This is a new song and lesson that I wrote. After the song, I created a ready to use lesson plan. This would work great for Sunday School teachers, Children’s Church leaders, Awana leaders, Homeschoolers, Road trips or just something to help bring this story to life. The lesson is ready to teach, just follow along. No extra work involved unless you want to. This could be used as a full lesson or a filler if you need 10-15 minutes or more.

STORY CLUE:  Fish-3 days-Nineveh. Who do you think we are going to learn about today?

Lyrics: These can be used to teach the children the song or can be used as a bible story for younger children or as a poem.

A Wild Ride to Nineveh
V1God said to Jonah that he must go But he said “No”
Jonah said, “I don’t even like them” God said Go for they have sinned
He shook his head Got on a boat for Tarshish instead
CHORUS Running from what I should do Running from me, running from you
Oh, Jonah oh Jonah where you gonna go The fish is waiting down below
Oh, Jonah oh Jonah can’t you see You can’t outrun your destiny
V2Tossed in the waves he took a dive A belly of a beast kept him alive
Three long days in the darkest deep He prayed so hard he couldn’t sleep
CHORUS Running from what I should do Running from me, running from you
Oh, Jonah oh Jonah where you gonna go The fish is waiting down below
Oh, Jonah oh Jonah can’t you see You can’t outrun your destiny
V3Praying in the slimy place Asking for your love and grace
When I promise to obey You will show me the right way
CHORUS Running from what I should do Running from me, running from you
Oh, Jonah oh Jonah where you gonna go The fish is waiting down below
Oh, Jonah oh Jonah can’t you see You can’t outrun your destiny
V4Fish spit me out onto the sand Running fast to a faraway land
Those people need to hear God’s love is always near
When you Run Grace still Comes
When you Fall Love lifts all

A Wild Ride to Nineveh

Bible Story: Jonah and running from God then being swallowed by a great fish
Scripture Passage: Jonah 1-4

Memory Verse: So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the Word of the Lord.  Jonah 3:30

Jonah 1-4

Jonah’s Disobedience
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

The Storm at Sea
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” 7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Jonah Thrown into the Sea
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.

Jonah’s Prayer and Deliverance
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah’s Prayer and God’s Answer
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
And He answered me.“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.3 For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head.6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me Forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.8 “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy.9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah Preaches at Nineveh
3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. 4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

The People of Nineveh Believe
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? 10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Jonah’s Anger and God’s Kindness
4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore, I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” 4 Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So, Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. 8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” 10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which [k]came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

QUESTIONS
1. Where did God tell Jonah to go? Nineveh Verse 1:1-2
2. Did he go? No, he went in the opposite direction toward Joppa to sail toward Tarshish Verse 1:3
3. How many days was Jonah in the belly of the fish? 3 days and nights Verse 1:17
4. Why did Jonah have to go to Ninevah? The people were wicked and needed a message of repentance Verse 1:2
5. How did Jonah end up in the sea and being swallowed by a great fish? Jonah tells the sailors to throw him overboard Verse 1:12-16
6. Who else spent 3 days somewhere? Jesus
FILL IN THE BLANK
*So, the LORD ___________(spoke) to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. Jonah 2:10
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE (FUN FACTS)
*# of men mentioned in the Bible named Jonah 1
*Jonah’s name means “A Dove”
*Jonah’s hometown of Gat Hepher was only a few miles from where Jesus grew up in Nazareth.
*Jonah was a minor prophet
*Jonah lived from 823 BC to 720 BC
*Joppa is a seaside city. This is where Tabitha lived who Peter raised from the dead.
*Ninevah had a population of more than 120,000 people in Jonah’s time, Estimated population in 2025 over 4 million
*Distance from Gat Hepher to Joppa (60 miles) to Ninevah (500 miles)
*Distance from Joppa to Ninevah (550) to Tarshish (1,500 miles)
*Distance from Tarshish to Ninevah (2,500 miles)
DISCUSSION POINTS
*The bible says it was a great fish (1:17) that swallowed Jonah. If we were to go back in time and see this great fish, we might just say oh that is a whale but since we can’t do that, so we are going to call it a great fish not a whale. What type of fish do you think it may have looked like?
*What do you think Jonah looked like after spending 3 days and nights in the belly of a great fish? He probably smelled
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
*Have kids act out the motions to the song. This would make a great way for the kids to present the story in church.

STORY CLUE REVIEW: OK kids, now that we have finished the lesson, does the Story Clues make sense?  Can anyone explain the Clues and why those clues were given. (Fish-3 days-Nineveh)

Does anyone have any questions about the story?

SOURCES: The Woman’s Study Bible 2nd Ed., WHO’s who and where’s where in the Bible (Stephen Miller), The Complete People and Places of the Bible (Pamela McQuade), The Ultimate Infographic Gudie to the Bible (Josheph Holden), the Essential Bible Companian (Walton-Strauss-Cooper), The Everything Bible, The Ultimate Bible Character Guide (Gina Detwiler)

Song written by Robin McMullen Produced by AI program (Suno.com) (AITubo.com)