Jr. Tree 
Of Life
08/16/2020
Jonah – Part 1
Before you begin this Bible study, If you have never believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior, John 3:16 tells us: “ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.’ Simply have faith that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and you will have eternal life and be saved. If you have believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior; then 1 John 1:9 tells us; “If you confess your sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Simply privately tell God the Father your sins to be filled with God the Holy Spirit and He will teach you Bible truth. (Rebound)
Promise Memory Verses
“So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,
and they will be punished.” Romans 13:2
Jonah was a prophet during the Age of Israel. One day, God told him to go to Nineveh and warn the wicked people living there that they would be punished if they didn’t turn towards God. God always gives everyone grace, which is something none of us earns or deserves.
Jonah disobeyed God because he didn’t want anything to do with the evil people of Nineveh. He needed to rebound because he thought he was better than they were. This was not grace.
He ran from God to a place called Joppa and got on a ship headed for Tarshish which would take him as far away from Nineveh as possible.
After boarding the ship, he went below the deck and fell asleep. While He slept, God sent a fierce storm; the waters were so rough that that ship felt like it was breaking apart. The sailors were so terrified, that they started throwing cargo into the water so the ship wouldn’t sink.
They even called out to their gods to save them, but the fake god’s didn’t answer because they weren’t the one and only true God. The captain of the ship went below the deck and woke up Jonah and told him to pray to his god so they wouldn’t perish. Then each sailor cast lots and learned that Jonah was the reason for the storm.
The men were scared stiff when Jonah told them that he was running away from the one and only true God that made the sea and dry land. They asked him what they should do to calm the sea. Jonah told them to throw him overboard. The men didn’t want to do this, so they rowed desperately to return to dry land; but the weather kept getting worse making this impossible.
Next, the crew called upon the one and only true God and prayed that they wouldn’t perish because of what they were about to do to Jonah. Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the water. Instantly, the sea became calm. They respected the Lord and made a sacrifice to Him.
God treated Jonah with grace even though he didn’t deserve it and sent a huge fish to swallow him up so he wouldn’t drown. Jonah was alive inside the belly of the fish for three days and nights. Next week, we will learn more about Jonah.
** How does this Bible story help you with going back to school? God
God wants you to respect and obey Him by listening to and respecting your teacher. He finds funny things to help you to remember this. God has a wonderful sense of humor.
God told the big fish to swallow Jonah and he obeyed. Can you imagine what would have happed if the fish would have went looking for
sunken treasure instead? Jonah would have drowned.
The water even obeyed God. What do you think would have happened if the water decided to freeze up with Jonah in it instead of calming down? He would have turned into a popsicle.
Jonah disobeyed God and did things his way! Do you think he was happy being tossed into the sea and living inside of the belly of a fish? I’ll bet it must have smelled like rotting garbage! There weren’t any beds, so did he cover himself up with seaweed and lay on top of fish bones? What about the darkness? Was he afraid zombies would get him?
This is why it’s important to obey and respect God. You will learn the hard way like Jonah did if you don’t.
Respect