Lesson 152:
Jonah
Introduction
The Lord
called Jonah to preach to the people of Nineveh, but Jonah fled and was
swallowed by a great fish. After God delivered him, Jonah traveled to Nineveh
and prophesied that the Lord would destroy the city because of its wickedness.
The people of Nineveh repented, and God spared the city. The Lord then taught
Jonah about His love for the people of Nineveh.
I. Jonah 1–2 Jonah flees from the Lord’s call to preach in Nineveh
---Ask
students to think of one or more individuals whom they struggle to love or
forgive.
---Invite students to look for principles as they study the book of Jonah that can help them choose to love and forgive others.
---Read Jonah 1:1–2 aloud and look for what the Lord called Jonah to do.
---What did the Lord call Jonah to do?
---You may
want to invite students to locate Bible
Map no. 5, “The Assyrian Empire.”
---Explain
that Jonah was from a place called Gath-hepher, located in Zebulun, a territory
in Israel near Samaria (see Jonah 1:1; 2 Kings 14:25). Nineveh was a major city of
the Assyrians, who were enemies of the Israelites. The Assyrian kings and
soldiers were famous for their brutality, which included torturing and cruelly
murdering the people they conquered.
---If you had been Jonah, what thoughts or
feelings might you have had about preaching in Nineveh?
---Read Jonah 1:3 aloud and look for what Jonah did in
response to his call from the Lord.
---What did Jonah do?
---Explain
to students that Joppa is a city on the coast of Israel and that Tarshish may
have been located in present-day Spain.
---Based on Jonah’s response, how do you
think he felt about his call to go to Nineveh?
---Read Jonah 1:4 aloud and look for what the Lord did as
Jonah was fleeing to Tarshish.
---Invite students to report what they find.
---Invite students to report what they find.
---Summarize Jonah 1:5–9 by explaining that the men on the ship feared they might perish in the storm. They believed that Jonah was responsible, and they asked him why the storm had come upon them.
---Read Jonah 1:10–12 aloud looking for the cause of the storm and Jonah’s instruction to the men on the boat.
---What was the cause of the storm?
---What did Jonah instruct the men on the
boat to do?
---Summarize
Jonah 1:13–16 by explaining that the men
reluctantly threw Jonah overboard. Once they had done so the storm ceased.
---What can we learn from this account about
trying to avoid the responsibilities the Lord has given us?
(Help
students identify a principle similar to the following: The Lord will hold us accountable for the
responsibilities He gives us, even if we try to avoid them.)
---What are some responsibilities the Lord
gives people today that they may try to avoid?
(You may
want to list students’ answers on the board.)
---What are some consequences that can come
to individuals who try to avoid these responsibilities?
---Read Jonah 1:17 silently and look for what happened
after Jonah was cast into the sea.
---Ask students to report what they find.
---Ask students to report what they find.
---Explain that Jonah 2 contains the prayer Jonah offered while he was in the fish’s belly.
---Divide students into pairs, and invite them to read Jonah 2:1–9. Ask students to look for phrases in Jonah’s prayer that indicate his willingness to repent.
---What phrases indicate Jonah’s
willingness to repent?
---You may
want to explain that the phrase “I will look again toward thy holy temple” in verse 4 indicates that Jonah would no longer
flee from the Lord. The phrase “I will pay that that I have vowed” in verse 9 indicates that Jonah promised to
honor his commitments to the Lord.
---How do these phrases indicate Jonah’s
willingness to repent?
---Read Jonah 2:10 aloud and look for what the Lord did
after Jonah expressed his willingness to repent.
How did the
Lord show mercy to Jonah?
---What principle can we learn from this
chapter?
(Students
may use different words, but they should identify a principle similar to the
following: If we cry unto the Lord and repent when we
have sinned, we can receive His mercy.)
---Invite a
student to read aloud the following statement by President James E. Faust
of the First Presidency:
“Many of us
backslide, many stumble, and I believe firmly in the gospel of the second
chance. But the gospel of the second chance means that having once been found
weak, … thereafter we become steadfast” (“Stand Up and Be Counted,” Ensign, Feb.
1982, 71).
---Testify
of the Lord’s willingness to mercifully give us a second chance when we repent
of our sins and commit to obey the Lord.
II. Jonah 3 Jonah fulfills his mission to Nineveh
---Read Jonah 3:1–4 aloud looking for how the Lord gave
Jonah a second chance. Invite students to report what they find.
---How did the Lord give Jonah a second
chance?
---How did Jonah respond this time?
---Read Jonah 3:5, 10 aloud looking for how the
people of Nineveh responded to Jonah’s preaching.
---What did the people of Nineveh do?
---Point out
that the Joseph Smith
Translation of Jonah 3:9–10 clarifies that the people of Nineveh
declared, “we will repent, and turn unto God” (Joseph Smith Translation, Jonah
3:9 [in Jonah 3:9, footnote a]) and that “God turned
away the evil that he had said he would bring upon them” (Joseph Smith
Translation, Jonah 3:10 [in Jonah 3:10, footnote c]).
III. Jonah 4 Jonah learns about God’s love for the people of Nineveh
---Write the
following incomplete statement on the board: After the people of Nineveh
repented, I felt _________________________ because ________________________________________________.
---Invite students to imagine they are Jonah writing a journal entry following their successful mission to Nineveh.
---Invite them to complete the statement based on the feelings they think Jonah might have had.
