Blues in Scripture!

A friend and colleague of mine in the Evangelical Covenant Church currently serves as pastor at First Ev. Covenant in Rockford, Illinois -among many other things!

He is Boaz Johnson, M.A (Clinical Mental Health Counseling), M.Div. (NT), Th.M. (ANE Religions), Ph.D. (OT and Theology) Professor of Hebrew, Bible, and Theological Studies

at North Park University, Chicago, IL.

I was invited to lead a blues-worship on a Sunday followed by an afternoon solo blues concert.

Boaz sends the church members a weekly epistle (as he calls it) for each upcoming service. He included some kind words about myself and the following brilliant writ in relation to his sermon and my sharing in ministry. It's so very good I thought it important to pass it on to those who follow my posts.

"Singing the blues has been an ancient tradition founded in the Bible. In the

Hebrew text of the Bible, Genesis 3:14-19 was the first Blues song, which was sung by

God himself, when he mourned the sin of the first human beings. It was followed by

another Blues poetry sung by God, when he mourned the murder of Abel (Genesis

4:10-12). Genesis 21:15-16 describes the blues sung by Hagar, that African slave girl

who mourned the dying condition of her son, Ishmael.

Singing the Blues frames the theology of the Bible. Indeed, the Bible is full of

Blues poetry. In the original language of the Bible, the Prophets are all Blues

compositions. The Book of Job is a Blues Anthology of the meaning of suffering. David,

the shepherd boy, who became king, was well known for the Blues he composed. When

King Saul was in deep depression, David played instruments and sang the Blues to

sooth his anxieties and depression ( 1Samuel 16:23).

Two thirds of the Psalms are Blues- Psalms 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 17, and so on. Jesus

sang these Blues with his disciples. At the most existential hour of pain, when Jesus

was hanging on the Cross, he sang some of these Blues. It is often thought that on the

Cross Jesus just said the words, “Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani’ My God, My God, why

have you forsaken me?" In fact, Jesus sung the whole Blues Psalm 22. These are

among last words he uttered on the Cross. Finally, Jesus sang the Blues song Psalm

31, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Years ago a mainstream live radio interviewer asked who my favorite bluesman was and in a split-second I blurted out "David!" He asked "David who?" "King David, you know, the guy in the Bible who wrote a huge amount of the lyrics in the Book of Psalms." Yep.

Do followers of Jesus "get" the blues? Well... do we ever suffer? Is there any pain due to our walk with Jesus in a not-yet-home/fallen world in which we live? I think it's rather obvious.

As I read Boaz's comments my mind immediately recalled Psalm 137. Yes, lament is a major thread throughout the Word of God, be it in song, poetry or prayer. In the current world lament is part of the worship and general language of true followers of Father, Son, Holy Spirit!

As always, thanks for stopping by :) -Glenn