A Little Book of Big Ideas

In 1863, the most famous public speaker in America was a man named Edward Everett. During a much-anticipated keynote address, he delivered 13,000 words (about half the length of this book) in two hours without notes. Today, hardly anyone recognizes the name Edward Everett, let alone remembers what he said 150 years ago. But millions of Americans can quote from memory the opening line of the speech that followed immediately after Everett’s: “Four score and seven years ago…”  

Abraham Lincoln’s 272-word Gettysburg Address conveyed more meaning and did it more memorably than Edward Everett’s tour de force. Everett himself wrote to Lincoln the following day, “I wish that I could flatter myself that I had come as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes.”ⁱ

The Bible is a long book, but it is crafted with intense linguistic economy. Every word matters. Take the account of creation, for example, or the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, or the Golden Rule. They convey so much about God and life in relatively little space. Even the more detailed and seemingly repetitive biblical narratives are still deliberate, without verbal excess, considering the diversity of intended audiences that span geography, culture, circumstance, and time. Imagine writing a book for an audience of “everyone.” The Bible is as relevant to an Ethiopian eunuch in the first-century government of Queen Candace as it is to an Amazonian tribesman or a Wall Street executive 2,000 years later. As we read Scripture, we often wish to know more. Yet, God’s Word is as intentional in what it doesn’t say as in what it does say. God knows how much information we can responsibly manage. That’s part of the miracle of His remarkable book.  

Placed strategically near the end of the Old Testament is the account of a man named Jonah. His story summarizes what has happened up to that point in redemptive history and foreshadows what is yet to come. The book of Jonah is an example of literary density. It is so short that you might miss it if you’re not careful. In just 48 verses and 980 words of ancient Hebrew text, Jonah weaves threads of human fallibility into a spectacular tapestry of divine intentionality and grace.

I will admit to taking this episode in Israel’s history for granted in the past or viewing it as just a well-used Sunday School text. Over time, however, I noticed that Jonah’s story wasn’t being taught as often as I had assumed. And when it was taught, the book’s global message was often under appreciated. The deeper I mined in the text, the more I noticed veins of gold as relevant today as they were 2,750 years ago. Jonah is now one of my favorite books of the Bible (if favorites are allowed).  

For one thing, the Jonah text is a work of literary genius. Its two halves echo each other. Each half of the story involves a word from God (Jonah 1:1-2 and 3:1-2), an encounter with pagans (1:3-16 and 3:3-10), and a “crucial conversation” between Jonah and God (1:17-2:10 and 4:1-11). The book's central event is the recommissioning of God’s messenger in Jonah 3:1-2.  

If this were not remarkable enough, we also find that each half of the book is chiastic in structure. The sequence of concepts in chapters 1 and 3 are repeated in reverse order in chapters 2 and 4, respectively, with the main ideas highlighted as the “hinges” in the middle. The central point of the first two chapters of Jonah is the sailors fearing the Lord. The hinge of the second half is the Ninevite king fearing the Lord. These layers of mirrored sequences, each with a central thought, blend together to emphasize the central command of the book: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you” (Jonah 3:2).ⁱⁱ

More fundamentally, though, this two-page masterpiece invites us into the undomesticated heart of God. Its themes reverberate through the rest of Scripture: God is supremely (even shockingly) sovereign, just, and loving. Salvation comes from Him. He calls His people to align their hearts with His and to join His mission in the compassionate pursuit of a world hurtling toward oblivion.

Some take the story as an allegory. I read it as a factual account of historical events, as Jesus did (Matthew 12:39-41). The book of Jonah summarizes, in testimonial form, a millennium of redemptive history, the challenge of staying “mission true,” and the essence of the gospel in the suffering and triumph of the Messiah.  

My intention here is not to provide a detailed exegetical study of Jonah. Others are more qualified for that, and many resources are available. Instead, my goal is to highlight the big-picture themes that I hope will illuminate and energize our shared pursuit of God’s glory on the global stage. Join me on the adventure Jonah did his best to avoid and discover the power and mercy of the God of Surprises.  

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