The Sons of Issachar: Knowing What Israel Should Do, Part 8
Ehud stabbing Elgon (Judges 3)
The last two posts presented an overview of this series on a study of the Sons of Issachar (commented in 1 Chr 12:32) as a model for Christian artists. One of the two things they were commended for was “knowing what Israel should do.” Knowing what Israel should do translates for us today into the necessity of knowing Scripture as the divine blueprint for what we are to believe and to do as members of Christ’s Church, the spiritual Israel (Gal 3:6-9; Eph 2:11-22, 3:6; Rom 2:28-29; etc.). This involves knowing what Scripture teaches, its content and forms, knowledge of which prepares the Christian “for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17), which includes the good work of obedience of Christ’s call to a musical/artistic ministry.
Beginning this week, we will consider the pressing question of how much freedom the Christian artist has, which is related to the question of how much freedom the Christian audience has. What things cannot be seen, heard, or considered artistically, either by the artist or the audience, without sinning?
These are questions which face almost all Christians in America (and the world) today, not just artists, but all Christians who watch movies or TV, who read fiction, or listen to music (especially contemporary music of anysort, including modern and contemporary classical and CCM).
To answer these questions, we must see how Scripture limits the categories of human experience. What categories are off-limits to the Christian according to the Holy Writ? Let us look at some of the categories most objected to by Christians today: depictions of nudity, sex, and graphic violence. Does the Bible, through which the Holy Spirit speaks (2 Peter 1:20-21), treat these categories, and, if so, how? How does the greatest work of art in creation, the Bible, treat these subjects? Straightforwardly? Let’s see:
Does the Bible eschew sensuality or put negative connotations on it? Witness Proverbs 5:18-19: “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.” This, along with other portions of Scripture (notably the Song of Solomon) all address sexual sensuality in the context of marriage without shying away from, or pulling any punches about, sexuality.
What about the sexual acts of the wicked? Does Scripture address these explicitly? Read Ezekiel 23:19-21: “Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, who genitals were like those of donkeys, whose emissions were like that of horses. So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.” Here we have the Prophet Ezekiel speaking God’sassessment of Israel’s wicked behavior as God through Ezekiel brings charges against Israel.
Does God’s Word contain graphic descriptions of violence? Judges 3:21-22 says, “So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, ‘I have a message from God for you.’ So he arose from his seat. Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out.” Here we hear the detailed story of the violent assassination of the tyrant Eglon by the righteous deliverer Ehud, raised up by God for this purpose.
Samuel the Prophet, God’s advisor to Kings Saul and David, is graphically recorded as enforcing God’s sentence against Agag when Saul failed to in 1 Samuel 15:32: “Then Samuel said, ‘Bring Agag, king of the Amalekites here to me.’ So Agag came to him cautiously, and Agag said, ‘Surely the bitterness of death is past.’ But Samuel said, ‘As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.’ And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.”
Now, obviously, the context of sex and violence in Scripture promotes a correct understanding of these categories of human action (e.g., porn movies and hardcore slasher movies are not being justified in the Bible, or in this post). However, all of the categories of life are addressed. It certainly appears that God has in place His plans for both sex and violence. Remember the context, though: No category of life, artistically rendered or not, should ever promote sin. On the contrary, the purpose of all these categories, both in art, and all categories of life, is to promote righteousness and help inhibit sin.
Something else that should be obvious is that, in the proper contexts, neither sex (in marriage) no violence (in legitimate uses) are inherently evil. This is patently obvious from the Scripture reviewed here, and a host of other passages. Why, then, did Charlie Peacock receive criticism for a song in the 90’s which addressed sexuality in his and his wife’s relationship, and James Byron Huggins receive the same for his depictions of graphic violence in his Christian novels? Why has the band Atomic Opera received criticism for the cover of their album Penguin Dust, which is of a naked child playing on a beach? Why do some coalitions of Christians condemn any artistic depiction of violence and sexuality (even in biblical contexts) as sinful, when the Bible, as we have seen (even in the small sampling in this post), uses both violence and sexuality in godly context? Why do Christians in America today have so much difficulty accepting that these and all categories of life in godly contexts are legitimate? There is an answer to this question, and we will (God willing) take it up in the next post.