The Gospel Center of Jesus

If you have been around OBC for any length of time, you know that we value the structure of the Bible. That is to say, we believe that because God inspired every word in Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:19–21), he also inspired the literary shape of those words. For instance, the five books of the Psalter were arranged to mirror the five books of Moses and to tell the story of King David and his greater Son. Likewise, in books like Deuteronomy, a careful reading shows us that Moses arranged his fifth book (or at least chapters 6–26) around the Decalogue (Ten Words) listed in Deuteronomy 5.

In other words, to understand the message of any given book requires learning the arrangement of that book. If you read last week’s reflection, you saw how Genesis is ordered in Genesis 1–11, as well as Genesis 12–24. In addition to recounting the story of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph by means of their respective generations (see “these are the generations” in Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2), Moses arranges Genesis chiastically.

In Scripture, a chiasm is a literary structure that follows the ABCBA pattern. And in his overview of Genesis, Jim Hamilton offers this outline:

1:1–2:3, Creation
                  2:4–4:26, Toledot of Heaven and Earth
                                    5:1–9:29, Toledot of Adam
                  10:1–11:9, Toledot of Noah
11:10–26, Toledot of Shem


11:27–32, Genealogy of Terah                    
                  12:1–9, Blessing of Abraham: Land, Seed, Blessing
                                    12:10–20, Sister Fib 1 (Exodus Preview)
                                                      13–14, Lot
                                                                        15 Eliezer, Faith, Covenant, Exodus,
                                                                        16 Hagar, Ishmael,
                                                                        17 Circumcision, Covenant with Isaac
                                                      18–19, Lot
                                    20:1–18, Sister Fib 2
                  21–22, Birth of Isaac, Offering of Isaac, Reiteration of Blessing
22:20–24, Genealogy of Nahor


23, Sarah’s Death
                            24, A Wife for Isaac
25:1–11, Abraham’s Death (see Isaac’s death in 35:27–29)


25:12–19, Ishmael and Isaac Toledots (25:12; 25:19)
                  25:20–26:5, Rebekah’s Children Struggle in Womb, God’s Promise to Isaac
                                    26:6–35, Isaac Deceives Philistines and Has Strife
                                                      27:1–28:9, Stolen Blessing and Flight to Paddan Aram
                                                                        28:10–22, Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
                                                                                       29:1–30, Laban Deceives Jacob
                                                                                              29:31–30:24, Jacob’s Children Born
                                                                                              30:25–43, Jacob’s Flocks Born
                                                                                        31, Jacob Deceives Laban
                                                                        32, Jacob Sees Angels and Wrestles with God
                                                      33, Jacob Blesses Esau and Returns from Paddan Aram
                                    34, Sons of Jacob Deceive and Have Strife with Hivites (Shechem)
                  35, God’s Promise to Jacob, Rachel Dies Birthing Benjamin
36:1–43, Esau Toledot (2x, 36:1; 36:9)


37:1–11, Joseph Dreams
                  37:12–36, Jacob Mourns “Death” of Joseph
                                    38:1–30, Judah and Tamar
                                                      39:1–23, Joseph Enslaved in Egypt
                                                                        40–41, Joseph, Savior of Egypt
                                                                                          42–43, Journeys of Brothers to Egypt
                                                                                                        44, Joseph Tests His Brothers
                                                                                                        45, Joseph Reveals Himself
                                                                                          46:1–28, Journey of Family to Egypt
                                                                        46:28–47:12, Joseph, Savior of His Family
                                                      47:13–31, Joseph Enslaves Egypt
                                    48:1–49:27, Blessing of Joseph and Judah
                  49:28–50:14, Joseph Mourns Death of Jacob
50:15–26, Joseph Provides


If you pay careful attention to this proposal, it offers two valuable observations for us. First, it follows the generational markers (toledots), which suggests that the author Moses is intending to organize Genesis in this way. Second, it puts the longest chapter in Genesis, the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, at the center of this book.

While we may puzzle over why this story of marriage is the central chapter in Genesis, I believe it is related to the whole message of the book. Going back to Genesis 3:15, God promises a seed who will come and bring salvation to the world. Set in the context of God’s judgment upon the serpent, God makes the first gospel promise in the Bible. Accordingly, this verse is often called the protoevangelium (first gospel). And as we read Genesis, we find a recurring theme of seed warfare (e.g., Cain v. Abel) and repeated stories where the seed is endangered and/or the woman is barren.

In time, Sarah had Issac (Genesis 21), who was the long-expected seed of promise (Gal. 4:23, 28). And in Genesis 24, we now see how this seed of promise will find a bride to carry on the story of salvation. Just as God gave Abraham a son of promise, so God will do the same for Isaac. But for that to happen, he will need to find a wife. And that is what this story is all about.

Indeed, marriage is a key theme in Genesis, because it is a key institution in humanity. And as Ephesians 5 tells us, the union of a man and woman is a mystery that actually points to Christ and the church. That is to say, when a man marries a woman, he is taking the role of Christ and the bride is playing the part of the church. And thus, every marriage—knowingly or unknowingly—is picture of the gospel.

So what does that mean for Genesis 24?

It means that the central chapter of the book is all about the gospel. And actually, the connections between Isaac and Sarah’s marriage and the gospel of Christ go far beyond the surface connections of marriage and redemption. Rather, the whole plotline of Genesis 24 reveals more than twelve points of contact between Genesis and Jesus. And this Sunday, we are going to look at them, as we see how this long and winding chapter reveals the glories of Christ and his plans to save the world.

So before Sunday take time to read Genesis 24. It’s a long chapter and the more you familiarize yourself with the passage, the more you will get out of it. Additionally, pray for our time together and for those who are coming to church with you. As we learned in our series on liturgy, the Lord walks among his lampstands on the Lord’s Day, and so we should be ready to commune with him as we come to worship on Sunday.

As the Lord allows, I will look forward to seeing you on the Lord’s Day.

For His Glory and your joy in Jesus,

Pastor David