David Pawson - ’Unlocking the Bible’ Podcast

Part 24 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson explains that, though there is much repetition in the books of Kings and Chronicles, one is viewed as a prophetic book and the other not, by the Jews. Jews have grouped the books of the Old Testament entirely differently from Christians, and thereby we have misunderstood some important matters. And if we skip Chronicles because it seems to be like Kings, we will miss the unique message it brings. As with the Gospels, these books are written from different angles, one from a prophetic viewpoint and the other from a priestly viewpoint. And Chronicles covers a much longer period, omits much included in Samuel and Kings, and is looking at the kings of Judah only. In fact, the writer is concerned only with kings in the royal line of David and their attitudes to two spiritual matters. David Pawson brings clarity to this study on Chronicles. He says that the author is writing for the sake of the Jews returning to the land from a long exile, and wants to give them Roots (that they had a line that God had been controlling all the way down), Royalty (they had their own royal line) and Religion (the purpose for which they existed) again.

Part 22 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson says other history may be interesting, but the history of Israel is vital for the whole of mankind. From the height of success, the times of the kings headed downhill. First the land was split between 10 tribes in the north and 2 in the south and eventually the 10 were deported to Assyria. While there were a few good kings it was not enough to stem the downward trend and the 2 tribes were taken away to Babylon. God had warned them that they would suffer a similar fate, but they disobeyed. David says one of the main reasons for reading the books of Kings is that it can happen to the church as well. Though their descendants returned to the land under priests, they were then occupied by the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Greeks and finally the Romans which was the situation when Jesus was born. For a Hebrew, a kingdom is about authority, not a place. Thus the kingdom of God is not a place but a power. The kings were judged as good or bad according to whether they honoured God or not. This is history from God’s point of view. Understanding history saves us from repeating the mistakes of the past. David says God is still in charge of history. The two significant prophets in Kings are Elijah and Elisha.

Part 20 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series In this first talk by David Pawson on 1 and 2 Samuel, David gives us an overview so that we know the ‘shape’ of the story and how it develops. The two books really belong together as one, but were later divided because of their length. It covers 150 years of history in the form of narrative and includes only what is important and significant to God. This is prophetic history, named after the prophet who dominates the story. This book is set in the last century and a half of the rise of Israel to peace and prosperity. David shows that Israel had been led successively by patriarchs, prophets, kings then priests, each for 500 years. Samuel was the last of the prophets. King David dominates the stories though Saul was the first king. The stories of the book deal with various interesting relationships. David Pawson says whenever Israel disobeyed God an enemy would come and defeat them and whenever they repented they defeated the enemy and got the land back. A difference between Israel’s first and second kings was that David could honour those who succeeded but Saul was jealous of them. But David’s sin heralded the downward slide of Israel from its peak.

Part 18 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson makes history interesting. Looking at the books of Judges and Ruth, he shows that there are 4 levels of studying history. 1) Important people; 2) Nations, political; 3) Patterns/cycles – rise and fall of civilisations; 4) Purpose/plot. While people often see no purpose in history, David shows that God is moving history to His planned ending. History is HIS-story and He’s writing it. In Judges, people had gone away from God and life became cyclical and things just happened again and again. In Ruth the line becomes the main thing and it ends with a royal line that is fulfilling God’s purpose. Redemption gets you off the roundabout and onto a line that’s going somewhere and you’re part of a purpose that’s being worked out in history. Originally Judges and Ruth were one book and still are in the Hebrew Bible. That’s important because they belong together. Many of the characters in Judges are weak but God uses them. Their weakness was matched by God’s strength. The people in this book weren’t actual Judges. They each saved the nation from a very bad situation. The Judge was God, operating through people. There was no King in Israel in those days. Every man did what was right in his own eyes. Because they didn’t clean wickedness from the land it was a constant problem to them.

