A story by the fire

Jonah and the Great City

Read: Jonah 2 to 4 · For families, classes and youth groups · About 30 minutes
Play the storyBack to Roads of Galilee

The story

From the belly of the fish, Jonah prays. The LORD speaks to the fish and it puts Jonah out on dry land. The word of the LORD comes to Jonah a second time, and this time he goes to Nineveh and cries out that in forty days it will be overthrown. The people of Nineveh believe God: from the king down, they fast and put on sackcloth, even the animals. God sees their works and does not bring the disaster. Jonah is angry. He sits east of the city to watch, and God prepares a plant to shade him, then a worm to wither it, then a hot east wind. The book ends with God asking Jonah a question, and Jonah never answers.

In the game

Players read Jonah’s whole prayer over the dark of the deep, then watch from a beach as the fish brings him ashore. In Nineveh they unload grain for a market woman (with a measuring puzzle), find the king’s crier by asking in the streets, put sackcloth on the animals as the decree says, and carry food up the hill to the watcher under his shelter.

Key verses

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.Jonah 2:2, KJV
And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,Jonah 3:1, KJV
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.Jonah 3:10, KJV
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?Jonah 4:11, KJV

Talk about it

  1. Jonah prays from the deep before anything has changed. What do you notice about his prayer?
  2. “The word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time.” What do second chances look like in your life?
  3. The whole city, from the king to the animals, put on sackcloth. Why might the story include the animals?
  4. Jonah was angry that Nineveh was spared. Why do you think he felt that way?
  5. The book ends with a question and no answer. How would you answer it?

Try this

Finish the book: the story stops at God’s question in 4:11. In pairs, write what you think Jonah might have said next, and what you would say.

For the leader

The ending is the point: many readers find that the question at the end is meant for whoever is listening. Resist tidying it up.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (Authorized Version), which is in the public domain. In Roads of Galilee, biblical figures are never given words the Bible doesn’t give them: the player is an ordinary witness, and scripture is quoted word for word.