Aug 25, 2026 · 5 min read
Jonah: A Family Devotion About Running Away
**Read chapter 1, then chapter 4. Skipping the middle is fine — chapter 4 is the one that explains him.**
He wasn't scared, he was angry
Jonah says so himself at the end: he ran because he suspected God would forgive Nineveh, and he didn't want them forgiven. Nineveh was the capital of the empire that had brutalised his people. His anger is not silly.
The story doesn't resolve
The book ends on a question God asks Jonah, and Jonah never answers. That is unusual enough to point out. The reader is left holding the question instead.
For the table
Everybody at your table has somebody they would rather stayed in trouble. That is the honest version of this story, and children are often more truthful about it than adults.
Tonight's five minutes
**Read:** Jonah 1 and 4, out loud, twice. **Ask:** Is there someone you'd find it hard to see forgiven? **Pray:** God, you are kinder than we are. Work on the part of us that doesn't want you to be. Amen.
If you'd rather not choose the passage yourself, tonight's family devotion is already written for this evening — one passage, one table question and a 30-second prayer, refreshed every day. You can also have it emailed to you each evening so it arrives before dinner.