Part 16 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson looks at Joshua, the 6th book in the Old Testament which seems to follow directly on from Deuteronomy but for Jews there is a profound difference: No laws in the book of Joshua. The first five books are the basic Constitution of the people of Israel. The rest of the Old Testament is how it all works out. The next six books are what we call history, but the Jews call them prophecy. The first five books are the foundation of Judaism, and they call them The Torah which means instruction. The first five show God’s promises to them, the next six show the fulfillment of those promises, cause and effect. The book of Joshua covers his life, from the age of 80 to 120. It details how they took the land that God had promised them. After that, how they divided the land between the tribes. The book begins with Joshua’s commission by God and the people and ends with his final sermon, death and burial. God promised Joshua He would never leave him and that he would prosper and be successful in what he did for the Lord. Joshua’s courage and the people’s morale would be what won them the battle. Morale and morality are what God requires in a leader. God drying up the Jordan was a repetition of the parting of the Red Sea for a new generation to show them the God of their fathers was with them too.

Part 14 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson explains that in Deuteronomy God’s law had to be repeated for a new generation as almost every adult who had come out of Egypt had died. They had to enter into the covenant with God as their parents had. 2 key phrases are repeated time & again. One is “the land the Lord your God gives you”. They are reminded that this land is an undeserved gift. The other is “go in and possess the land”. Everything you receive from God is a gift, but you must go in and take it otherwise you won’t get it. The message of Deuteronomy is simple, you can keep the land as long as you keep My law, but if you don’t keep it, even though you own the land, you won’t be free to live in it and enjoy it. Ownership is unconditional, occupation is conditional. The covenant linked the land and the law of God. The Israelites were not given the land because of their righteousness but because of the current inhabitants’ wickedness. Everything God tells the Israelites not to do is what was happening already in the Promised Land with its current occupants. Deuteronomy is made up of 3 long speeches, Moses talking to the people in the last week of his life. He speaks to them like a dying father to his children. It is warm, expressive and emotional and yet very well written.

Part 12 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series The book of Numbers starts and ends with a census of all the men over 20. There were about 600,000 both times. God was not blessing them because when God blesses, numbers multiply. At that time the life expectancy was about 60 so after 40 years, all but 2 of the men who had been over 20 at the beginning, had died. Only Joshua and Caleb survived. Two thirds of the book of Numbers should never have happened, they were not part of God’s purpose. God deliberately delayed their journey from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land because of their disobedience, so that a whole generation spent their entire adult life doing nothing and died before they reached the Promised Land. Numbers is important because if you don’t study history, you’re condemned to repeat it. God spoke to Moses eighty times face to face. When God camped among the people, there was a danger they would become over-familiar with Him, so God gave them the legislation in the book of Numbers to prevent that. There were three types of legislation - carefulness, cleanliness and costliness. You had to be careful how you approached God, you had to be clean when you came to Him and it is costly not to be holy yourself.

Part 10 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson concedes that Leviticus is difficult to read as it lacks narrative and features a different and unfamiliar culture; but there is more of the word of God than in any other book. The first half of the book is about the way to God and the second half about the walk with God. Leviticus focusses in on the most important month in the most important place and the most important tribe. The whole of the law of Moses hangs on this. The book of Leviticus is about everything that goes on in God’s tent and everything that should go on in the people’s tents. It is the rules and regulations for both. God expects something in return for what He has done for us. Exodus talks about how God saved His people. Leviticus talks about how they are to serve Him. There is only one God and the Israelites were His only people on Earth and therefore there was a special relationship between them. God was going to be everything they needed and in return, He expected them to live right. He said, “Be holy for I am holy” - You are to reflect my character and let people see what I am like by what you are like. If God saves you, He expects you to be like Him. There are two types of offering, one to show gratitude to God, and the other to make atonement for sin. The Jews had a calendar of feasts to remind them of things they would forget.

