Pointing to Jesus (Genesis 15)

Summary:

In Genesis 15, God speaks to Abram in a vision, reassuring him with the promise of protection and a great reward. 

Abram expresses concern about his childlessness, noting that his servant Eliezer of Damascus is his heir. 

God counters by promising that Abram’s own offspring will inherit, likening his descendants to the countless stars in the sky. 

Abram believes God, and his faith is credited as righteousness. 

God further promises the land of Canaan to Abram’s descendants. 

To confirm this covenant, God instructs Abram to prepare a sacrifice of animals, which are cut in two. 

As Abram falls into a deep sleep, God reveals that his descendants will be enslaved for 400 years but will be delivered and possess the land. 

God alone passes between the animal pieces in the form of a smoking firepot and flaming torch, unilaterally sealing the covenant.

Pointing to Jesus:

Genesis 15 is rich with types and shadows pointing to Jesus, emphasizing God’s sovereign grace and covenantal faithfulness. 

The covenant ceremony, where God alone passes through the animal pieces, prefigures the unilateral nature of the new covenant in Christ, where God Himself, through Jesus’ atoning death, secures salvation for the elect without human contribution (Ephesians 2:8–9). 

This underscores unconditional election and irresistible grace, as God initiates and fulfills His promises. 

Abram’s faith, credited as righteousness, foreshadows justification by faith alone, fulfilled in Christ, the true seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16), through whom all nations are blessed (Genesis 12:3). 

The promise of numerous descendants points to the spiritual offspring of Christ—the church—gathered from all nations (Romans 4:16–17). 

The firepot and torch symbolize God’s presence, hinting at Christ as the light of the world and the divine Word who accomplishes redemption, bearing the covenant’s penalty on behalf of sinners (Hebrews 9:12). 

The prophecy of enslavement and deliverance foreshadows Christ’s work as the greater Moses, liberating His people from the slavery of sin through His exodus-like sacrifice (Luke 9:31).

Reflection:

Genesis 15 calls Christians to trust in God’s promises, even when fulfillment seems distant, as Abram did, resting in the assurance of justification by faith in Christ’s finished work. 

It reminds us that salvation is God’s unilateral act of grace, encouraging humility and dependence on Him rather than our own efforts. 

In daily life, this fosters perseverance through trials, confidence in God’s covenant faithfulness, and a call to live as heirs of the promise, sharing the gospel to extend Christ’s kingdom to all nations. 

The imagery of God’s presence inspires worship and reliance on the Holy Spirit, who seals believers as God’s own until the final inheritance is fully realized (Ephesians 1:13–14).