Abraham lived 2,000 years before Christ, yet his hope was anchored in seeing Jesus's day. Today we'll explore how Old Testament saints were saved the same way we are.
John 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
Jesus tells a group of people who placed their hope in being the seed of Abraham: "Listen, I know you anchor your hope in Abraham, but Abraham anchored his hope in seeing My day."
This raises a crucial question: How was Abraham saved? How was Moses saved? How was David saved? How was any Old Testament saint saved?
They were saved in the exact same way that you and I are—by faith in the Messiah. Don't get lost here. There is only ever been one hope, one way of salvation, one path to God, and that is through Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, they looked forward to the fulfillment of God's promises as revealed in the Messiah. They looked forward. Now in the New Covenant we look backward in history at what God did fulfill. They looked through a glass dimly, but we see in the fullness of history everything that Christ accomplished.
Let me walk you through Abraham's story. In Genesis 3, God tells Adam and Eve after the fall that the seed of the woman is going to come and crush the head of the serpent. The storyline of the Old Testament is the search for the Messiah as revealed in the promised seed. Over and over: the seed, the seed, the seed.
In Genesis 12, God tells Abraham—at that point 75 years old and childless—"Through you, through your seed, all the nations of the earth will be blessed." In Genesis 15, Abraham asks, "How can I know you'll keep your promises?" And God does something dramatic.
He tells Abraham to bring animals, cut them in half, and lay them opposite each other. In the ancient world, people would walk between dead animals saying, "May it be done to me if I break this covenant. May I be torn asunder if I fail to keep my promises."
But watch what happens. Genesis 15:17: "When the sun had set and it was very dark, behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces." The presence of God—manifested as smoking oven and flaming torch—passes through these torn carcasses.
God is saying, "May it be done unto Me if I don't keep My promises. Do you want to know just how far I'll go to keep My promises? My deity is on the line. My character is on the line. If I fail to keep My promises, I'll cease to be God."
Twenty-five years later, Sarah gives birth to Isaac. Abraham is 100 years old. Amazing—until the following chapter when God tells Abraham to take his loved son, his one and only son, and slaughter him on the altar.
They're walking up the hill. Isaac asks, "Dad, where is the sacrifice?" Abraham responds, "The Lord will provide." And Hebrews tells us Abraham was so confident in God's promises that he believed even if he slaughtered his own son, God would raise him back from the dead.
Abraham raises his hand to kill his son, and the angel of the Lord—Jesus Christ—calls out, "Stop! Don't stretch out your hand against the lad. Now I know that you fear God." God draws Abraham's attention to a substitute: a ram in the bushes that would take the place of the sinner so the sinner could go free.
Abraham gives that place a nickname: Jehovah Jireh—"the Lord will provide." Abraham's hope, 2,000 years before Jesus, was in God's final provision. Not just of a temporary sacrifice, but of a final sacrifice. He knew the blood of goats and rams could never take away sin. He looked forward through a glass dimly and saw Jesus.
Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day. We rejoice because we look back at what he could only see by faith.
1. How does understanding that all the Old Testament saints were saved by faith in Christ change your view of Scripture's unity?
2. What does Abraham's confidence in God's promises teach you about trusting God in impossible circumstances?
3. Are you living with the same forward-looking faith that Abraham had—trusting God's promises even when you can't see how He'll fulfill them?
Stay dialed in.