Jonah ~ Links

IS IT JUST A WHALE OF A TALE?

Dr Harry Rimmer, D.D., Sc.D., tells of personally meeting a sailor who fell overboard from a trawler in the English Channel and was swallowed by a gigantic Rhincodon whale shark. The entire trawler fleet set out to hunt the shark down and 48 hours after the accident, the shark was sighted and slain with a one-pound deck gun. The carcass was too heavy for the ship’s winches to handle, so the crew towed it to shore, intending to give their friend a Christian burial. When the shark was opened, the man was found unconscious but alive. He was rushed to hospital, where he was found to be suffering from shock alone, and was later discharged. He was on exhibit in a London museum, at a shilling admission, and was advertised as ‘The Jonah of the Twentieth Century’. Read more…

JUNE 2021 ~ LOBSTER DIVER COMPLETELY SWALLOWED BY HUMPBACK WHALE ~ AND LIVED!

But there is even a more recent example than that! In June 2021, Michael Packard, a Cape Cod fisherman, while commercial diving for lobster off the coast of the USA, was startled to suddenly find himself in total blackness! “All of a sudden, I felt this huge shove and the next thing I knew it was completely black,” Packard recalled Friday afternoon following his release from Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. “I could sense I was moving, and I could feel the whale squeezing with the muscles in his mouth.” Initially, Packard thought he was inside a great white shark, but he couldn’t feel any teeth and he hadn’t suffered any obvious wounds. It quickly dawned on him that he had been swallowed by a whale. “I was completely inside; it was completely black,” Packard said. “I thought to myself, ‘there’s no way I’m getting out of here. I’m done, I’m dead.” Outfitted with scuba gear, he struggled and the whale began shaking its head so that Packard could tell he didn’t like it. Read more | archive link

Skeptics often ridicule this Bible story about Jonah, but it was also confirmed by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ – the Creator Himself – in Matthew 12. In this passage quoting the Creator where He talks about Jonah, the original Greek text describes it as a ‘sea-monster, whale, huge fish‘. Plus, as you can tell from the stories at the beginning of this post, it’s obviously happened to others in history. When writing to your sponsored child, you may like to include this real life story of ‘The Jonah of the Twentieth Century’ or the more recent example. If you are interested in more specific speculations as to exactly what the original ‘great fish’ could have been, click here (creation.com); here (icr.org); or here (answersingenesis for kids) to get some thoughts from real-life scientists who take the Bible seriously. Now here are some FREE colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and creative ideas (including classroom decorating!) for a ‘Jonah and the great fish’ Bible theme, also traditionally known as ‘Jonah and the Whale’.

JONAH ~ BIBLE VERSES

Jonah – read the original story of the reluctant prophet who ran away from God… until God explained the matter more clearly. :)

Matthew 12:38-41 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered [Jesus], saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Matthew 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

JONAH ~ INFORMATION

Jonah (Chuck Missler) Perhaps one of the biggest miracles in the Old Testament is in the Book of Jonah. And it wasn’t the big fish story! God called Jonah to minister to Nineveh, which had served as the capital of the world for several centuries. It was the enemy of Israel, and Jonah was not attracted to the assignment until God explained it to him a bit more clearly! And when he finally did go there… God had declared that they were 40 days from being destroyed. Jonah went through town proclaiming, “Forty days and you get yours!” He was hoping they would get wiped out. In fact, his biggest fear was that God might spare them (he went up on a hill and pouted when God did spare them). It is interesting that Jonah didn’t preach repentance. He simply announced their impending doom. It is astonishing to realize that within those 40 days, the king speculated that, just maybe, if they repented God might change His mind. They did, and God did… And they were given another century…

Jonah – Bible commentaries (blueletterBible) various to choose from; audio or text; share a snippet with your child

Archaeologists find Biblical evidence under Jonah’s tomb (ugchristiannews) Archaeologists in Iraq have made an unexpected discovery under a site traditionally thought to hold the tomb of the Biblical prophet Jonah. Under a mound covering the ancient city of Nineveh, they found a previously undiscovered palace built in the seventh century BCE for the Biblical Assyrian King Sennacherib and renovated by his son Esarhaddon… [as well as telling us that Jonah was a REAL person, this would indicate that after having gone to Nineveh, he never left and actually died there. You may like to share this with your child, along with photos from these articles.]

