Lesson 1 (God's Orders, a Boat, and a Storm)

Lesson 1 

God's Orders, a Boat, and a Storm

Jonah 1:1-8 (KJV)

1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

Questions for ages 2-5 years

1. Why was Jonah told to go to Nineveh?

2. What did Jonah do after getting his instructions from God?

3. What, or who, was Jonah trying to get away from?

4. What happened when Jonah got onto the ship going the wrong way?

5. What did the mariners do when they realized they were caught in a dangerous storm?

6. What was Jonah doing when the storm hit the boat?

7. What did the ship captain think would save them from the storm?

8. What did the mariners believe was the cause of the storm?

9. How were the mariners going to find out who was the cause of the storm?

10. Who was the cause of the storm that put all the men in danger?

Questions for ages 5+ years

1. Did the mariner's prayers to "their gods" help them?

2. Why did the gods of the mariners not help them?

3. Was Jonah afraid of the storm like the mariners?

4. Why was Jonah not afraid of the Tempest like the mariners were?

5. Why did the shipmaster ask Jonah to pray to his God, when his own prayers to his god had not helped?

6. Did the mariners believe the storm to be an act of nature? (Was it just an accident that they had sailed into the storm?)

7. What did the mariners believe was the cause of the storm?

8. How were the mariners going to find out who was responsible?

9. Was it an accident that the random lot fell on Jonah as the culprit?

10. Was Jonah surprised that the lot fell upon him and that God had exposed him to be the culprit aboard the ship?

Additional True or False Questions

1. God asked Jonah if he was willing to go to Nineveh.

2. Jonah disobeyed God and sought to run away from God.

3. The ship sailed into a great storm by accident.

4. The mariners gods could have helped but they decided not to.

5. God sent the storm and he controlled what it could do.

6. The mariners believed that they could get themselves out of the storm because they were very skilled sailors.

7. Jonah did not know why the ship had sailed into a storm.

8. God did not allow Jonah's sin to remain a secret.