Bible Associations

Twenty-two AND The Word of God

            With some correlations, there is a large database.  For instance, the number two and the subject of witness has a large database in the scriptures tying the number and subject together.  This is also true with the number 3 and the subject of the Godhead; the number 7 and the subject of completions; the number 8 and the subject of new beginnings.  Others correlations have a much smaller data base in the scriptures, but still are strongly correlated.  The number 6 and man is an example of this.  Also, the number 9 and spiritual fruits has a relatively small data base of correlations. 

            In this brief study, we will consider the correlation between the number 22 and the subject of The Word of God.  While there are only a few times we see this correlation in the scriptures, it nevertheless, is quite significant. 

            First, the 119^th Psalm is the longest chapter in the bible.  It consists of 176 verses.  It is all about the Word of God.  This chapter is divided up like no other chapter in the bible.  It has 22 divisions.  Each of these 22 divisions consists of a separate letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  It begins with the letter, ALEPH, and ends with the letter, TAU, which are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  Each division consists of 8 verses each. 

            Second, we normally think of the bible consisting of the Old and New Testaments.  While this is a proper division, there is also another division of the bible.  The first twenty-two books of the bible are a section of the scriptures known as "the law."  This includes the first five books associated with the giving of the law and the next seventeen books of the execution of the law.  Beginning with the book of Isaiah, we have the next twenty-two books, which are known as the "prophets."  The first seventeen of the books are the prophecies of the prophets and are in the Old Testament.  The last five of these books are the fulfillment of the prophecies and are the first five books of the New Testament.  The third set of twenty-two books is known as the "letters."  This includes the letters written to churches and to individuals. 

            Third, the "Lamentations of Jeremiah" has a unique number of verses in each chapter.  The book is the expression of Jeremiah's great sorrow at the consequences of Israel's failure to obey "the word of God."  The first, second, fourth and fifth chapters consist of twenty-two verse each.  The third chapter consist of 66 verses which is a multiple of twenty-two. 

            Fourth, the final book of the scriptures, the book of Revelation, consists of twenty-two chapters.  John tells us in verse 2 that he bore record of "the word of God."  These twenty-two chapters are an index written in sign language of the great doctrines and teachings of the word of God.