Drawing Water From The Wells Of Salvation

by Doug Edwards

Many of us are like tourists when we come to visit the writings of the prophets. We are tourists in the sense that we occasionally make a short visit to these passages, but quickly head home to the safe ground of the New Testament where we feel more secure. The difficulty of the prophets' poetic language often leaves us puzzled as to its meaning. I must admit that some of the most difficult passages in all of the Bible are found in the writings of the Old Testament prophets. we rob ourselves of many wonderful truths when we purposely avoid this part of the sacred Scripture.

Someone has said the prophets are like our distant relatives in old family pictures. We know somehow the strangers in these pictures are related to us but we know practically nothing about their lives. So we store these old pictures in our attic - out of sight and out of mind. Some Christians store away the prophets the same way. It is sad to hear Christians say that they have never read the Old Testament and that preachers should only preach from the New Testament and leave the Old Testament alone. What a shame! What a loss!

277 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jamie Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawing Water From The Wells of Salvation is a must read for anyone who is interested in biblical prophecy. Brother Doug Edwards charts a course through the difficult passages of the Old Testament that testify of the Messiah and His reign. He shows that the prophets used imagery and metaphors from their own society and time to point forward to the abundant blessings of the messianic reign. Many people in Jesus' day (and, indeed, our own) took these prophecies literally and expect physical blessings. Brother Edwards shows how the New Testament authors interpreted these passages to mean spiritual blessings that are fulfilled in the church and through it apply to all nations. In each of his twelve chapters, a different aspect of the messianic kingdom is discussed.

This is not an easy book to read, although Brother Edwards has a warm, enjoyable writing style. The difficulty to the reader is the material that is being presented. Because difficult passages are discussed, it may take the reader some time to digest the material. It may be best to read one chapter at a time and take the time to contemplate the material before moving on to the next chapter. I will certainly be rereading this book in the near future and expect to learn more as I revisit it.