Objective

In this study, we’ll see that the first five books of the Old Testament lay a foundation for the entire Bible.

Key Verse

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8)

Introduction

In our previous study, we discovered the three great themes that flow like rivers through the entire Old Testament. God created all things, showing us His mighty power. God revealed His law, showing us His perfect holiness. God promised a Redeemer, showing us His amazing love. These three truths work together to form the foundation of everything God wants us to know about Himself and His plan for our salvation.

Now we turn our attention to where these themes first appear in Scripture—the first five books of the Bible. These books hold a special place in God’s revelation because they lay the groundwork for everything that follows. Just as a builder must lay a strong foundation before constructing a house, God established these foundational truths in the Law of Moses before revealing more of His plan through the prophets and other writings.

The Jewish word for the first five books of the Bible is Torah, which simply means “teaching” or “instruction.” These books are also known as the Pentateuch, meaning “five books.” But perhaps the most important name for these books is “the Law of Moses,” because this title tells us both who wrote them and what they contain. When Jesus and the apostles referred to “the Law,” they were speaking about these five books that Moses wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

These books tell us about God’s chosen people—how He called them, formed them into a nation, and used them to bring His Redeemer into the world. The message begins with all humanity in the early chapters of Genesis, but then focuses on one family and one nation, Israel. Through Israel, God would preserve His promises and prepare the world for Jesus Christ.

As we study these foundational books together, we will see that everything God gave to Israel was pointing forward to something greater. Every blessing, every promise, every ceremony was a picture of what God would accomplish through His Son. In this lesson, we will explore both the author of the Law of Moses and the message that God gave through him, discovering how these first five books prepare us to understand everything else that follows in Scripture.

The Author

The first five books of the Bible are called the Law of Moses. When we hear the word “law,” we need to understand that it has both a general meaning and a specific meaning in Scripture. In its general sense, the word “law” describes everything contained in these five books—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This includes not only commandments and rules, but also stories, genealogies, songs, and prophecies. All of this together makes up the Law of Moses. Jesus spoke about this broad meaning when He explained to His disciples what had been fulfilled:

• Luke 24:44: He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

But the word “law” is also used in a more specific way to describe the particular commandments that God gave to Moses. These laws governed the everyday lives of the Children of Israel. They told them how to worship God, how to treat one another, and how to live as His holy people. We see this specific meaning in passages like these:

• Luke 2:22: When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

• John 7:23: Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath?

Scripture clearly tells us that Moses wrote these first five books of the Bible. This is not just a tradition that developed later—it is what God’s Word directly teaches us. Moses himself recorded that God commanded him to write down what he had received:

• Exodus 34:27-28: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

• Deuteronomy 31:24-26: After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord: “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.”

Jesus Himself confirmed that Moses was the author of these books. When Jesus wanted to emphasize the authority and importance of these writings, He pointed directly to Moses as their source:

• John 5:46-47: If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what you wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?

The apostles also recognized Moses as the author of the Law. Paul frequently referred to Moses when he quoted from these books, showing that the early church understood and accepted Mosaic authorship:

• Romans 10:5: Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”

• 2 Corinthians 3:15-16: Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Moses was not the first person God used as a prophet—men like Enoch and Noah had spoken God’s words before him. But Moses held a unique position among all the prophets who came before Christ. He was the greatest prophet until John the Baptist appeared to prepare the way for Jesus.

✏️ Notebook Moment: What made Moses such a great prophet? Consider his background, his experiences with God, and the magnitude of what God accomplished through him.

The Message

God gave a big message to Moses. It is a message that starts with creation and the story of all people, including you and me. The first eleven chapters of Genesis tell us how God made the world and how sin entered and spoiled everything. We learn about Adam and Eve, about Cain and Abel, about Noah and the flood, and about the tower of Babel. These early chapters show us the condition of the whole human race.

