Part 38 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson says Isaiah is a collection of prophecies made over 40 years and is not ordered, so he gives the ‘shape’ of the book to help with our understanding. Chapters 1-10 are a reproof for Judah; 13-23 deal with nations that God used to discipline Israel but who were too harsh - they will now be judged. 24-34 speak of judgment on the northern tribes and Judah. But there are 2 sections sandwiched that are good news. God gives h...
May 17, 2021•35 min•Ep. 38
Part 37 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson shows the surprising parallel between the chapters of Isaiah and the composition of the entire Bible. Isaiah is the Bible in miniature. But parts of it are not well known. Jesus referred to Isaiah more than any other scripture, as did Paul. David provides insights from the historian Josephus and other Jewish tradition. Isaiah was the greatest prophet in word, as Moses and Elijah were great in deed. From the time of his...
May 17, 2021•41 min•Ep. 37
Part 36 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson explores the reasons for the Song of Songs being in our Bibles. It has no mention of God or anything of a particularly spiritual nature, yet rabbis treat it as very holy. David says, for Hebrews there is one God who made the physical and the spiritual and physical is good - whereas in the West we have been influenced by Greek thinking which separates the two. “Here in the Bible, God is affirming love between a man and ...
May 17, 2021•38 min•Ep. 36
Part 35 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series We disagree with some of Ecclesiastes as the author has reached the end of his life and is disappointed, disillusioned and depressed. It doesn’t mean that God has the same attitudes. Solomon had been in a position to have or do anything he wanted. Now he felt that everything had been pointless. Some pastimes are acceptable but if they are the main focus in life, they will not satisfy, they will not interpret life for you. This book...
May 17, 2021•39 min•Ep. 35
Part 34 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David discusses the decisions we have to make in life and the advice given in Proverbs relates to making wise choices in the large and small aspects of everyday life. David says, wisdom is what’s best for you, not what’s profitable. It’s based on knowledge of God, not knowledge of the world. Proverbs deals with subjects such as laziness, the company you keep, being faithful, relating to neighbours, even taking out loans. Being a go...
May 17, 2021•33 min•Ep. 34
Part 33 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson says, when you first read the book of Proverbs, it seems to be a jumble of folk sayings or just common sense - except that sense isn’t all that common. Solomon collected most of the proverbs, some of them Arabic and some Egyptian which he put in a context of God, as well as many he wrote himself. They don’t deal with spirituality, but they focus on day to day life and many of them are still used today though people oft...
May 17, 2021•37 min•Ep. 33
Part 32 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series In this talk, David Pawson looks at groups of psalms which should be taken together. Psalms 96 to 99 have the theme: God is King; 113 to 118 are sung together at the Passover. The word ‘hosanna’ from 118 is actually a demand for freedom – ‘save us’. The Songs of Ascent 120 to 134 were to be sung as the Jews travelled up to Jerusalem. The final group is 146 to 150 which are all Hallelujah songs. From groups, David moves on to types ...
Apr 14, 2021•42 min•Ep. 32
Part 31 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson says that, though the Psalms were written over a period of a thousand years, and two and a half thousand years ago, they speak to us as though written yesterday. They were really the Jewish hymn book, divided into 5 sections. And David points out that when we praise or pray we are doing so as part of the Body of believers. However, there are personal psalms as well. They cover almost everything you could possibly want ...
Apr 14, 2021•40 min•Ep. 31
Part 30 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series Why is it important to have a Bible which shows the difference between poetry and prose? Because, as Hebrew poetry differs from English poetry, it would be easy for us to miss it. Prose is written from margin to margin while poetry is spaced out more. David Pawson says, when God speaks in prose, he is communicating thoughts from his mind to ours, but when he speaks in poetry he is communicating his feelings from his heart to our he...
Apr 14, 2021•35 min•Ep. 30
Part 29 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson says that the book of Job consists largely of two debates, one in heaven and one on earth. As in any particular case of suffering, nobody knows the whole picture. David says the real question is not about undeserved suffering, but whether you can go on believing in a good God when everything is going wrong. He says that Job’s real pain was that through the suffering he lost touch with God. Several friends came and sat ...
Apr 14, 2021•42 min•Ep. 29
Part 28 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson warns against quoting verses out of context because, in a book such as Job, you may be quoting one of Job’s friends when they were wrong about what they said. God eventually showed that they were wrong. “That’s why it’s so important to know a whole book”, says David. This is an unusual book and David looks at the possibilities of how it came to be recorded. Job is indeed a factual person, known about outside the script...
Apr 14, 2021•41 min•Ep. 28
Part 27 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson says there are few books of the Bible set outside the Promised Land, Esther being one. They tell us how Jews behaved when they were in Gentile society. We can learn from some of them how to interact in non-Christian society without compromise. David looks at Daniel alongside Esther as both record events during the Jewish exile to Babylon. Both rose to positions where they were able to help their people, Esther being qu...
