sea. The storm was so powerful that the ship was in danger of breaking into pieces. The sailors began to panic and cry out to all of their false gods for help, but the wind only grew worse. They threw all of the ships cargo overboard hoping to be lighten the ships load and be saved, but the wind only grew worse.

Meanwhile, Jonah had hidden below deck and had fallen asleep. The captain of the ship came and woke him up, saying, "What are you doing! We're all going to die!!! Get up and pray to your God, maybe He will hear you and save us from this storm." When Jonah got up on deck, the sailors had decided that someone on the ship must have made God angry,