Looting uncovers Palace of 2 Biblical kings (wnd) Archaeologists in Iraq are… celebrating an amazing discovery of Biblical significance… [under] the traditional burial site of the prophet Jonah… have revealed the palace of the seventh century B.C. Assyrian King Sennacherib and his son, King Esarhaddon. Sennacherib’s invasion of the Biblical kingdom of Judah in 701 B.C. is one of the most thoroughly documented historical events in the Bible… as well as in a marble bas-relief now in the British Museum…

JONAH ~ BIBLE COLOURING PAGES FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Jonah boards the Ship at Joppa – colouring (Biblecartoons; scroll down to ‘Jonah 01’) cartoon style; free printable

Jonah overboard – colouring (momjunction) showing Jonah next to the ship with the big fish lurking nearby; free printable

Jonah – colouring pages (supercoloring) free printable

Jonah prepares to board the boat – colouring (pixabay); The boat is in danger of being swamped – colouring; Jonah is thrown overboard – colouring; Jonah prays inside the big fish – colouring free printable

Jonah – colouring pages (hiswondrousworks; scroll down to ‘Jonah Flees From Yahweh’) 5 sequential colouring pages; free printable

Jonah falls overboard – colouring (Biblepuzzles) free printable

Jonah and the Big Fish – colouring (answersingenesis) the big fish with mouth wide open, ready to swallow Jonah; free printable

Jonah and the Big Fish – colouring (raisingourkids) Jonah apprehensively treads water after being thrown overboard and the big fish is eyeing him up; free printable

Jonah and the Big Fish – colouring (sundayschoolzone) Jonah has been thrown overboard and the big fish is headed his way; Jonah and the Big Fish – colour by number; free printable

Jonah and the Big Fish – colouring (Christiangamesandcrafts) Jonah at the bottom of the ocean with the big fish closing in on him; free printable

Jonah swimming in the Big Fish’s mouth – colouring (ministry-to-children); Jonah – sequence colouring 4 frames outlining the story sequence; Jonah runs from God – colouring a signpost points one way; Jonah goes the other way; Jonah being swallowed by a big happy fish – cartoon coloring; free printable

Jonah prays inside the Big Fish – colouring (Godmadecolor; scroll down) whale and Jonah with Bible verse – from inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God; free printable

Jonah in the mouth of the Big Fish – colouring (Biblepathwayadventures) from the inside looking out; Jonah inside the Big Fish – colouring; The Big Fish ejects Jonah – colouring onto dry land; Jonah in Nineveh – colouring; King of Nineveh repents – colouring; free printable

Jonah inside the Big Fish – colouring (freechristianillustrations; do a CTRL+F page search for ‘Jonah’); free printable

Jonah – colouring (abdaacts; scroll down) the reluctant missionary from around 793 BC is deposited onto the beach as the big fish turns and swims away; free printable

Jonah on the beach – colouring (coloringpages7) an exhausted Jonah on the beach, as the big fish dives back into the water behind him; Jonah’s eyes inside the big fish’s open mouth – colouring; free printable

Jonah on the beach – colouring (Christiancliparts) an exhausted Jonah on the beach, looking back at the big fish with his mouth still open; free printable

Jonah on the beach – colouring (applesaucekids) with the big fish behind him; free printable

Jonah on the beach – colouring (funnycoloring) as the big fish disappears underwater; free printable

Jonah on the beach – coloring (craftingthewordofGod) with the big fish still with its mouth open behind him; free printable

