Introduction:
In this excellent book, Thompson takes the old myth on the Old Testament God to task explaining the fact that life is not to be taken for granted in any way. Many view God as someone who is forbidding, always ready to castigate and create situations where his obedience is unquestioned and/or without any sort of parallel. Thompson does attempt to dispel that myth accordingly focusing on life in general and how the many episodes in the Bible can be said to dispel this theme accordingly.
The main points of the book:
Principally the book attempts to tackle certain aspects of life which are seen as being repressive when God intervened in Old Testament times. This was not always a good thing as God was seen as haughty and without much room for manoeuvre. There are several episodes where the magnaminity of God is explained especially in the Book of Genesis where although the God being observed is not always clear and direct he shows that he can be merciful. A case in point would be the exit of the Israelites from Egypt where he kept showing the way to Moses even though there were severe obstacles in every way.
Thompson’s purpose seems to dispel the myth that the Old Testament God was some sort of tyrant without any qualms or mercy for those who were feeling unhappy or confused about how certain messages were being conveyed. The disappearance of Moses is also another issue which continues to dominate proceedings as it may seem strange to accept the whole factor of disobedience which makes up most of these decisions. Another part of the book which is interesting is the way God is conveyed to others and how he shows himself in different ways and manners always demonstrating mysticism and beauty.
The Old Testament is perhaps a hard book to understand in some areas but it can also be very revealing in others. First of all there is the way God speaks to us indirectly, for example through the Ten Commandments which are full of symbolic meaning and great openness. One also has to accept the fact that life is not always easy to understand so the Prophets are always part and parcel of everything in this respect. Thompson continues to argue that these Prophets had diverse and varied messages to show especially in the way these were demonstrated to the lay Israelite people.
Perhaps one of the most interesting and challenging parts of the Old Testament is the episode of Abraham and Isaac where the former is made to sacrifice his only son. Here we can truly observe the great magnanimity of God who faces up to the challenge of brinking Abraham to the brink and eventually sacrificing his own son. However God then repents when he observes the incredible blind faith which Abraham had in him and allows him to take his son and shower him with gifts. It is a strong and poignant moment in the whole of the Bible and shows God’s incredible mercy. One is made to reflect on the importance of obedience to God and how this may affect his views upon us and how our relationship with God actually develops accordingly.
Another episode which is dealt with in the book focuses on the relationship between David and God. Whilst David was an egocentric and selfish person sending Bathsheba’s husband to die in the front line of the Israelite army, God made the king see his faults and repent for them. Although he had great faith in David, he knew that he was perhaps a weak person inside and this meant that he had to make certain allowances for these weaknesses. He could have easily castigated David for his incredible selfishness but he instead chose to choose the way of empathy and understanding.
Other books in the Old Testament which come for Thompson’s attention include the ones on Job and Jonah. Although Job suffered incredibly and greatly, God was always with him in an indirect manner and offered him support so that his pain would not be in vain. In Jonah the tale of the whale is perhaps slightly far fetched but there is an element of truth and moral in the story which demonstrates the love of God for his chosen ones.
Thompson also expounds upon the power of Moses’ message who was a strange character in some respects but was also strong and very much inspired by God. In this sense, the Exodus teaches us a lot of things on God’s message and how we are to interpret it when it comes to us. The Jewish people were in consistent bondage for centuries and in one fell swoop, through the intervention of their God, they managed to get out of slavery. It is important to note that God had not abandoned the Jews to their fate but wanted to test their strength, something which unfortunately disappeared when in the desert where they eventually resorted to adoring false Gods while Moses was on the mountain of Tabor to receive the Ten Commandments. In fact the whole generation had to die out before entering the Promised Land of Canaan, God’s punishment to those who doubted Him. This is probably one of the most crucial parts of the Exodus as it shows that if God is left by the wayside then his wrath would be great especially after he saved the Jews from bondage.
Thompson also focuses on the Psalms to demonstrate the directness of God’s love which is perhaps not always very much apparent in any regard and which more often than not has been misinterpreted.
Here the writer concentrates on the importance of hidden messages which demonstrate an inner beauty and an appeal to the heart of the matter. There is indeed much to learn from these Psalms as they create fictitious situations which show us the beauty of God’s love and his unalienable power to make us feel at one with ourselves. Perhaps the Psalms which describe situations of lost love and reason are the most attractive for teaching accordingly but there are also other less significant psalms which demonstrate certain aspects which are perhaps overlooked. Again Thompson focuses on these aspects when he views the whole equation accordingly and focuses on the love of God which is extremely strong in these Psalms.
Another book which Thompson treats with some importance is The Proverbs.
Here there is also a deep aspect from the writer with regards to the message being imparted accordingly. The Proverbs are perhaps the deepest methods through which the writer attempts to convey God’s message of salvation. Anderson focuses on the wisdom of the teachings and writings which also come out as very wonderful and beautiful.
In the Ecclesiastic’s, here again one focuses on the mystical message of God who comes out with Parables to describe certain mystical aspects of his message. The book is very profound and deeply spiritual as it tends to focus on what might have been and what is coming for all of us when we accept God’s grace as our salvation.
These are wonderful songs which praise the greatness and wisdom of God and which explain that if one succumbs completely to Him then all will be well and salvation will be achieved. Again we have several parallels and literal meanings which also espouse the wisdom of Solomon the Great who was a king of great power and fine magnanimity. Anderson focuses on the message of beauty which comes out of the Songs and which are an important focus of everything which moves along with intrinsic beauty and wonderment. God is definitely portrayed as being magnanimous and empathic with life’s situations but the main crux of the matter is that when one trusts in Him, all will be well.
Personal opinion:
I believe that Thompson’s book is one of the finest and arguably the most convincing in conveying God’s message as a magnaminous deity even in the Old Testament. There have been several points where one perhaps does not always understand directly what God wishes to convey but the myriad of examples provided by Thompson certainly go a long way in clarifying the issues accordingly. His style is also very readable and is an eye opener in many aspects and respects.
Works Cited:
Thompson A: Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament God; Washington, Energion Publications 2003, Print
Anderson, Bernhard W. Understanding the Old Testament. 4th edition. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1987.
Bandstra, Barry L. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Grand Rapids, New York. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1995.
Flanders, Henry J., Robert W. Crapps and D. A. Smith. People of the Covenant: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
