Unlocking The Old Testament

Lamentations

David Pawson says that Lamentations was written by Jeremiah in tears over the state of his people. As a matter of fact, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament it is called “Tears”. David says that if you picture the desolation of Hiroshima during the second World War, that is what Jerusalem looked like to Jeremiah. He had composed a lament for the whole nation to sing when King Josiah was killed in battle as he was a poet and songwriter. The 5 chapters of Lamentations are really 5 laments and 4 of them are written in the form of an acrostic – using a letter of the alphabet to begin each section. David Pawson believes that using the alphabet actually helps an author to put his feelings in order. David sees the 5 themes of these laments as: The Catastrophe, The Cause, The Cure, The Consequences, The Cry. Jeremiah’s problem was that when God’s anger was simmering nobody would take it seriously. Then it boiled over as the consequence. God’s mercy allowed exile, not extinction. David says there are 2 destinies open to us – weeping forever or having our tears wiped away.

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Ezekiel 1

David Pawson takes time to explain the background to Ezekiel as he says it is probably the most neglected part of the Old Testament and also difficult. Its messages were given over 20 years. Ezekiel reveals a severity in God’s character which is not usually emphasised. Paul in the New Testament referred to the “goodness and severity” of God as well. Because preachers usually concentrate on the goodness of God, listeners tend to have a one-sided view of what God is like. The southern two tribes of Israel should have known that they needed to heed God’s word because they had seen the northern 10 tribes carried off in exile. Yet they ignored prophets Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah and Habakkuk. King Josiah tried to restore the worship of God, but the people didn’t really follow his lead. Various nations attacked the land until only Jerusalem was left to the very poorest people who had not been deported. Ezekiel was taken away in the first deportation, as was Daniel, so was never able to serve as a priest but God called him to be a prophet. He preached and performed miracles.

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