Jonah – 4 sequential colouring pages (truewaykids; scroll down) free printable

Jonah at the bottom of the ocean – colouring (Biblewise) with the big fish behind him; free printable

Jonah – colouring (thecolor) in the mouth of the big fish; free printable

Jonah – colouring (sundayschoolprintables) in the mouth of the big fish; free printable

Jonah preaches at Nineveh – colouring (transformcreative; scroll down to ‘Jonah’) free printable

See also: Whale add your own Jonah

DIY Puzzles specifically tailored for your child

JONAH ~ CRAFTS / ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Jonah and the Big Fish – 3D picture to make (mylittlehouse; scroll down to ‘Runaway Prophet’) Jonah has been thrown overboard and is sinking down to the bottom of the ocean, the big fish nearby has his mouth open and is looking at Jonah; in colour or to colour; free printable

Jonah in the Big Fish – paper craft (Biblepuzzles) with both whale and Jonah templates; free printable

Jonah and the Big Fish – 3D craft (digitprop; scroll down to the end of the page to download; none of the pictures seem to be working for me, but the pdf is still good) free printable

Jonah swimming around inside the Big Fish – craft (joyfuljewish) a fun craft using your own Jonah and big fish templates; fill the inside of the big fish with seaweed, fish, shells, etc

Jonah in the Big Fish – sun catcher craft (craftingthewordofGod); Jonah and the Big Fish – craft this one looks like fun; Jonah and the Big Fish – 3D craft; free printable

Jonah in the Big Fish – paper craft (truewaykids; scroll down) with mouth that opens and closes; games and activites for kids; free printable

Whale – peg craft (fiestasycumples) an idea for a cool Sunday school or homeschool activity; put Jonah inside the mouth of the big fish, so when the peg opens, it reveals Jonah inside

Jonah inside the Big Fish – 3D paper craft (hiswondrousworks; click on ‘Jonah and the Whale’) cut and paste activity; Jonah in the Big Fish – peg craft (do a CTRL+F page search for ‘Jonah’) when the peg opens, the mouth of the big fish opens to reveal Jonah sitting inside; free printable

Jonah ~ a whale of a craft (kidssundayschool) to help kids remember that walking with God in obedience is always the best choice; with both whale and Jonah templates; free printable

Jonah – lesson ideas for kids (Biblefunforkids) games, stories, activities for kids; free printable

Jonah – lesson ideas and activities for kids (ministry-to-children) free printable

Big Fish – craft (freechristianillustrations; scroll down to ‘Big Fish’) with open mouth; make your own Jonah or use their Jonah template (scroll down or do a CTRL+F page search for ‘Jonah’) in colour or to colour; free printable

God sends Jonah – lesson ideas for kids (ministryark); Joy in my Attitude – lesson ideas for kids games, activities, skits, songs for kids; free printable

Ocean in His hands – Isaiah 40:12 (ateachingmommy) Who else has held the ocean (and Jonah) in His hands? Memory verse card, devotional, puzzle for younger children; free printable

Whale – 3D paper craft (canon) a pale blue whale with an open mouth that is perfect for a Jonah craft; make your own Jonah or use a Jonah template from one of the above crafts; free printable

Blue Whale – 3D paper craft (krokotak) complete with baleen and spout; make your own Jonah or use the Jonah template from one of the above crafts; free printable

Blue Whale – 3D paper craft (paperdollsandtoys) complete with baleen and spout; make your own Jonah to sit in his mouth or use the Jonah template from one of the above crafts; free printable

Cuneiform – craft activity (answersingenesis) hands-on writing activity with recipe for salt dough clay to make an Assyrian cuneiform telling the story of how God saved the people of Assyria after Jonah preached and Nineveh repented; free printable

Sailing Boat – origami (Biblepathwayadventures) while learning the story of Jonah; free printable

Jonah and the Big Fish – crafts for kids (daniellesplace) templates available for purchase

See also: Whale – add your own Jonah

DIY Activity Book for kids (Paper Gifts for Estefany) specifically tailored for your recipient filled with free printables for them to enjoy.

