Catholic Replies
Editor’s Note: This series on the Bible is from the book Catholicism & Scripture. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well.
Special Course On Catholicism And Scripture (Chapter 2)
Everything that God created was good, but His creation of the first humans, Adam and Eve, was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). They were created in a state of holiness and immortality, but Satan tempted them to disobey God, saying that eating the forbidden fruit would make them “like gods” (Gen. 3:5) who would know what is good and what is evil. God punished Adam and Eve by expelling them from the Garden of Eden, but promised He would send a redeemer to make up for their sin. The Church has seen this promise in Gen. 3:15 as referring to Jesus, who would be the offspring of a woman named Mary and who would “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
The wickedness inspired by Satan led Adam’s son Cain to kill his brother Abel out of jealousy and, as sin and evil continued to spread, God decided to send a flood that would destroy humanity. He spared only a good and blameless man named Noah, who built a huge ark that saved him and his family during the forty days of rain and, when the flood had subsided, God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of His covenant with the human race. He told Noah and his family to “be fertile and multiply” (Gen. 9:7).
Many years later, God told a man named Abram (later Abraham) to travel to another country. He said that He would make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and he would become the father of many nations. Abraham had a son named Isaac, who had twin sons named Esau and Jacob. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew and Jacob became the father of twelve sons, for whom the twelve tribes of Israel are named.
The sons of Jacob were jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him into slavery in Egypt. The story of Joseph (see Genesis, chapters 37-50) is an example of how God can bring good out of evil, for Joseph’s intelligence and ingenuity enabled him to rise to the number two man in the country and the one in charge of distributing food in time of famine. When his brothers came down to Egypt to purchase food, they did not recognize Joseph, but he recognized them and eventually told them who he was. He had them bring Jacob to Egypt, where they lived peacefully until Joseph died and the new king made slaves of the Israelite people.
God heard their cries for help and sent a man named Moses to lead them to freedom. Only after God had struck down the oldest child in every household in Egypt did the king let them go. The Israelites protected their own children by smearing the blood of a lamb over the doors of their houses, and the angel of death “passed over” their houses (hence the name “Passover” for this great event). It took the Israelites forty years to reach the “Promised Land” of Palestine (modern-day Israel) because of their continued disobedience and rebellion against God.
Moses’ successor Joshua and the Judges ruled over the people in Israel until they demanded a king. Their first king was Saul, who was not a good ruler, so he was replaced by David, who reigned for forty years and became the greatest king of all. However, his son Solomon and future kings ruled badly, and God allowed Israel to be conquered and sent into exile. He sent prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, to call the people to repent of their sins, and the prophets prepared the way for the Messiah, who came in the person of Jesus.
After being born in Bethlehem and spending thirty years growing up in Nazareth, Jesus devoted three years to teaching us that we must love God and others. He died on the cross for our sins on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. Jesus also started a Church, led by men like St. Peter and St. Paul, and promised He would be with His Church until the end of the world. This Church is the Catholic Church, and it is the source of all truth and of the seven sacraments that help us get to Heaven.
List of Answers:
ABRAHAM
CHURCH
DAVID
EGYPT
FORTY
GOD
GOOD FRIDAY
JEALOUSY
JOSEPH
MESSIAH
MOSES
PASSOVER
PROPHETS
REDEEMER
SATAN
SAUL
SOLOMON
Quiz:
- Everything _______ created was good, but humans were “very good.”
- _______________ tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God.
- God promised to send a ______________________ to atone for sin.
- Cain murdered Abel out of ____________________.
- God changed Abram’s name to ________________________..
- __________________ saved his people from starvation.
- After Joseph, the Israelites endured 400 years of slavery in _________________.
- God sent _____________ to free His people from slavery in Egypt.
- The night of their liberation is known as ___________________.
- It took Israel _________________ years to get to the Promised Land.
- The first King of Israel was ___________.
- The second and greatest King was _______________, who ruled for forty years.
- The misrule of __________________ and succeeding kings sent Israel into exile.
- Three famous _______________ were Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
- Finally, the __________________ came in the person of Jesus.
- He died for our sins on ___________________ and rose from the dead on Easter.
- He started a ______________________ whose leaders included Peter and Paul.
