The wickedness of Niveveh came up before God
And he sent Jonah to cry against it.
But this didn't fit in with Jonah's own plans
And he didn't like it a bit.
He booked passage to Tarshish on a big ship,
But it didn't please God to allow Jonah's trip.
God sent a great wind into the sea,
All the people on board were as scared as can be.
That is, all except Jonah who lay fast asleep,
While the captain and crew battled the deep.
The storm was so bad that they cast lots to see,
Who committed the sin and just what it might be.
The lot fell on Jonah and to his great shame,
He confessed his great sin and took all the blame.
He told them he fled from the presence of the Lord
And the storm would not cease while he was on board.
He told them to throw him into the sea,
So the tempest would cease and they would be free.
Jonah was then swallowed up by a fish,
He had three days and nights to pray and to wish,
That God would forgive him for what he had done
And that he'd once again see the light of the sun.
He said he would sacrifice with the voice of thanksgiving,
And pay all he vowed to God for forgiving.
So God spoke to the fish to spew him on land, and sent him to Nineveh to do his command. He was told to warn Nineveh that their evil ways, would bring on their overthrow in just forty days. The people believed from the king right on down, they put on sackcloth and ashes and laid on the ground. The king ordered everyone both great and small, including the animals enclosed in their stall, to eat not a morsel nor drink not a drop, and pray mightily to God that His anger might stop. God heard their prayer and knew it was true and repented of the evil He said He would do.
Now Jonah was angry and wished he would die.
He said he knew this would happen and that is why
he fled to Tarshish, because he knew
that because God was merciful, He would not do
the things He told Jonah to warn them about.
Now he felt like a fool, for his words were in doubt.
Outside the city he built a small shelter,
and sat down to watch amidst great heat and swelter.
God caused a great gourd to grow giving him relief.
This made Jonah happy and lessened his grief.
But God caused a worm to destroy it that morning. And a hot sun and east wind came up without warning. This caused him to faint and wish he were dead and he felt he was justified, feeling as he did. Jonah had not labored to make the gourd grow, But he was angry to death because God brought him so low. He fussed and he fumed because of the gourd, But couldn't see why Nineveh was spared by the Lord.