JONAH ~ DECORATE YOUR CLASSROOM

Decorate your classroom (cefonline) make your Bible lessons come alive: look up; look down; look all around; check to see if your classroom needs an extreme makeover; ceilings can become vast wonderlands… prepare before your homeschool or Sunday school students arrive, or get them to help you decorate as you teach the lesson about Jonah. They’ll love it!

1. TURN YOUR CLASSROOM INTO THE DEEP OCEAN
Decorate the walls, windows and ceiling inside your classroom to create an under-the-sea effect using blue and/or green shimmery material, streamers, crepe paper, tablecloths/sheets, fish netting, inflatable sea creatures hanging from the ceiling, murals (you could attach them to a whiteboard, felt board, bulletin board, or wall), fish mobiles, inflatable swimming rings, starfish-shaped pillows, etc. Twisted strips of green crepe paper makes great seaweed. Add balloons for bubbles, plastic fish (e.g. children’s bath toys), seashells, and whatever else you can think of for ambience. Use lights or torches to highlight a particular area or if you wish to create a dark, deep ocean feeling. Decorate the opening of a tent or a big cardboard box set up inside the room as the ‘mouth’ of the big fish that the children step into. Decorate inside the box using some of the ideas below to create the feeling of actually being inside the big fish. You may like to suspend ’Jonah’ from the ceiling as if he’s falling to the ocean depths. Here’s another ‘Jonah’ from the ceiling idea. A cardboard box hanging from the ceiling could be shaped into the bottom of the ‘boat’ that he has fallen from. For something different or to add a modern day twist, make a long submarine capsule out of cardboard boxes or classroom furniture, allowing the children to be ‘scientists’, observing Jonah as he disobeys God and falls to the ocean bottom. Add old rustic control panels and dials, periscopes and radar equipment. More cool decorating ideas. This Bible lesson could easily be merged with other school subjects like science, maths, art, geography, history, photography, weather, biology, music, cooking, English and even Hebrew language lessons for your homeschool students. With a bit of imagination, it could easily be extended for a whole month! Make it a memory they will treasure forever. (Remember when we decorated our whole classroom up for a Jonah theme…? Oh, yeah, that was sooo cool!)

2. TURN YOUR CLASSROOM INTO THE INSIDE OF THE BIG FISH
Make your classroom doorway the mouth of the big fish, so students ‘step into’ the mouth of the big fish when they arrive. Streamers hanging from the top of the doorway could be ‘baleen’ if you choose a whale. Here’s another doorway with big teeth. Inside your classroom, suspend black trash bags from the ceiling using fishing line to lower the space, for the inside of Jonah’s big fish and anything else that you might find inside a big fish – e.g. plastic fish (children’s bath toys), seashells, sand (a child’s wading pool with sand in it would make a great play pit), bits of twisted green crepe paper as seaweed, rib cage, fishbones, etc. This could also be incorporated into a ‘5 senses’ Bible lesson, with hands-on things to see, hear, touch, taste, and even a fishy smell, just like Jonah experienced!

JONAH ~ LEARN TO DRAW FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Jonah – learn to draw (1arthouse) a trendy whale doodle with the words, ‘Like Jonah, God calls & we run; a whale of a tail’ and here it is as a completed Bible journalling page with extra wave doodles; free printable

Whale – learn to draw (my-how-to-draw) add your own Jonah

See also: Whale add your own Jonah

JONAH ~ PAPER GIFTS FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Whale – FREE paper gifts (Paper Gifts for Estefany) Bible poster, bookmarks, wallet cards and more with Bible verses from Nehemiah 9:5 and Isaiah 40:12; perfect for your Jonah theme; free printable

Whale – Bible poster (images.knowing-Jesus; scroll down) the tail of a large fish disappearing into the ocean depths with Bible verse from Jonah 4:2 – You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster; ; free printable

