The Sons of Issachar: Knowing What Israel Should Do, Part 30

In the last column, we continued our examination of the implications of the various forms of literature in the Bible for artists by looking at the different emphases used by the Biblical writers within narratives to make specific points artistically to those reading their accounts.  We’ve also seen, in past columns, that the narratives within Scripture utilize numerous artistic language devises, and that even language itself is rife with symbol, personification, metaphor, and artistic image. 

If this is true of the narrative (and even straight didactic, or teaching) parts of Holy Writ, it is even more true of the Biblical literary genre we turn to now, that of poetry.  No one who has read poetry (Biblical or otherwise) can be unaware of the fact that it uses language in a much more concentrated and dense form than regular conversation, narrative, or teaching forms do.  This happens because the poet seeks a slightly different goal than a story narrator or straight didactic teacher.  

There is, of course, some overlap to the goal of all the writers and literary types in Scripture, since they all aim at orienting the hearer or reader towards love, worship, and service toward Christ, but the approach of the poet toward achieving that goal differs somewhat from the others.  

The Biblical poet seeks not only to express theological fact (although that is an intrinsic part of what he does), but also to express their experience and feelings about the interaction of God’s Person and Actions with their lives.  The Biblical poet did this in such a way (by the poetic use of language) that he aimed at provoking the same sort of experience in the reader of his poetry.  Poetry is expressly an invitation to share the experience of the poet, and to make it your own.  

This is not even simply true for individuals.  In the Psalms, for instance, which are all poetry, and which formed the Hymn-book of the Old Covenant Church the poetry there expressed not only the individual’s experience, but the corporate experience of all Israel together, and prophetically, the Experience of Christ Jesus (e.g., Psalms 68:19-21; 110; this is why the New Covenant Church uses the Psalms so much in her worship).  

This aspect of Biblical poetry should reinforce in our faith the understanding that correct theological knowledge (though absolutely necessary) is not enough; we must be personally engaged with God’s Truth with our whole beings: emotions, will, body, mind, imagination, etc.  We must know Truth with our minds, but we must also know Him in our experience (we sometimes forget that Truth is not a concept; He is a person (John 14:6)).  

The importance of this is driven home by the massive presence of poetry in the Bible.  Besides the Book of Psalms, all of the Books of Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and the Song of Solomon are poetry.  Much of the prophetic books of Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, as well as significant parts of Ezekiel, Zechariah, and the Revelation are written as poetry.  Even is Scripture’s historical sections we find huge chunks of poetry.  For example: Genesis 49 (Jacob’s Blessings), Exodus 15 (the Song of Moses), Numbers 23-24 (Balaam’s Prophecies), Deuteronomy 33 (Moses’ Blessing), Judges 5 (the Song of Deborah), I Samuel 2 (Hannah’s Prayer), II Samuel 22 (David’s Song of Praise), I Kings 19 (Isaiah’s Prophecy), and many others.  

The New Testament, aside from the vast amount of Old Testament poetry quoted, contains in its Gospel histories and Epistles poetry such as Mary’s Song in Luke 1, Zechariah’s Canticle in Luke 1, Simeon’s Song in Luke 2, the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-20.  Paul frequently waxed poetic in his writings and quoting, and there may even be early Christian Creedal hymns quoted in his Epistles, such as in Philippians 2:6-8 (as also in John’s Gospel in Chapter 1).  

When we men encounter truths and experiences that are so profound that they strike us to the core of our beings, we frequently seek to memorialize and share those profundities through the medium of poetry. This should not be surprising to us when we realize that we are made in the Image of God, and He, the True Author of Scripture, is the One who inspired the Biblical writers to compose so much poetry in His Inspired Word.  We are poets because He is a Poet.  

The poetry of Scripture which invites us to share the experience of the Truth of God permeates our worship, especially in song (this should not surprise us, either, since most of the Bible’s poetry was meant to be chanted or sung).  Poetry was made for music, and the Faith has inspired many Christian artists to memorialize and invite others to share their profound experience of life in Christ.  But what linguistic devises allow poetry to invite others into the poet’s experience of life?  A good question, and one which, Lord willing, we will take up in the next column.  

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