But then the message focuses on a single family and a single nation. God called Abraham and made wonderful promises to him. Through Abraham’s family, God would work to bring blessing to the entire world. The apostle Paul helps us understand the amazing blessings that God gave to His special people Israel.

• Romans 9:4-5: Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Paul is telling us that God gave eight special blessings to Israel. Each of these blessings teaches us something important about God’s plan to save the world. More importantly, each of these blessings looks ahead to Christ. This is the work that God was doing through Israel—He was preparing the world for our Redeemer.

➤ First: The Adoption

Israel was specially called and adopted by God as His own son. God did not choose Israel because they were better than other nations or because they deserved His love. He chose them simply because He loved them and wanted to show His grace to the world through them.

• Exodus 4:22: Then say to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.”

• Deuteronomy 7:6: For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

• Amos 3:2: You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.

This adoption of Israel gives us a beautiful picture of how we are adopted into God’s family through faith in Christ. Just as God chose Israel not because of their goodness but because of His love, He chooses us not because we deserve it but because of His amazing grace.

• John 1:12: Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

• Romans 8:14-16: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

💡REFLECT. Think about how God chose Israel. He did not choose them because they were good or because they earned His love. He chose them simply because He loved them. How does this truth change the way you think about God’s love for you? What does it mean to you that God chooses you because of His love, not because you are perfect? Write your thoughts down in your notebook.

➤ Second: The Glory of God

God revealed His glory to Israel in ways that no other nation had ever experienced. His glory appeared on Mount Sinai when He gave the law to Moses. His glory also filled the tabernacle, showing that God’s presence was living among His people.

• Exodus 19:16-18: On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

• Exodus 40:34: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

The glory of God that appeared to Israel points us to Jesus Christ. In Him, God’s glory has been expressed to us most fully. When we see Jesus, we see exactly what God is like.

• John 1:14: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• Hebrews 1:3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

➤ Third: The Covenants

God made everlasting covenants with Abraham and his family. These covenants contained God’s promises about the land, about making Abraham’s descendants into a great nation, and about blessing all the families of the earth through Abraham’s offspring.

• Genesis 15:18: On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.”

• Genesis 22:17-18: I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.

These covenants with Abraham find their complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Through Him, all the nations of the earth are indeed blessed with the greatest blessing of all—salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

✏️ Notebook Moment: How do you think Abraham felt when God made these amazing promises to him? What does this teach you about trusting God’s promises even when you cannot see how He will fulfill them?

➤ Fourth: The Law

God gave His law to Israel so they would understand His holiness and their own sinfulness. The law was perfect and good, but it could not save anyone. Instead, it served as a mirror to show people their need for a Savior.

• Leviticus 19:2: Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”

• Romans 3:20: Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

The law points us to Christ because it shows us that we need someone to save us. We cannot keep God’s perfect law, so we need a perfect Redeemer who can keep it for us and pay the penalty for our failure.

➤ Fifth: The Temple Worship

God gave Israel the priesthood and the tabernacle, and later the temple. Through these, the people could approach God through sacrifices and offerings. The priests served as mediators between God and the people, offering sacrifices that covered their sins.

• Hebrews 10:1-4: The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.

All of these sacrifices and ceremonies point ahead to the perfect sacrifice of Christ. He is our great High Priest who offered Himself once for all to take away our sins completely.

➤ Sixth: The Promises

God gave many wonderful promises to Israel. He promised that they would inherit a land flowing with milk and honey. He promised that they would live well in the land if they obeyed Him. He promised to bless them and make them a blessing to other nations.

• Deuteronomy 28:1-2: If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.

All of God’s promises find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Every promise that God has ever made is “Yes” in Him.

• 2 Corinthians 1:20: For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

We have been given a great inheritance and many promises in Christ that are far greater than anything God promised to Israel.

• Ephesians 1:18: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.

• 2 Peter 1:4: Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

➤ Seventh: The Patriarchs

God gave great leaders to Israel. These patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others—were examples of faith and obedience for God’s people to follow. Abraham was the greatest of the patriarchs because he believed God’s promises even when they seemed impossible.

