As we strive to Know His Word more deeply in 2018, we’ll be reading the Bible together in genres. Our hope is that together we will see how each book of the Bible fits into the overarching story of Scripture. On the first day of each month, we’ll walk through a new biblical genre together. This month, we’ll be looking at the books of Poetry and Wisdom.
Some of the most popular books in the Bible fall under the wisdom and poetry category, but we don’t often think about those genres outside of the Bible.
In poetry, every word matters. Adjectives and nouns are sometimes painstakingly chosen to convey the exact picture, thought, or emotion in the poet’s mind. Poetry also sticks with you. Even the non-rhyming poems have a cadence, assonance, and alliteration that make them easier to remember. Finally, poetry often expresses feelings better than prose.
We find poetry all throughout Scripture. In Genesis 1, God Himself speaks poetry in verse 27:
So God created man
in his own image;
he created him in the image of God;
he created them male and female.
We find poetry all the way through to Revelation where God’s people sing praises to Him for the work He has done.
This month, we’ll be reading books full of poetry. Psalms and Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs) are collections of poems, songs, and hymns. As you read through them, you’ll no doubt recognize lines from hymns and modern worship songs we still sing today.
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are written mostly by Solomon, a man given his wisdom directly from God. (You may recall reading about this in March!) The books are full of advice. We turn to those books to see how to live our lives in a manner that pleases the Lord. They are practical books to turn to.
Job can be a little genre-defying. Some categorize it as narrative or history, and it is. However, the Book of Job, like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, points us to our wise Creator. All three of these books help us cultivate a reverence toward the God who made us, who is all-knowing, and who cares about the way we live out our days on earth.
We may not read these genres as much today outside of Scripture, but their tradition carries on. We sing songs to express emotions we cannot otherwise put words to. We ask for advice for each new endeavor. We continue to turn to these books to help us navigate hurt and joy, change and life, keeping in mind the One who orchestrates our days and sympathizes with our hearts.
Again, we love how the CSB Study Bible puts each book in light of the rest of Scripture:
The relationship between God’s activities in the lives of His people and their responses to them is the most significant contribution to the Book of Psalms. The psalms are written from the human perspective as authors work their way through various life situations. The struggle to understand how God’s attributes, particularly His sovereignty and goodness, relate to life experiences is a major theme. These words are from people who had not lost their faith in God, although they might have been tempted at times.
The Law and the Prophets teach us how to live in spiritual community. Wisdom teaches how to live practically and courteously with one another. The Book of Job addresses one main idea: the sovereignty of God with regard to suffering. Ecclesiastes contemplates the meaning of this ephemeral life. Solomon’s Song demonstrates romantic love. Proverbs covers the rest of wisdom’s topics, from how to conduct business astutely yet fairly, to how to live happily within marriage.
We read wisdom and poetry in the Bible to learn more about our creative, sovereign, infinitely wise God.
Here is a reading plan with selected passages from the Books of Wisdom and Poetry to read this month. We aren’t reading every verse in these books, but we hope the passages we’ve selected will help us all see the bigger story of Scripture as we strive to know His Word even more. We can’t wait to read and learn alongside you. Here’s a PDF of the April reading plan to print!
We would love to hear what you’re learning as we read through His Word together. Share on social media with the hashtag #KnowHisWord18, so we can learn together! We’ve also included an image below, featuring a verse we’ll read this month, perfect for Instagram.
