This is part of an ongoing series called Jesus in Genesis. The series unpacks how to read the Bible as the redemptive story in which Christ is the center, from creation to the final judgment.
In time, the promises of the covenant of grace pass to the next generation: Isaac. After Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son in Genesis 22—a striking prefigurement of the promised Son’s substitutionary atonement—God affirms that while Isaac is a son of promise (Gal. 4:28), he is not the one to fulfill all righteousness (Matt. 3:15). Then, the promised blessing of Abraham is passed through Isaac to Jacob (Gen. 27).
As Sarah and Abraham pass from the scene (Gen. 23; 25), the Lord confirms his covenant with Isaac (Gen. 26:1–5) and provides a godly wife, Rebekah (Gen. 24), through whom the line of the “seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15) will continue. Like Sarah, Rebekah is barren. But Isaac responds in faith and intercedes for her (Gen. 25:21) and, once again, the Lord miraculously provides children—not just one son, but twins (25:22–26)!
Even as the covenant community expands, the Lord teaches that the blessing of the Covenant of Grace comes not by bloodline, but through faith alone. Jacob, whose name means “heel-grasper” (Gen. 25:26), illustrates this as he jealously grasps for the promise by deception and cunning so that the inheritance comes to him, not by merit, but by grace alone (Gen. 27:1–46).
Each major figure here can be seen as a type of Christ. Like Isaac, Jesus is the obedient Son—obedient to the point of death (Phil. 2:8)—willing to sacrifice himself to please his Father (John 8:29; Matt. 3:17; 17:5) and becoming the propitiation for sin (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2). Like Isaac, Jesus is the bridegroom who goes great distances (Gen. 24:62–67) to bring back for himself a bride—his church (Eph. 5), whom he loves and serves through his constant intercession (Gen. 25:21).
And Jesus is the better Esau—the Elder Brother (Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:11–12) who does not guard his rights but shares his inheritance with his people (Rom. 8:16–17; Gal. 4:7; 1 Pet. 1:4), becoming the Firstborn “Older” brother who truly serves his younger siblings (Gen. 25:23)—us who are adopted as children of God through faith (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:4–6; Eph. 1:4–5).
Seeing Jesus in Genesis 22–27
Genesis 22—Jesus is the faithful Son who offers himself willingly in agreement with his Father’s will as a substitute sacrifice (1 John 2:1–2; 4:10) to save his sinful people (Rom. 6:23). As the true and greater Son of Promise, like Isaac, he not only allowed himself to be bound in our place, but was crucified, died, and was buried as the Lamb slain to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29; Rev. 5:6–10). And he was then received back to life and into the Father’s everlasting love and fellowship through his resurrection on the third day (Heb. 11:17–19), assuring us of his vindication (1 Tim. 3:16) and our justification (Rom. 4:25).
Genesis 23—By his righteous death and victorious resurrection, Jesus secures our inheritance in the New Heavens and Earth. Like Abraham’s tomb for Sarah on a small parcel of the Land of Promise, our graves, for those who die in Christ, are now temporary resting places and outposts of the kingdom to come—the renewed earth (Matt. 5:5; 25:34; Heb. 11:8–16).
Genesis 24—Jesus is the faithful servant who covenanted with his Father in eternity past to leave the glory of his presence (John 17:5) and journey to earth by taking human flesh (Rom. 8:3; Phil. 2:7) in order that he might find a bride fit for the Royal Son. He was faithful to seek out a bride, his church (Rev. 21:9–10), and adorn her (Rev. 19:7; 21:2), making her fit to journey home to her Bridegroom—all of which Jesus did through his redeeming and sanctifying work for his bride, the church (Eph. 5:25–27).
Genesis 25—Jesus is the true Abraham—the “father” of a multitude of faith (Gen. 17:5; Heb. 2:13; 5:9), whose righteous death brings blessing to the seed of promise (Gen. 25:11). He is the better Esau, our elder brother who “serves the younger” (Gen. 25:23)—us who are children of God through adoption as sons by faith (Rom. 8:15, 29; Eph. 1:5; Heb. 2:11–12). Unlike Esau, Jesus didn’t despise his birthright (Gen. 25:29–34), but generously shares his earned inheritance—an unshakable kingdom in which righteousness dwells (Heb. 12:28; 2 Pet. 3:13).
Genesis 26—Jesus is the Lord of the Harvest, who reaps more than he sows (Matt. 25:26). He gathers a rich harvest of righteousness. His people—his “wheat” and the fruitful branches of his vine (John 15:5–8)—grow up into new life among the tares (Matt. 13:24–30). By his tending care, they bear fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23) in this land of their sojourn (Heb. 11:19; 1 Pet. 2:11), despite constant opposition (Gen. 25:17–33; John 16:33).
Genesis 27—Jesus is the better Patriarch, founder of the faith (Heb. 2:10), who does not need to be deceived to give the blessing God has promised (Gen. 25:23), even when it is promised to those who are unworthy by nature (Rom. 5:6–10; Col. 1:21). As our elder brother and the firstborn son (Col. 1:15), Jesus takes the covenant curse that we deserve (Gen. 27:39–40), securing for us the blessing of Abraham and the riches of his grace (Gen. 27:27–28; Gal. 3:13–14; 2 Cor. 8:9).
Footnotes
This expanding fruitfulness of the people of God continues with Jacob, who does not just bear two sons, but twelve who each become tribal-heads of a nation that eventually leaves Egypt as a nation of people (Deut 10:22).
