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以从某种角度，我们可以把约拿落水的经历看作是一场洗礼。约拿是一个叛逆、逃跑的先知，他需要悔改，重新寻求神，并顺服神的呼召。

神召唤约拿向尼尼微人传讲悔改的信息。但约拿并不想这样做。尼尼微人是以色列的敌人，约拿想让他们灭亡。于是他登上一艘开往相反方向的船，试图逃离神。

但神“使海中起大风，海就狂风大作，甚至船几乎破坏。”我们还在哪里看到过神的大能在海上吹起？(参创 1:2，8:1；出 14:21）但在这里，神为约拿制造了一场风暴和一条与祂的选择不同的路。

水手们惊恐万分，纷纷向他们的异教神灵呼救，他们似乎比约拿更敬畏约拿的神。但约拿承认了问题是由他造成的，他让水手们把他扔下海。当他们最终照做时，“海的狂浪就平息了”。

虽然约拿仍在试图逃跑，但神还是期望尼尼微悔改，于是祂派了一条“大鱼”来吞下约拿。三天后，大鱼把约拿“吐在旱地上”。这里再次证实，大海本可能导致神的一个子民（以及其他许多人）死亡，但神救了约拿，并使他向人分享来自祂的祝福和恩典。

In some ways we can think of Jonah's experience as a kind of baptism. Jonah is a rebellious, runaway prophet who needs to repent, seek God again, and obey what he is called to do.

God called Jonah to preach a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. But Jonah didn't want to. The people of Nineveh were enemies of Israel, and Jonah wanted them destroyed. So he boarded a ship going the other way and tried to flee from God.

But God "sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up." Where else have we seen God's power at work in a wind on the sea? (Genesis 1:2; 8:1; and Exodus 14:21.) But here God created a storm and a different pathway for Jonah.

The sailors, who were terrified and cried out to their pagan gods for help, showed more respect for Jonah's God than Jonah did. But at least Jonah admitted he had caused the problem, and he told the sailors to throw him overboard. When they finally did that, "the raging sea grew calm."

Though Jonah was still trying to escape, God still wanted to call Nineveh to repent, so he sent "a huge fish" to swallow Jonah. And after three days, the monster fish vomited Jonah "onto dry land." Here again, the sea should have meant death for one of God's people (and many others) but God rescued Jonah to share his blessing and grace.