Bible Basics for Catholics by John Bergsma

(New York: Ave Maria Press, 2015), 224

Bible Basics for Catholics is a helpful overview of the structure of the Bible as viewed through the lens of the covenants God makes with man. Bergsma gives the big picture, which is helpful to have in mind when reading the Bible to understand how the details hang together as a whole.

Introduction

  • Goal of this book: show you the basic overall "big picture" of the Bible
  • Use stick figures to remember the series of biblical covenants
  • A covenant is a legal way to make someone a part of your family (4), or "the extension of kinship by oath" (163)—adoption and marriage are examples
  • The mediator is a person who represents groups of people involved in a covenant: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus
  • Covenants take place on mountaintops, where we feel closer to God and can see the world in context

Chapter 1: The Covenant with Adam

  • Adam was a model for us and the meaning of his life remains the purpose of our lives (10)
  • Our first image is the image of the temple of creation (19)
  • Being made in God's "image and likeness" means to be a son—divine filiation (20)
  • The arrival of woman is a high point in God's creation, and the woman brings out the best in the man (24)
  • Adam's identity in Genesis 1-2: firstborn son, king, priest, prophet, bridegroom (25)
    • We are also called to be priest (offer sacrifice of our own life), prophet (speak God's word), and king (master self so as to not be a slave to sin)
  • God clothing Adam and Eve in the skin of a dead lamb in the garden foreshadows the Lamb of God clothing humans in his righteousness (36)

Chapter 2: The Covenant with Noah

  • The language of Noah's covenant recalls Genesis 1 and is a renewal of the covenant with Adam—the flood is a re-creation (40)
  • The themes of Noah's fall are familiar: consumption of fruit, nakedness, shame, curse. Sin has infected every person (44)

Chapter 3: The Covenant with Abraham

  • Abraham is not chosen for his own sake. He is chosen so that he can bless the rest of the human family (45)
  • God makes a "covenant between the pieces" with Abraham, meaning something to the effect of "if I do not keep my covenant commitments, may I be killed like these animals" (49)
  • God is coming down to Abraham's level: divine condescension (49)
  • The sacrifice of Isaac on the mountain is a premonition of Christ's sacrifice (54), where "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son" (55, cf. Gn-22)

Chapter 4: The Covenant with Moses

  • The ten plagues are a "battle of the gods" where the Lord God shows his reality over the false gods of Egypt (68)
  • At Sinai God is adopting Israel as his "firstborn son." The Ten Commandments are the family rules governing our relationship with the Father and with our siblings (72)
  • The laws given after the golden calf have a penitential purpose, meant to teach spiritual truths and restore Israel to spiritual health (77)

Chapter 5: The Covenant with David

  • Genesis through Joshua is all about Moses; Ruth through the end of the Old Testament is all about David (88)
  • David is great:
    • Politically: he founds a great nation, the Israelite Empire; and he establishes Jerusalem
    • Liturgically: he was a great reformer who practiced what he preached and showed his people the important place of worship in their lives; he also introduced singing and music into worship
  • David wants to build God a "house" (temple), but God promises to build David a "house" (dynasty) (93)
  • The Davidic covenant: God promises David a son who will build God's temple, be the Son of God, and rule over Israel forever (94)

Chapter 6: The New Covenant in the Prophets

  • The high point of the entire Old Testament comes in 1 Kings 8 when Solomon dedicates the temple, which was the symbol and sum of all the covenants and all salvation history (105)
  • Nothing is greater than the Temple except for God, and Jesus reveals himself by saying "Something greater than the Temple is here" (107 cf Mt-12)
  • The prophets are like weathermen: only storms and gloom in the short-term outlook, but sunny days in the extended forecast (108)
  • Isaiah is the "fifth Gospel" because of its many prophecies of the Messiah (109)
  • Every Mass is a fulfillment of Jer-31 ("I will make a new covenant", cf. Lk-22 "This cup is the New Covenant in my blood") (114)
  • Ezekiel adds "everlasting covenant" to the covenant of peace (Ez-37, 119), the New Covenant spoken of by the prophets includes the restoration and transformation of the Davidic Covenant (121)

Chapter 7: The Eucharistic Covenant

  • Jesus fulfills all the expectations associated with each of the great covenants in the Old Testament (127)
    • Adam: Jesus fulfills the fivefold role as son of God, king, priest, prophet, and bridegroom (127), these characteristics also connect him to Noah (133)
    • Abraham: Jesus is the promised "seed of Abraham" (Gn-22, 134)
    • Moses: Jesus is a prophet like Moses, but greater than him; Moses was replaced by Joshua, and Jesus is the new Y'shua (137)
    • David: the genealogies show Jesus' legal and biological lineage: he is both son and heir to David. Jesus gives us a temple better than Solomon's, his body (139)
    • Prophets: in the Passover meal Jesus establishes the new covenant in his blood (141); his body is the temple and it is flowing with the blood and water of the Passover (145)
  • With the coming of the Holy Spirit the divine filiation that Adam enjoyed is not given back to all men (151)

Last Word

  • The main goal of this book is to show the Bible's unity (155, cf. CCC 112 about "content and unity")
  • The message of the Bible is this: the sonship Adam once enjoyed with God has been restored to us by Jesus Christ (156)
  • Our response to the scriptures should be this (156):
    • Receive the sacraments (which make us participate in the events of scripture)
    • Live our faith as priest, prophet, and king
    • Keep learning more of God's Word
    • Share what we know

Here is a link to my version of Bergsma's illustrations. I had fun drawing these with my kids, and I frequently come back to the creation diagram which illustrates the forming and then the filling of creation. (GitHub link)

Note: Bergsma's favorite Bible translation is the RSV-2CE (55)

Topic: The Bible

Source

Further Reading

Created: 2023-04-21-Fri
Updated: 2026-02-04-Wed