---Ask
students how many of them completed the statement with a positive response.
Then ask whether any students wrote a negative response.
---Invite a few students to read their statements and explain why they completed them that way.
---Invite a few students to read their statements and explain why they completed them that way.
---Read Jonah 4:1–3 aloud and look for how Jonah felt when the Lord spared the people of Nineveh.
---What feelings did Jonah have?
---What blessing did Jonah want to deny the
people of Nineveh after he had received that same blessing?
---You may
want to suggest that students mark the Lord’s attributes listed in verse 2.
---Point out
that although Jonah was blessed by these attributes when the Lord mercifully
gave him a second chance, Jonah resented these attributes when the Lord gave
the people of Nineveh a second chance. (Refer students to footnote b, which clarifies that the word repentest
can mean “relentest.” Explain that Jonah knew that God could revoke the
destruction pronounced upon Ninevah, but he apparently presumed that God would
revoke the punishment even if the people did not repent.)
---Explain that the remaining verses of Jonah 4 record what the Lord taught Jonah about love and forgiveness.
---To help students study these verses, copy the following chart on the board or provide it to students as a handout. You could complete the chart as a class or invite students to complete it on their own or with a partner.
---Invite students to read each scripture passage and then draw in the box below the scripture reference a simple picture of what the passage describes.
---As
students complete the chart, you may want to explain that the word booth in verse 5 refers to a shelter and that the
word gourd mentioned in verses 6–7, 9 refers to a large plant that
could provide shade.
---After
sufficient time, invite one or two students to summarize what they learned.
Then ask the class:
---How did Jonah initially feel about the
gourd? What feelings did he have after the gourd withered?
---Read Jonah 4:10–11 aloud and look for how the Lord
used Jonah’s experience with the gourd to teach him about the Lord’s feelings
for the people of Nineveh.
---How did the Lord use Jonah’s experience
with the gourd to teach Jonah about His feelings for the people of Nineveh?
(The Lord
helped Jonah understand that while Jonah had loved the gourd and was sad when
it had withered, the Lord loved the people of Nineveh vastly more and did not
want them to perish. The Lord was rebuking Jonah’s lack of charity for the
people of Nineveh.)
---According to this account, what must we do
to become like the Lord?
(Students
may identify a principle such as the following: To become
like the Lord, we must learn to love and forgive others as He does.)
---To help
students understand how this principle relates to them, invite them to recall
the person or people they thought of at the beginning of the lesson whom they
find difficult to love or forgive.
---Then read aloud the following statement by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency:
---Then read aloud the following statement by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency:
“When it
comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting
to cause harm, please apply the following:
“Stop it!
“It’s that
simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts
and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. …
“Because we
all depend on the mercy of God, how can we deny to others any measure of the
grace we so desperately desire for ourselves? …
“The pure
love of Christ can remove the scales of resentment and wrath from our eyes,
allowing us to see others the way our Heavenly Father sees us: as flawed and
imperfect mortals who have potential and worth far beyond our capacity to
imagine. Because God loves us so much, we too must love and forgive each other”
(“The Merciful Obtain Mercy,” Ensign or Liahona,
May 2012, 75–76).
---When have you tried to love and forgive as
the Lord does? How were you blessed for doing so?
---Testify of
the truths you have discussed today. Invite students to seek to become more
like the Lord by choosing to love and forgive others, particularly individuals
who may be difficult to love and forgive.
Commentary and Background
Information
Jonah 1:7.
“So they cast lots”
“In ancient
times lots were cast when an impartial decision was desired. The character and
shape of the objects used in biblical times are not known, nor is the precise
method by which they were cast, although some scholars suggest that smooth
stones or sticks distinguished by colors or symbols were used. The heathens
cast lots because, they believed, the gods would guide what happened. In
Jonah’s case, the Lord seems to have guided the outcome” (Old Testament Student
Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi, 3rd ed. [Church Educational System manual,
2003], 98).
Jonah 1:17.
The sign of Jonah
“Jesus
taught that Jonah’s being swallowed by the fish served as a foreshadowing of
Jesus’ own death and resurrection (Matt. 12:39–40; 16:4; Luke 11:29–30)” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Jonah”; scriptures.lds.org).
Supplemental Teaching Idea
Jonah 1–4.
The Lord prepares a way
Ask students
to look through the book of Jonah and identify all the things the Lord prepared
to help Jonah learn the lessons he needed to learn. Students’ answers may
include the following: a storm (Jonah 1:4), a great fish (Jonah 1:17), a gourd (Jonah 4:6), a worm (Jonah 4:7), and a strong east wind (Jonah 4:8).
What truth
can we draw from the things the Lord prepared to help Jonah learn specific
lessons? (Students may identify a principle such as the following: The Lord can
prepare situations that can help teach us specific lessons we need to learn.)
You may want
to invite students to list some situations or experiences they feel the Lord
has provided to help them learn the lessons they need to understand.
Share your
testimony of the Lord’s love for us and His willingness to prepare situations
to help us learn and grow.
right margin
extras:
The Assyrian Empire (Bible Maps, no. 5)
Jonah on the Beach at Ninevah, by Daniel A. Lewis
Bullying—Stop It (10:22)
This video shows examples of the damaging effects of bullying. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf counsels us that when it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm—stop it! Instead of reading President Uchtdorf’s statement, you might show this video to help students understand and apply the following truth: To become like the Lord, we must learn to love and forgive others as He does.
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