Moby-Dick Questions Ch. 72: What is the purpose of the monkey-rope

What is the purpose of the monkey-rope?  How does it function as a metaphor for Ishmael?  How does the message of the monkey-rope relate to the “two-stranded” lesson of Father Mapple’s sermon or of Fleece’s sermon?  Is the message of the monkey-rope a good thing or a bad thing?  Is Ishmael’s relationship with Queequeg different here than in the first part of the book?

You might also relate the monkey-rope to Ishmael’s other meditations on weaving:  ch. 1 is “Loomings”; in ch. 47, Ishmael and Queequeg weave a mat; in ch. 93, Pip will see God’s foot upon the treadle of the loom of His creation; and in ch. 102, Ishmael will refer to God as a weaver.  How does the monkey-rope relate to these various weaves?