The verse anchor
"Salvation is of the Lord."
Jonah 2:9 · King James Bible
The story
God spoke to a prophet named Jonah. God said, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. Their wickedness has come up before me."
But Jonah did not want to go. Nineveh was full of people he did not like. So he ran the other way. He went down to a sea-port called Joppa, found a ship going to a far-away place, paid the fare, and climbed on board.
Jonah thought he could hide from God. But you cannot hide from God.
The Lord sent a great wind on the sea. The waves rose up. The ship was breaking. The sailors were terrified. They threw their cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Each of them cried to his own god. But nothing helped.
Jonah had gone down into the ship and fallen fast asleep. The captain woke him up. "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God!"
The sailors cast lots to find out who was the cause of the storm. The lot fell on Jonah. He told them the truth: "I am fleeing from the presence of the Lord. Take me up and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm."
They did not want to do it. But at last they threw Jonah into the sea. The moment he hit the water, the storm stopped.
The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
There in the dark belly of the fish, Jonah prayed. "I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me… Salvation is of the Lord."
And the Lord spoke to the fish. The fish carried Jonah to land and set him on the dry shore.
The Lord came to Jonah a second time. "Arise, go unto Nineveh." This time Jonah went. He walked through the great city crying, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" And the people of Nineveh believed God. The king put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. They all turned from their wicked ways. And God had mercy on them.
Jonah tried to run away. God brought him back. God did not give up on Jonah. And God did not give up on Nineveh.
One thing we learn
You cannot hide from God — but that is not bad news. That is very good news. Wherever you go, he is with you. When we run away, he calls us back. When we are in the dark, he can still hear us pray.
Memory verse
"Salvation is of the Lord."
Jonah 2:9 · KJV
Say it three times before bed. In seven days you will know it forever.
A prayer
Lord, when I try to run away from doing what is right,
bring me back gently, like you did for Jonah.
Amen.
Beneath the story · for grown-ups
To read this whole passage in the King James Bible with your child, or to walk further with the household: