Jonah Runs Away

[Song] “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.  Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life.”

Hello, my name is Miss Barb!  Welcome to Lifeline English, the podcast that helps you know God and know English.

You can read the written script for today’s lesson online at lifelineenglish.com.

Today I want to teach you three common phrases.

The first phrase is “head for”.  This does not mean that you have four heads! :) To “head for” means to move towards something or someone.  For example, “When Bill is hungry, he heads for the refrigerator.”  We have other phrases with “head” like “head back”, which means “to return”, and “head out”, which means “to leave”.

The second phrase is “come to my attention”.  When something comes to my attention, it means that I notice it.  “I forgot to turn off the stove until the smell of smoke came to my attention!”  “It came to the man’s attention that his air conditioner had stopped.”



The last phrase today is “run away”.  This means to move quickly in the direction opposite from something or someone.  For example, “I ran away from the bees.”  “The teenage boy ran away from home.”   “When marriage gets tough, some people run away.”

Today we start a new story about a man named Jonah.  The story is called, “Jonah runs away!”

When I ask you a question, I will leave a space.  You can answer my question.  Then I will say the answer.  You can compare your answers with my answers.

God said to Jonah, “Go to Nineveh, the big city”.
Who talked to Jonah?  God talked to Jonah.
What did God want Jonah to do?  God wanted Jonah to go.
Where did God want Jonah to go?  God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh.
Was Nineveh a large city?  Yes, Nineveh was a large city.  Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire.

“Preach against it.”
Who must preach?  Jonah must preach.
Who told Jonah to preach?  God told Jonah to preach.
Against whom must Jonah preach?  Jonah must preach against Nineveh.

“The evil of Nineveh has come to My attention.”
Was Nineveh a good city?  No, Nineveh was evil.  The Assyrians were evil.
Who saw the evil of Nineveh?  God saw the evil of Nineveh.
Does God see our evil?  Yes, God does see our evil.

But Jonah ran away from God. He headed for Tarshish.
Did Jonah obey God?  No, Jonah ran away from God.
Did Jonah run away from Nineveh?  No, Jonah was not in Nineveh.  Jonah was in Israel. Jonah ran away from God. 
Did Jonah head for Nineveh?  No, Jonah headed for Tarshish.

So he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.
To what city did Jonah go?  Jonah went to Joppa.
Is Joppa in the mountains?  No, Joppa is on the edge of the sea.  Jonah went down to Joppa.
Did Jonah find a bus going to Tarshish?  No, Jonah found a ship going to Tarshish.
Will Jonah travel by land?  No, Jonah will travel by sea.

He paid for the trip and went down into the ship.
Was the trip free?  No, he paid for the trip.
Who paid for the trip?  Jonah paid for the trip.
Did Joppa go into the ship?  No, Jonah went into the ship.

He wanted to go to Tarshish, away from God.
Where did Jonah want to go?  Jonah wanted to go to Tarshish.
Did Jonah want to be close to God?  No, Jonah wanted to go away from God.  Jonah thought God lived only in Israel.  Tarshish is far from Israel.

Let’s listen to the whole story together.

God said to Jonah, “Go to Nineveh, the big city. Preach against it. The evil of Nineveh has come to my attention.” But Jonah ran away from God. He headed for Tarshish. So he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid for the trip and went down into the ship. He wanted to go to Tarshish, away from God.

The story is in the past tense.  I will tell you the story again in the present tense.  This is how the story would sound if it were happening right now.   

God says to Jonah, “Go to Nineveh, the big city. Preach against it. The evil of Nineveh has come to my attention.” But Jonah runs away from God. He heads for Tarshish. So he goes down to Joppa and finds a ship going to Tarshish. He pays for the trip and goes down into the ship. He wants to go to Tarshish, away from God.

Do you ever run away from God?  In our next story, we’ll learn if Jonah was able to get away from God. 

Do you have any questions?  You can write me.  Go to our website, lifelineenglish.com.  Until next time, may Jesus help you know Him and know English.  Good bye!

[Song] “Jesus only savior, sanctify forever, beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.”