The 5Ws – questions beginning with W – are key words which help us in problem-solving and information-gathering and as a teacher, I often had to use such questions to focus pupils’ attention on essential facts. Who? What? When? Where? Why? are important questions which help us to process large amounts of information and try to make sense of complicated ideas.
Our new Bible studies are looking at the book of Psalms and if we thought the 16 chapters of 1 Corinthians gave us plenty of food for thought, 150 psalms might seem even more daunting! But by looking at these 5Ws, we can begin to see patterns and themes which can help us to appreciate this wonderful book in the Bible, beloved by so many. At the same time, we must never reduce our Bible studies to mere problem-solving or information-gathering, for God’s word is living and active (Heb 4:12) and we need the javelins of His word to pierce our desire for functionality and reveal to us the path to a personal relationship with our Creator so we can respond to His call.
Eugene Peterson tells us that ‘torah (law) is God’s words that hit the target of the human condition’ (‘Answering God’, P 25). The noun ‘torah’ comes from a verb that means to throw something (like a javelin) so that it hits its mark. Words have this capacity; God’s words are both piercing and penetrating, getting inside us and working their meaning in us. As we study the Psalms – some of the most piercing and penetrating words in the whole of the Bible – we can be sure that God’s Word will challenge, comfort and change us. The Torah is often used to refer to the first 5 books of the Bible; the book of Psalms is divided into 5 books itself, acting as a response to the truths of God revealed from Genesis through to Deuteronomy. We have to study every part of the Bible keeping in mind the bigger picture of the whole Book; the Psalms give us our answering call to God’s Word, teaching us to call to God in trust, protest, complaint, lament, adoration and praise.