God didn’t give up on Jonah after one wrong choice, neither will he give up on you.

Or as it’s more accurately described, Jonah and the Big Fish, as has been nailed home in every online or professional material I’ve read, but in every Sunday School lesson I’ve heard says Jonah and the Whale.

But, I always liked the idea of it being a whale, so I’m going to say Jonah and the whale.

{We teach this lesson right after the story of Elisha, but it could also be done as part of a Prophets of the Old Testament study}

Two views of Jonah and the Whale

So back when the boys were infants Jeff and I took a “How to study the Bible class,” and one of the first books we studied was Jonah.  Well, Jeff and I studied and studied the book and discussed it and we came to the conclusion Jonah is a great book to study for parenting.

1. God the Father gives instructions and expects them to be obeyed.  Jonah disobeys.  Just like happens to us parents.
2. God, the Father sends trouble (the storm) to get Jonah’s attention.  Jonah recognizes it, but at first, still tries to hide.  Sometimes we as parents let our children do something we know is the wrong decision to let them learn from their mistakes.
3. Jonah repents and changes his mind.  God provides a rescue for him.  Our kids recognize their mistakes and we help them make it right.
4. Jonah spends 3 days in the belly of the whale.  Sometimes even being sorry is not enough your kids still need a time out.
5. Jonah shows his changed heart with his actions and preaches to Nineveh.  Our kids show their changed hearts by asking forgiveness or other actions.
6. Jonah messes up again and throws a fit because God is merciful.  Our kids mess up again and throw a fit because they don’t like our actions.
7. God reminds Jonah of his love for all of His children.  We remind our children of our love for not just our children and why we must correct them.

It’s a great parallel, but ultimately that’s not what the book is about.

Jonah is about God pursuing a wayward child to bring him back into grace.

And that’s a much more powerful story.

Oh, and Jonah is one of the Christological figures you see in the Old Testament that points to Jesus coming.

{This post contains affiliate links.  For more information read my disclosure page}

Jonah and the Whale craft

Supplies: empty cardboard milk carton (I asked my local elementary school for a few), Construction Paper, wiggle eyes, Washable Kids Paint

I made my own version so I could have photo instructions for y’all (which are in the Jonah book), but the kids just went at it.  It was fun to hear them say what their fish was going to be.  Princess decided hers was a dolphin, and it had lots of glitter on it.  Superman decided on a whale shark, and Batman made a manta ray.  Of course, both of the boys’ whales ultimately turned out to be giant monsters.

But, it made them all happy, so I’m not going to complain in the least.

Of course, this was how I thought it was going to turn out.  I should have realized my kids never follow directions.  As a side note, our cartons were spray-painted from when my Sunday School class did this craft 2 years ago, and I had some leftovers.  Spray paint seems to stay on the best of all of the paints.

And if you’d like a different Jonah and the whale craft, if you don’t want to try and collect large numbers of milk cartons for your Sunday School class, then try out the paper plate Jonah and the whale craft I made for our VBS this past summer.

It was quite fun to see a bunch of 2-year-olds putting tissue paper all over.  Of course, theirs looked even less like the sample than my kids.  But, boy were those kids happy to see it.

Jonah and the Whale resources

• Jonah storybook– with the complete lesson
• Jonah – A VeggieTales Movie
• What’s in the Bible? Volume Nine – God Speaks! (Isaiah, Jeremiah & the Prophets)
• Jonah and The Whale Play Set (if my kids were younger I’d buy this in a heart beat, I still kind of want to)
• Jonah and the Big Fish
• Prophets Pinterest board

Next, up, see how God worked through the lives of the kings of Judah.