This 4-week Old Testament OBEY series shows kids, through the life of Jonah, what not to do when God gives us a clear and direct command. What fueled Jonah’s consternation when the Lord instructed him to bring a divine message to Nineveh? It was no secret that the Ninevites were a notoriously evil people, and Assyria, just 500 miles east, was a constant threat. Any patriotic Israelite would have longed for Assyria’s destruction! However, Jonah was keenly aware that Jehovah is a “gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness” (Jonah 4:2). God wanted to spare them, and Jonah certainly did not want that. So, He fled. Journeying through Jonah’s example of disobedience, kids learn that God will sometimes go ‘overboard’ in His pursuit to bring us back into right relationship with Himself.