Wonderful World of Whales – poster (answersingenesis) a beautiful poster about whales from a Biblical perspective; free printable

Joy in my Attitude – poster (ministryark; scroll down to the end of the post to download) to go with your Jonah lesson; black and white letters over a multicoloured polka dot background – blue, green, yellow, coral, orange; free printable

Jonah meets the Big Fish – poster (sundayschoolzone) in dark, stormy colours with Bible verse from Exodus 19:5 – Listen to Me and keep My commandments; free printable

Jonah boards the ship at Joppa – poster (Biblecartoons; scroll down to ‘Jonah 01’) a busy dock scene in cartoon style; for purchase

Jonah inside the Big Fish – mini poster (freechristianillustrations; do a CTRL+F page search for ‘Jonah’) free printable

Blue Whale – Bible bookmark (answersingenesis) 1 Corinthians 16:13 – Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong; double-sided; beautifully illustrated for kids; free printable

Whale – labels/name tags (nametagjungle) cartoon whales with different coloured borders; add a favourite Bible verse and make your own Bible wallet cards; free version

Jonah and the Big Fish – cartoon booklet (Bibleforchildren; scroll down to number 26) in colour or to colour; story – 24 pages, tract – 2 page; also available in Spanish; French; Portuguese; Hindi; Kinyarwanda; Swahili; Amharic; Tagalog; and more; free printable

NextManga – Comic Book Bible for Kids The story of the universe in manga form. A comic book Bible that keeps kids/teens (and adults!) riveted. Buy and send a few pages at a time. Excellent gift idea for a sponsor visit. Book 3 (Messengers) covers the Jonah period as it picks up from the time of King Solomon to the decline and eventual exile of Israel. You can preview book 3 here; for purchase

See also: Whale

JONAH ~ IMAGES

Jonah and the Big Fish – cartoon (ministry-to-children) Jonah loses his footing as the big purple(!) fish opens his mouth; free printable

Jonah – cartoon (answersingenesis) God created the world’s first submarine, complete with the first emergency passenger ejector system. Biblical cartoon to make your child smile; free printable. Idea: use this image to make your own stationery.

Jonah - world's first submarine complete with eject system

Jonah being thrown overboard – cartoon (christiancliparts) in green, brown and grey tones; Big Fish swallowing Jonah – cartoon; Jonah praying inside the Big Fish – cartoon; Jonah on the beach – cartoon small images are free printable; larger images available for purchase

For something different, how about a word cloud generator + some words about Jonah + a shape outline template of a cool whale for something fun?

JONAH ~ STATIONERY FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Whale – FREE stationery (Paper Gifts for Estefany) stationery, note cards, envelope and envelope liner with Bible verses from Nehemiah 9:5 and Isaiah 40:12; and just perfect for your Jonah theme; free printable

Whale – card (canon) and matching envelope in 3 colours; draw your own Jonah, write your note, or add a Bible verse on the underside of this fun whale’s belly; free printable

Whale – stationery (museprintables) a beautiful dark blue whale on blue watercolour wash background; free version

Whale – lined stationery (mondedestitounis) this large and very cute blue whale definitely has a cheeky glint in his eye; draw in your Jonah, or attach one from the crafts section above; free printable

Blue whale – stationery (sparklebox) blue ocean and sky border; whale clipart with a spout and cheeky grin; draw in your Jonah, or attach one from the crafts section above; free printable

Jonah – stationery (1-computer-stationery; click on ‘religious045’) showing Jonah sitting on top of the whale’s head, with the whale looking up at him; free printable

DIY stationery with a whale outline template. Decorate it like this cool watercolour whale or one of these.

See also: Whale

RELATED LINKS

Whale ~ FREE colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and creative ideas ~ add your own Jonah!

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The Secret of the Missing Scrolls ~ FREE colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and creative ideas

Warrior or Wimp? ~ The story of two kings, King David / King Saul ~ FREE colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and creative ideas

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