Holding on to Hope: Easter in Old Testament PoetrySample

Introduction

Wait. There’s poetry in the Bible about Easter? In the Old Testament?

Also…does that really affect my life today?

If you’re asking any of these questions, you’re in the right place and you’re going to be so encouraged as we journey through these Old Testament passages together. The answer to all three wonderings above is a resounding “yes!”

More than 30% of the Bible is poetry.

But Hebrew poetry is different from English verse. It doesn’t include the same meter or rhyme but often carries a rhythmic cadence to language and phrasing. A hallmark of Hebrew poetry is parallelism, where ideas are echoed, expanded, or contrasted against each other for emphasis. These writers also tied concepts together with unifying themes and evoked emotions through rich symbolism, metaphor, and vivid imagery. Most easily, you can spot these poems by how their structure differs from normal sentences on the page.

But before anyone’s eyes glaze over, this Bible plan isn’t a journey back to English class. You’ve likely read these Easter-infused poems before without recognizing them. That’s part of the beauty of this rediscovery.

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born in a Bethlehem manger, biblical poets used imagery, repetition, pattern, and emotive verse to proclaim specific details about His life, including His last days of life on earth.

By design, poetry helps us linger with deliberate words. It invites us into an unhurried pace, offering a depth of beauty and insight that’s easily overlooked by a passing glance.

That’s what this plan gives you too.

A fresh awareness of the depth and beauty of Christ’s resurrection as you stroll through ancient poems and marvel at the hope they carry.

Hope held by God’s people as they waited for their future Messiah.
Hope Jesus fulfilled, fully knowing the joy and pain set before Him.
Hope we still hold to as we live as those God has redeemed and wait for our King to return.

In every circumstance you navigate today, including every headache or heartbreak, God’s hope meets you there.

And I’ll meet you right here tomorrow as we begin with a poem that Jesus heard on repeat since boyhood.