1. What was God’s command to Jonah? What did Jonah do instead? Why?

God commanded for Jonah to go to the wicked Assyrian City of Nineveh to speak about God’s coming judgment. Instead, Jonah fled in the opposite direction and got on a boat that was going to Tarshish. He hated the Ninevites for their cruelty and wickedness and he did not want God to extend mercy to them, so he fled.

2. When God sent a major storm, how did the sea finally calm?

God sent a storm so that Jonah’s God would be revealed to the seamen. After they woke Jonah up, Jonah told them to throw him overboard and then the sea would calm because Jonah knew this was not an ordinary storm. This was one sent by God to judge his own prophet.

3. What happened when Jonah was thrown into the sea? What happened to him for the next 3 days?

God appointed a fish (just like he appointed the storm), to come and swallow up Jonah. And so, for the next 3 days and nights, Jonah was alive in the belly of the fish until God commanded the fish to throw up Jonah onto dry ground.

4. When Jonah finally obeyed, how did Nineveh respond? How did Jonah respond to God after this?

Nineveh heard about the coming judgment of God and truly repented. They put on sackcloth, fasted, and believed what God had said through Jonah. Instead of Jonah being excited over the people repenting, he was angry. He said he wanted to die rather than see God show mercy to enemies. He thought that Nineveh deserved judgement, and indeed, they did. But God is an incredibly merciful God.

5. How did God test Jonah to see if his anger was right or wrong?

God appointed a plant to grow to give Jonah shade from the sun. Jonah was incredibly glad to have the plant. But then, God sent a worm to destroy the plant and then an east wind to make Jonah miss it. Jonah was at the point where he wanted to die he was so hot and faint. God used this story to tell him that Jonah cared a lot about a plant in one day, and shouldn’t God care about the city of Nineveh with thousands of people and animals.

6. What does this book of the Bible teach us about God?

This story teaches us about God’s sovereignty over every detail. God is in control of prophets, storms, animals, plants, wind and everything else. He can use anything to accomplish his purposes. God is also full of mercy. God sees true repentance. God is willing and wants to show mercy to any nation, even the terrible Assyrians, if they turn and repent from their sins and trust in his word.