• 1 Corinthians 10:11: These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.

• Hebrews 11:9: By faith he [Abraham] made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.

These faithful leaders point us to Jesus Christ, who is the perfect example of faith and obedience. Christ is the ultimate leader who guides us safely to our heavenly home.

➤ Eighth: The Messiah

Most importantly, God promised that the Redeemer would come through Israel. The very first promise of a Savior was given in Genesis, and throughout the Law of Moses we find more promises about the coming Messiah.

• Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

• Deuteronomy 18:15: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

All of these promises find their perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the Messiah who came through Israel to save not only the Jewish people, but people from every nation on earth.

Conclusion

We have seen that the Law of Moses is the foundation of everything God has revealed to us. These first five books of the Bible are not just ancient history or outdated rules. They contain the beginning of God’s great plan to save the world through Jesus Christ. Moses, the greatest prophet until John the Baptist, wrote these books under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to show us what God is like and what He has done for us.

We have also discovered that the eight special blessings God gave to Israel were never meant to end with Israel alone. Each blessing—adoption, glory, covenants, law, temple worship, promises, patriarchs, and the Messiah—points us directly to Jesus Christ. What God began with Abraham and his family, He completed perfectly in His Son. The adoption that Israel experienced shows us how we become God’s children through faith. The glory that filled the tabernacle shows us how God’s glory shines in Jesus. The covenants, the law, the sacrifices, the promises, and the faithful leaders all find their true meaning in Christ.

This is exactly what Jesus meant when He said these words to those who rejected Him:

• Matthew 5:17-18: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

In our next studies, we will look more closely at each of these books in greater detail. We will see how Genesis shows us God’s power in creation, how Exodus reveals God’s power in redemption, how Leviticus teaches us about God’s holiness, how Numbers demonstrates God’s faithfulness, and how Deuteronomy calls us to love and obey God. As we study each book, we will keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, remembering that all of Scripture testifies about Him.

✅ APPLY. We have learned that God gave eight special blessings to Israel, and each one points us to what we have in Jesus Christ. Think about your life right now. Which of these eight blessings do you most need to remember today? Perhaps you need to remember that God has adopted you as His child, or that His promises are trustworthy, or that Jesus has made a perfect way for you to come to God. Choose the blessing that speaks to your heart most today. Write down one specific way you can live differently this week because of what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.

Check Your Understanding

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🔍 Go Deeper

This is an optional section designed to guide you deeper into some of the topics of this lesson. Remember that you can always come back to this at another time. One strategy is to go through the entire Old Testament Survey once, and then come back and review each lesson and complete the “Go Deeper” sections. As always, make sure to have your notebook in hand to answer to write down your thoughts as you answer these questions.

1. Explore God’s Covenant Promises. Read Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 15:1-6, and Genesis 17:1-8. These passages show three different times when God made promises to Abraham. What specific promises does God make in each passage? How do these promises build on each other? Now read Galatians 3:6-9 and 3:16-18. How does Paul explain that these promises to Abraham are fulfilled in Jesus Christ?

2. Discover How the Law Points to Christ. Read Leviticus 16:1-10 about the Day of Atonement, when the high priest offered sacrifices for the people’s sins. Pay special attention to verses 8-10 about the two goats. Now read Hebrews 9:11-14 and 10:1-4. How does the author of Hebrews explain that Christ’s sacrifice is different from and better than the Old Testament sacrifices? What does this teach you about why the Law could not save people?

3. Study Moses as a Type of Christ. Read Deuteronomy 18:15-19, where Moses promises that God will raise up another prophet like him. What does Moses say this future prophet will do? Now read Acts 3:17-23, where Peter explains this promise. How does Peter say this promise was fulfilled in Jesus? Compare what Moses did for Israel (leading them out of slavery, giving them God’s law, interceding for them) with what Jesus does for us. What similarities do you see?