Bible Threads

Among the principal threads       orchestrated within the books of the Bible are:

The Covenant, and its Ark , the Sacrifice,  the Temple, Divine Mercy, sin and forgiveness, the Priesthood, love, Our Lord's Body and Blood, the Kingdom,  the role of suffering, and the Messiah.

What is the Covenant?

The Covenant is the mutual promise that existed between God and His people Israel.  If Israel took God as its spouse, God would take Israel as His spouse.  As spouse, Israel would keep God's Commandments, and offer animal sacrifice for its sins.  The Covenant was later fulfilled by the New Covenant, where Our Lord gives us His Body and Blood to be offered to God in reparation for our sins.

What is the Ark of the Covenant?

The Ark is initially used by God to save select people and animals from the flood as described in Genesis.  Later on, the Ark of the Covenant is used to preserve the essentials of the Jewish Religion: namely remnants of the manna (the bread given to the Jews in the desert), the rod of Aaron, and the 10 Commandments (the only part of the Bible written by God Himself).

  The Ark of the Covenant was received with great joy, and dancing, by King David in the hill country, for which his son Solomon was to build the Temple.

  It is in the New Testament, that Mary is identified as the Ark of the New Covenant, when John the Baptist, yet unborn, receives the carrier of Jesus, with joy and dancing.

What is Sacrifice?

In the Book of Genesis shortly after the sin of Adam and Eve, mankind was aware of the need for sacrifice to God for sin. Cain's sacrifice was unacceptable to God, unlike Abel's sacrifice.  As a result, Cain slew Able creating the first Biblical murder. 

Defects in sacrifice included the god to whom sacrifice was offered, who was sacrificing, and what was being sacrificed.  While God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, as a more perfect sacrifice, this still fell short.

  In the New Testament, Sacrifice reaches perfection, when Our Lord, as victim and Priest, is sacrificed, and our own lives, particularly our sufferings can become part of that sacrifice proving God's mercy.

What is the Role of the Temple?

At the center of pre-Christian Jewish life was the Temple Building of Jerusalem, which housed the Holy of Holies and in which sacrifice was offered. This temple was destroyed twice, once by the Babylonians, and a later temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

  In the New Testament Jesus describes Himself as the  Temple, also to be destroyed, but after 3 days to be resurrected.  After the Descent of the Holy Spirit, Believers became the Temple of the Holy Spirit. 

Divine Mercy

God's greatest attribute is His Mercy.  It was by Mercy that Creation and man came into being and were described as good.  It was by Mercy that man was given free will to love, and after his fall, it was by mercy that man was redeemed.  It is by mercy that the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity are continuously being offered to God the Father in reparation for sin.

Sin and Forgiveness

The Bible describes how God continuously makes a distinction between sin, which He hates, and the sinner which he loves.  Thus Jesus still loves Peter, even though Peter denied Him 3 times.  Man is not so easily able to make this distinction, and frequently condemns the sinner along with the sin, and even condemns His Church for its mistakes.

The Priesthood

The Old Testament Priests were selected from among Jews to offer sacrifice for the peoples sins.  In the New Testament, while all Believers share in Our Lord's Priesthood, some are selected to re-enact the Sacrifice of Our Lord himself and to forgive or retain sins. The difference between the Old and New Covenant Priesthood is specifically noted in Chapter 8 and following of Paul's letter to the Hebrews.  No one can take this honor on himself.

Love in the Bible?

The Bible could be summarized as a book about God's love for man.  God, who is love, created man out of love, and when man disobeyed him, he allowed man to return God's love through sacrifice.  He saved Noah and his family, because he knew that Noah loved Him, and later He made a great nation from Abraham, who showed his love for God, by offering to sacrifice his only son Isaac as recorded in Genesis.  Out of this same love, God established the Davidic Kingdom.  In the New Covenant, God sacrificed His only Son to save us from our sins.