Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Friday, January 9, The LAW

LAW, History, Poetry/Wisdom, Prophets: Major/Minor,

Yesterday we learned that the Old Testament contains 39 books. It is divided into four major sections, and I immediately divide the Prophets as "Major/Minor" to give me a simple memory pattern of 5-12-5-5-12. Now we'll break them down further.

The mind works best with bits. Some call it "chunking". It is much easier to learn a few chunks of small sets than 39 individual items. It is said that our brain can't handle more than seven to nine successive random items without some sort of mnemonic device helping it. We're going to do that with the Bible, and by the time we're done, you should be able to easily find your way to each book, in and out of order. And as an added bonus, you'll get a logical understanding as to why books were placed where they were placed.

So, if you take a few days to patiently let your mind process these helps, you will have a grasp of the Bible that will last the rest of your life. And I can't think of anything more important to have at your grasp.

Now, let's dig in, starting with the LAW.

The LAW consists of Five Books: GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS, and DEUTERONOMY. They are in a very logical order, and once you understand it, you probably won't forget it.

GENESIS is the "Book of Beginnings". It starts with the Beginning of all things, then the Beginning of Man. We then have a "re-beginning" with the Flood, and the "beginning of nations" as they are scattered at the Tower of Babel.

The narrative then keys in on the Hebrews, people chosen by God to display His glory throughout the world. First He calls Abraham, then his son Isaac, then Jacob whom God renamed "Israel". From Israel came the twelve sons who will father the Twelve Tribes. And finally, we have his son Joseph, who eventually brings the whole family to Egypt.

I gave a lot of info on that book, because from that book all the rest of the Bible makes sense. My pastor likes to say that the whole Bible can be learned from the first three chapters of Genesis, with the rest of it being details.

The next four books are all about Moses. As a matter of fact, it is a good thing to remember that the first five books were compiled by Moses. (a mnemonic: MOSES, five letters, compiled the first five books.)

EXODUS means "Exit", for this is the book where the Hebrews "exit" Egypt, and God establishes the Law, based on the Ten Commandments. Here the Hebrews agree to follow the laws of God, which we call the "Mosaic Law." It ends with a very detailed description of building the Tabernacle.

LEVITICUS is basically a "School Book", which teaches them the Law in exacting detail. There is no movement, just teaching. It is called Leviticus because the tribe of the "Levites" were to be the priests serving God for the people. (to help me remember that this is the third book, I think "three-vites")

So, let these three books "GEL" in your memory banks (GEL= Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus)

In the fourth book, NUMBERS, they begin to move. It's called Numbers because, well, they "number" the fighting men of the tribes. Twice, actually, because the first group chickened out after the 11-day journey to the Promised Land, and wandered for 40 years until they all passed on and their sons and daughters took the reins to take the Promised Land. They were numbered as well. Here we find the overwhelming size of the Hebrew army, with approximately 600,000 fighting men.

Then, after this action book, we come to another "School Book" called "Deuteronomy" which means "Second Law". I'm guessing that God figured the new generation needed to become familiar again with the Law, hence a repeat. Moses dies at the end of this book, and God chooses Joshua to lead the new generation into the Promised Land.

So, we have Genesis, then "Action/School/Action/School". The Acronym is "GELND". Try to pronounce that! Spend the day today contemplating these five books. Count them on your fingers, reciting them over and over again. Make a cursory run through them if you can, or at least read through a quick summary of each book, which is usually found before each book in a study Bible. (I just typed in "Summary of the Books of the Law" on my phone and found tons of them to choose from.)

Keep in mind the "First Generation/Second Generation" thing, where Exodus/Leviticus keys in on the First Generation, Numbers transitions from First to Second, and Deuteronomy is the final schooling process for the Second Generation.

I repeat: a few days of concentrated effort pays years of dividends.

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

Memory Helps:

Memory process:

Five Books of the Law:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (GELND)

Extra credit:

Genesis: Beginnings
Exodus: Exiting Egypt, Ten Commandments
Leviticus: Priests/Schoolbook for first generation
Numbers: Numbering Tribes, transition from First to Second Generation
Deuteronomy: "Second Law" Schoolbook for second generation.