Part 8 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson finds Exodus is the story of the biggest escape in history. Over 2 million Hebrew slaves escape from one of the most highly fortified nations in the world. It was a series of miracles. Moses saw more miracles than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob put together. Exodus has national and spiritual significance. In Exodus the people are told God’s name and when we know someone’s name, the relationship becomes more intimate and personal. In Exodus, the Creator of everything becomes the redeemer of a few people. Exodus begins Moses’ lifetime. The first half of Exodus is about what God did on their behalf. The second half is about what God said, and how they were to live now that they were free. The first half demonstrates God’s grace towards them in getting them out of their problems, so the second half expects them to show their gratitude by living His way. We are redeemed first and then taught to live right. The people of Israel are set free to serve God. We are also set free to serve God, not to do our own thing. The plagues showed that the God of the Hebrew slaves was much more powerful than the Egyptian gods. God only hardened Pharaoh’s heart after Pharaoh had repeatedly hardened his own heart. If we persistently choose the wrong way, God will help us along that route to demonstrate His judgement - if we refuse to be a demonstration of His mercy.

Part 6 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series Looking at Genesis, David Pawson says, the God of the Jews is the God of the Universe - The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible is not God’s answer to our problems, but God’s answer to His problem – what to do with a race that doesn’t want to know you, love you or obey you? God created humans because He wanted a bigger family. The God of the entire universe makes a friend called Abraham. God freely initiated the relationship. God would rather have a believing man than a good man. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had faith. Ishmael is the father of the Arab nations today. Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel were all very beautiful and had the lasting beauty of inner character. God began creation with one man and began redemption with one man. A covenant is made by one party to bless the other. God makes covenants and He keeps them. He promised Abraham a place to live, descendants, and that He would use them to bless or curse every nation. The calling of the Jews is to share God with everybody. In return, God expected that every male Jew would be circumcised, as a sign that they were born into that covenant, and that Abraham would obey God. They were all commended for their faith yet none of them received what was promised to them.

Part 4 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson notes a radical shift in style, content and viewpoint from Genesis chapter 1 to chapter 2. In chapter 1, God was the centre and everything was from His perspective. Chapter 2, man is the centre. There are 3 dimensions to our relationships which every human needs – with God above, with creatures below and with other people. When sin comes in, all these relationships are spoiled. There is an affinity with God that humans have and animals don’t, because we were made in his image. We are like God and yet not like God. We need to keep that balance to have a good relationship with Him. God retains moral authority over us. He has the right to tell us what is good for us. Science poses two questions in relation to creation. Where does prehistoric man fit in? and Is man directly and physically related to the animal world? David gives answers. Nothing has yet been found that is half ape, half man. Mutations deform and cause species to die out. Inter-breeding usually causes sterility. The effect of the evolution theory on humans is devastating suffering. Fascism, capitalism, communism and early colonialism all wiped people out in the name of progress and “survival of the fittest”. This idea when applied to human beings, has caused more suffering than any other idea. It has also faced us with two huge choices, a mental choice as to what we believe and a moral choice, what we do.

In the Beginning: The first book in the bible, Genesis, is the foundational book for the whole Bible - the key that unlocks the rest of the Bible. Jesus was constantly endorsing it. Genesis tells us exactly what has gone wrong with our world and the rest of the Bible tells us how God is going to put it right. Only God could solve a problem the size of our world. Genesis is about the Creator, not creation. It shows us that God is personal, powerful, uncreated, creative, 3-in-1, good, loving, living, speaking, like us - but unlike us. Most of Genesis is made up of hero stories and family trees so it is obviously a compilation of memories that Moses picked up from the slaves in Egypt that had been passed down through the generations in spoken form. Genesis 1v1 - 2v3 must have been dictated to Moses by God. The style is very different and has all the hallmarks of having come directly from God. The word Genesis means origin and the book contains the origin of the universe and everything in it. It also deals with many ultimate questions that can’t be answered by any human being as no one was there to either observe or record how it happened. Is Genesis the result of human imagination or divine inspiration? A series of guesses from human speculation - or the answer from the Person who was there and indeed was responsible for it? .