Recurring Themes in the Bible

BIBLE THEMES TRACING RECURRING THEMES THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE

DEFINING TERMS A bible theme (motif) is an idea, word, or teaching that is found recurring in stories from Genesis to Revelation. Themes may overlap one another with regards to characters, locations, or events. A theme is recurring only when it is used in a common way in numerous parts of Scripture.

WHATS THE PURPOSE? By stacking these themes throughout scripture, Biblical authors purposefully add meaning to simple terms that couldn t otherwise be easily described. For example, we regularly use short phrases or reference ideas with cue words to bring to mind a larger body of work. We, the people It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. To be or not to be Let it Go! Themes are meant to add another layer of depth to easier teachings and provide a stepping stone to difficult lessons.

ANSWER THIS! By studying these themes, I want you to be able to answer these questions: How does this help me understand what God has done in the past with the people of Israel? How does this help me understand what Jesus did for me on the cross? How does this help me understand what God is still doing for me today?

WATER WEEK 1

GENESIS 2:8-10 8And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.9And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.

GENESIS 7:11-13 11In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.12And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.13On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark,

GENESIS 9:11-16 11I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. 12And God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:13I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.14When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,

GENESIS 9:11-16 (CONT.) 15I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.16When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.

EXODUS 14:1-4, 21 Then the LORD said to Moses,2 Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.3For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in. 4And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. And they did so. 21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

1 KINGS 5:1-3, 10 5 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.3She said to her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy. 10And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.

PSALM 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

EZEKIEL 47:1-2 47 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.2Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

EZEKIEL 47:6-9 Then he led me back to the bank of the river.7As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other.8And he said to me, This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.9And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.

MATTHEW 3:13-17 13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.14John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? 15But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented.16And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;17and behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

JOHN 19:31-37 31Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.32So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him.33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

JOHN 19:31-37 (CONT.) 34But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.35He who saw it has borne witness his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth that you also may believe.36For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken. 37And again another Scripture says, They will look on him whom they have pierced.

ROMANS 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

1 PETER 3:18-22 18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19in which he went and proclaimedto the spirits in prison, 20because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

REVELATION 7:17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

REVELATION 22:1-2, 17 1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations . 17 The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let the one who hears say, Come. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? God used water to save, sustain, and deliver his people of Old. God used water to save, sustain, and deliver everyone through Jesus. God continues to use water to save, sustain, and deliver his people through baptism! Noah & the Ark Jesus baptism in the Jordan Baptism saves! Israel traveling through the Red Sea Water pouring out from Jesus side on the Cross River of Life in the New Jerusalem. Naaman cured of leprosy Ezekiel s prophecy