Torah Designs in the Bible
There are many designs in the Bible. These are just another indication of the Hand of God through the Holy Spirit in the composition of His Word. I would like to discuss Torah Designs. The Torah is the Jewish word for the first five books of the Bible. To the Jewish mind the Torah is the Bible. The remaining books are commentary. We Gentiles call those books the Pentateuch. Pente is Greek for “five”; teuchos is Greek for “vessel.”
Dr. J. R. Church, a Baptist preacher from Texas, noted separate themes in each of the books of the Torah. Each of these five books has a distinct theme:
- Genesis - Beginning and the Sin of man
- Exodus - Deliverance and Redemption
- Leviticus - Sanctification or setting aside
- Numbers - Focus on Sin or the Wilderness
- Deuteronomy - Summation, Judgement, Establishment of the Kingdom
Further, Brother Church found that the five-book theme repeats itself in each chapter of the first five books. These themes repeat themselves throughout each book. For example, the Genesis theme, “Beginning and the Sin of Man,” can be found in chapters 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, etc. of each of the books of the Torah. The Exodus theme can be found in chapters 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27, etc. of each of the books of the Torah.
As an example, let us look at a few chapters in Exodus.
- The 11th chapter describes the plague on the firstborn of Egypt - the Beginning of freedom for the Children of Israel.
- Chapter 12 is the Passover of the Death Angel - Deliverance of Israel.
- Chapter 13 is the consecration of the firstborn - Sanctification or setting aside.
- Chapter 14 describes how Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he sinned by going back on his agreement to free the Children of Israel - the Focus on Sin.
- Chapter 15 is a poetic work summarizing the Great Works of the Lord - Summation.
- Chapter 16 starts all over again with a Genesis theme. This chapter is the beginning of the trek through the wilderness and describes the first time the Children of Israel received manna - the Beginning.
- Chapter 17 describes how the people were thirsty and the Lord provided water from a rock. It also describes the defeat of the Amalekites. Both of these subjects fit the second theme - Deliverance.
- In chapter 18 Moses, at the suggestion of Jethro, set aside men from each Tribe to help him govern the people - Sanctification or setting aside.
You can go on and on throughout the first five books of the Bible. For myself, the easiest chapters to detect are the “Leviticus” chapters (3, 8, 13, 18, 23, etc.). These chapters frequently deal specifically with individuals or groups who were “set aside.” Sometimes, the theme simply leaps out at you while you read. The 16th chapter of Numbers, a Genesis theme chapter, describes the rebellion of certain men against Moses. Their rebellion is reminiscent of the rebellion of Satan against the Lord. The theme of this chapter, of course, is the Sin of Man.
Read the Torah, or the Pentateuch, with the above in mind and be amazed! And be amazed at yet another design the Lord incorporated into His Word. For the Creator of all things to achieve this is as simple as a child's game. But we mere mortals should be in awe of the mighty intellect and the great and wonderful power of our Heavenly Father. May His Name be praised forever.
BACK to Lesson Archive.