Summary:
In Week 3, you’ll follow Abraham’s story—the moment God steps into human history with a promise that will shape the entire biblical narrative. God calls Abraham to leave everything familiar and trust Him for a land, a family, and a blessing that will one day reach the whole world. As you read, you’ll see Abraham wrestle with faith, obedience, fear, and God’s patience. These chapters lay the foundation for God’s covenant people and point forward to Jesus, the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise that “all nations will be blessed” through Abraham’s offspring.
Videos, downloads & Links
Bible Reading, Mapping, & Notes
Jesus in the story?
Shadows, Types and Appearances
Genesis 12:3b (One day in the future)
Genesis 12:3b says that “all the families of the earth will be blessed through you,” a promise God repeats to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. According to multiple biblical sources, this blessing ultimately refers to one specific descendant—Jesus Christ—who brings salvation to all peoples, not just Israel. The New Testament makes this connection explicit: Peter applies Genesis 12:3 directly to Jesus in Acts 3:25–26, and Paul teaches in Galatians 3:8 and 3:16 that Scripture was “announcing the gospel in advance to Abraham,” identifying Christ as the singular “seed” through whom the blessing comes. Through Jesus, God fulfills His ancient promise by extending forgiveness, grace, and new life to people from every nation, tribe, and language.
Genesis 14:18–20 (Melchizedek)
Melchizedek appears suddenly as both a king and a priest—“king of righteousness” and “king of peace”—blessing Abraham and receiving an offering from him. His mysterious, genealogy‑less priesthood makes him one of the most intriguing figures in Scripture, leading some to view him as a Christophany, a pre‑incarnate appearance of Jesus, while others see him as a historical king whose life and role intentionally foreshadow Christ. Hebrews presents Jesus as a priest “in the order of Melchizedek,” showing that whether Melchizedek was Christ Himself or a preview, his brief appearance points unmistakably to the greater Priest‑King whose eternal righteousness and peace would bless the nations through His sacrifice. Watch Video
Genesis 15 (Cutting a Covenant)
When God makes His covenant with Abraham, He alone passes between the pieces of the sacrificed animals, showing that He Himself will bear the cost of the covenant if Abraham fails. This moment foreshadows Jesus, who ultimately takes on the covenant curse at the cross, fulfilling God’s promise through His own blood. The ceremony reveals that salvation does not depend on human performance but on God’s faithfulness, which finds its ultimate expression in Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. Watch video
Genesis 16:7-14 (Hagar and the Lord)
Genesis 16:7–14 reveals one of Scripture’s earliest Christophanies, a moment when Christ appears before His incarnation. As Hagar flees Sarai’s harshness, the Angel of the LORD meets her by a desert spring and speaks with divine authority—promising to multiply her descendants and naming her son Ishmael (“God hears”), because the LORD has heard her affliction. Realizing she has encountered God Himself, Hagar declares, “You are the God who sees me,” and names the well Beer-lahai-roi (“the well of the Living One who sees me”). This passage shows Christ as the God who sees and hears, revealing His compassion and presence even to the outcast, assuring that divine mercy reaches beyond the covenant household.
Genesis 18 (Jesus and two angels)
In Genesis 18, As two angels accompany a third figure, this central visitor speaks and acts with divine authority—affirming the promise of Isaac’s birth, reading Sarah’s unspoken thoughts, and later declaring judgment on Sodom. Abraham intercedes before Him as one speaks to God Himself. This encounter is widely understood as a Christophany, a pre‑incarnate appearance of Christ, who comes in human form to reaffirm the covenant, reveal God’s compassion, and demonstrate His righteous justice. The chapter shows Jesus as the Divine Visitor who draws near, listens, promises, and judges with perfect mercy and truth. Watch video
Genesis 22 (Isaac on the altar)
The near‑sacrifice of Isaac is one of the clearest pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament. Abraham is asked to offer his beloved son, who carries the wood up the mountain in the region of Moriah—the same area where Jesus would later be crucified. At the last moment, God provides a substitute ram, pointing to the greater truth that one day God would not spare His own Son but offer Him as the true substitute for humanity. Isaac’s story anticipates the Father’s love, the Son’s obedience, and the provision of a perfect sacrifice in Jesus.