"Wrong Way to Nineveh"

The story of Jonah for younger children

CAST: Narrator, Jonah, God, sailors, fish, king and people of Nineveh, animals of Nineveh.

PROPS: Tent done up like a whale's mouth (or drawn on big paper), sign post with Nineveh and Tarshish arrows, tall potted plant (or viney thing), worm (stuffed sock with eyes), costume totebox

ACT 1: ONE WAY TO TARSHISH

Narrator:  There once was a man called Jonah. One day God spoke to Jonah.

God:  Jonah! The people of Nineveh are being very selfish. I don't like it. Go to Nineveh and tell the people there to smarten up. Or else!

Narrator:  So Jonah did what any of us would do in a difficult situation. He went to the seaside and hopped on the first boat going completely the other direction.

[Jonah starts walking. Up comes sign with 2 arrows pointing opposite directions. One arrow says, To Nineveh. Other arrow says, To Tarshish. Jonah goes to Tarshish.]

Narrator:  But Jonah should have known better. When you're dealing with God, you can run, but you can't hide. God sent a nasty storm which tossed around badly the ship Jonah was on. The sailors were pretty scared.

Sailors:  Oh my gosh!
This is awful!
The worst storm ever!
Throw everything overboard so we don't sink!
Hey, where's that guy, you know the guy...

Narrator:  The captain found Jonah taking a snooze below decks.
The captain made him come up and talk to all the sailors.
The sailors felt God had sent the storm because God was unhappy with Jonah.
They asked Jonah what they should do to make God happy and get the storm to stop.

Jonah:  You'll just have to throw me overboard. It’s the only way.

Narrator: The sailors were sad about this idea. They tried throwing other things off the ship instead. But the storm didn't stop. So they had to throw Jonah into the sea anyway. So they did.

[Sailors pretend to throw Jonah overboard.]

Narrator: But God sent a big fish that gulped Jonah right down into its tummy. Jonah was safe down there (although he didn't like the rotten fish smell) for a few days. While he was in the fish's tummy with not much else to do, Jonah made up this little prayer:

Jonah: Hey there God.
I'm sorry I ran away from you.
I know I can always talk to you in my prayers, and you will hear me.
Thanks.

Narrator:  Right then, the fish opened its mouth and spat Jonah back out onto dry land.

ACT 2: IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH

Narrator: As you might expect, God spoke to Jonah again

God:  Okay now Jonah. This time do what I tell you. Get up and go to Nineveh, and tell the people of that city to smarten up and behave. Or else!

Narrator: This time Jonah did as he was told and went to Nineveh. It was a long way. When he got there, he did what he was told.

Jonah:  Hey all you guys from Nineveh!
In forty days, Nineveh will be destroyed if you don't all smarten up!

Narrator: It worked. The people of Nineveh said they were sorry. Even the sheep and cows and dogs and cats of that city looked sorry to God. When God saw all this, God decided not to destroy the city after all.
But this new decision made Jonah really mad. He went and sat outside the city and stayed in a really bad mood.

[Jonah goes and sits down under the potted plant prop.]

Narrator: God continued to look after Jonah. God made a big plant grow up over him. It was kind of like a pumpkin plant, with great wide shady leaves like umbrellas.
Jonah like it and felt quite comfy and safe in the shade of the plant God sent.
But the next morning, God sent along a worm. This worm chewed up the plant and killed it. The day became hot, and Jonah thought he would die from the heat without the shade of his friend, the green plant.

Jonah:  I'm so sad. My friend, Mr. Green Plant, is gone.

Narrator: then God gave Jonah a serious talking to. He told him he should smarten up. The way Jonah felt about the plant was sort of like how God felt about all the people of Nineveh. And all the animals too. He liked them all very much. If they all showed how sorry they were, God was happy. The people of Nineveh had learned the lesson God wanted them to learn.

The End

Scripts for Drama Workshop, Jonah & the Big Fish Rotation, adapted from the New Standard Revised Version © 2004, LD McKenzie

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.