Pay Attention to Poetry
A Bible reading pro tip
Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.
—Job 1:21, NIV
I love J. R. R. Tolkien’s books. I recently started reading The Hobbit aloud with my youngest son and noticed the poetry anew. At various points throughout the story, the characters sing. Sometimes the songs are silly, and sometimes they have important contextual clues to the storyline. I’ll be honest, most of the time I’m tempted to skip the poetry and get on with the story. But, not this time!
Authors use poetry in a narrative for a variety of reasons. It could be comic relief, foreshadowing, context, or an expression of the scene's emotion. Biblical authors use poetry in similar ways. It’s especially important to pay attention to poetry in the Bible when it pops up in the middle of a story.
When the human authors were writing Scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they had no real way to use formatting to emphasize their point. Today, you might read something in bold and know that the word or sentence is significant. In the Bible, before such formatting was invented, authors had to be more creative. They emphasized important things through repetition, style, and pattern.
Much of the Bible is written in story form, with poetry sprinkled throughout the narratives, not unlike the songs that appear from time to time in The Hobbit. In most modern English translations, sections of poetry will be offset in some way. Usually, they’re indented with shorter lines and clear stanzas, like the way the NIV formats Job 1:21.
When you’re reading a story, and it pauses for a poem, don’t skip it to get on with the story! That poem is a break in the pattern. It might add context, foreshadow, build suspense, heighten emotion, or even provide comic relief. And it could very well reveal the main point of the story, or at least of that part of the story. So, when you find a poem in the middle of a story, ask what the poem is doing. What effect does it have on the story? What effect does it have on you?
Whether the poem is the point or serving some other purpose, you’ll benefit by pausing to pay attention to the poetry.