Apr 14, 2021•38 min•Ep. 27
Part 26 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series In this talk, David Pawson gives more emphasis to the book of Nehemiah – the story of the man of prayer and faith given permission to return to Jerusalem to organize the rebuilding. Despite opposition, he encouraged the returned exiles to do the work while armed to ward off attack. They completed the repair of ancient Jerusalem’s wall in 52 days because ‘the people had a will to work’. Nehemiah had to deal with internal economic an...
Mar 16, 2021•31 min•Ep. 26
Part 25 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series In looking at Ezra and Nehemiah, David Pawson gives the background of the 3 deportations which Israel had suffered under Assyria and Babylon, and the 3 returns to the land. Years earlier, Isaiah had prophesied that a man named Cyrus would release Israel from their captors and Cyrus, of Babylon, did just that though he did it for his own agenda. Apparently both being written by Ezra, these books record the rebuilding of the social l...
Mar 16, 2021•34 min•Ep. 25
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, t...
Mar 16, 2021•41 min•Ep. 24
Part 23 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson observes that the book of Kings begins with King Solomon who began well by asking for wisdom, so God gave him everything he didn’t ask for as well: wealth, fame and power. Solomon wanted to share his wisdom. Unfortunately, he only had wisdom for everybody else, none for himself though he wrote three books and did many good things. He built a temple for the Lord with the materials and the plans from his father, David. A...
Mar 16, 2021•40 min•Ep. 23
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...
Mar 16, 2021•37 min•Ep. 22
Part 21 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson, in this 2nd talk on Samuel, points out that there are 6 different levels at which you can read Bible stories and it’s important that we should choose the right one. They are: 1. Anecdotal, just an interesting story; 2. Devotional, hoping to find a personal word; 3. Character Studies including the character of women, which can be inspirational (Hannah & Abigail for instance); 4. History of Israel – how it developed...
Feb 18, 2021•38 min•Ep. 21
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 bo...
Feb 18, 2021•40 min•Ep. 20
Part 19 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series In the book of Judges, David Pawson observes that God is very prominent even though the people are in a downward spiral. He heard their prayers and sent them someone to rescue. God delivers to evil as well as from evil. A whole generation grew up who did not know the Lord and what He had done for Israel. They weren’t grateful for their salvation. Because there was no king, there was no continuity of leadership. The people wanted a ...
Feb 06, 2021•37 min•Ep. 19
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...
Feb 06, 2021•44 min•Ep. 18
Part 17 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series Looking at the book of Joshua, David Pawson points out that the first two towns the Israelites came to are written about a lot because of their significance. Jericho was a great victory, Ai, a great loss. God told them not to loot Jericho as it was the firstfruits. They made 2 errors. One was over-confidence because of their first victory. The second was that one man did loot from Jericho. One man’s sin caused the people of God to ...
Feb 06, 2021•41 min•Ep. 17
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 foundatio...
Feb 06, 2021•39 min•Ep. 16
Part 15 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson examines Moses’ speeches to his people in Deuteronomy before they enter the Promised Land. Their parents’ lack of faith had delayed their journey almost 40 years. God had been faithful to them, now they are warned, don’t be like your parents; keep your faith and you’ll keep the land. Moses tells them how they are to live if they want to keep their land. The Ten Commandments are all about respect. The quickest way to de...
Jan 26, 2021•40 min•Ep. 15
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...
Jan 26, 2021•38 min•Ep. 14
Part 13 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson looks at the narrative part of numbers which turns from the divine word to the human deeds, from what the Hebrews should do to what they actually did do. Israel did not pass the test of the difficulties of the wilderness. After Sinai they are in a covenant relationship with God and there are now punishments for their sins. They made a promise to obey Him. Obedience would bring blessing; disobedience, curse. God’s law s...
Jan 26, 2021•40 min•Ep. 13
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...
Jan 26, 2021•37 min•Ep. 12
Part 11 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series The most important things for Christians to read in Leviticus as they keep reappearing in the New Testament, are: “Be holy for I am holy” and “Love your neighbour as yourself”. There are over ninety references to Leviticus in the New Testament. God didn’t give reasons for all His rules. If you will only obey a command when you see the sense of it, you are not obedient and do not trust the one who gave you the command. God knows bes...
Jan 11, 2021•35 min•Ep. 11
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 th...
Jan 11, 2021•40 min•Ep. 10
Part 9 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series David Pawson says that the book of Exodus is central to the old testament. All the books after Exodus look back to Exodus as the redemption on which everything else is based. The cross is central to the New Testament. All the Ten Commandments are based on three principles. The first is the principle of respect - respect for God and respect for people. A healthy, holy society is built on respect. We can see in our society what happen...
Jan 11, 2021•41 min•Ep. 9
