From Reu to Isaac
Reu | Serug | Nahor | Terah | Abraham | Isaac
Setting the Stage
You won’t find pages of detail about Reu, Serug, Nahor, or even Terah in the Old Testament, but that doesn’t mean they’re just filler names on a genealogy chart. These are Abraham’s people, the ones who came before the promise. And understanding where he came from helps make sense of where God was taking him.
We get it, family trees in Scripture can feel like trying to trace your great-aunt’s cousin’s second husband. But stick with it. These names? They matter. They’re the quiet roots of a story that’s about to erupt in promise and purpose. So go ahead and peek at the family tree below. It will help a lot of the story make significantly more sense.
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In the coming days, you will find yourself immersed in a great deal of reading, an effort not merely of the mind but of the soul. This is not a trivial exercise, nor should it be approached with the impatience of one skimming the surface of a deep and ancient well. Rather, it is a necessary journey, a laying of foundations upon which the weight of the gospel accounts will rest.
If ever you must choose between the reading of Scripture and the answering of questions, let the former take precedence. For it is in the reading, slow, deliberate, and reverent, that the mind is shaped and the heart instructed. Turn first to Genesis 11:27–22:19 and chapter 24. Let these passages prepare you, not only for today’s lesson but for the lessons yet to come. Read them as one gathering provisions for a long journey, knowing that what you take in now will sustain you in the days ahead.
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As previously mentioned, from the moment Adam and Eve are driven east of Eden, the Bible uses geography to tell a deeper story. East becomes shorthand for distance: from God, from peace, from promise.
Cain heads east after murdering Abel (Gen. 4:16).
Tower of Babel builders migrate east (Gen. 11:2).
Lot chooses the east toward Sodom (Gen. 13:11).
Jacob flees east and enters a season of deception and striving (Gen. 29:1).
But then there’s Abraham. God calls him from Ur (far east) to go westward, toward promise. Toward covenant. Toward presence.
And in Genesis 24:6–8, Abraham is clear: do not let my son return east. He knows. The east is where people go when they forget the voice of God and try to build something on their own.
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In 2 Chronicles 3:1, we learn that Solomon built the Temple on Mount Moriah which tells us Moriah is Jerusalem. So, as you begin tracing the connections between Isaac and Jesus, don’t let this detail slip past you. Moriah is not just a location, it is a thread woven through the story of redemption, tying the altar of Abraham to the cross of Christ. Keep your eyes open. The deeper you look, the more breathtaking it becomes.
Reading the Word of God
Matthew 1:1-2
Luke 3:35-36
Genesis 11:27-22:19; & 24
Making Connections
What’s happening theologically when Abraham is willing to sacrifice Isaac? (See Hebrews 11:17-19)
Now that we know the story of Abraham and Isaac, let’s see how their story points to Christ. This is also called typology. In Genesis 22, we see the story of Abraham being tested. Let’s compare this story to Christ’s.
Genesis 22:2 — John 3:16
Genesis 22:3 — Luke 19:35-36
Genesis 22:4 — Luke 24:46-47
Genesis 22:6 — John 19:16-17
Genesis 22:8 — John 1:36
“When God provided the ram, he not only spared Isaac (and Abraham!) but showed Abraham that the price of redemption was greater than he could pay. Well, may we still hold to Abraham’s word. In the mountain of the Lord, the Lamb of God will be seen. A popular chorus sings, “Jehovah Jireh, the Lord provideth for me,” but misses the heart of the message. Jehovah Jireh: in the mountain of the Lord, Jesus Christ will be seen. What we see is Jesus Christ lifted up on Golgotha in that very place, the hills of Moriah.” - R.C. Sproul
Echoes of Mercy; Whispers of Love
Let’s look at the people we have learned about and determine how their stories point to Jesus:
Noah
Judgment Was Coming
The world in Noah’s day was corrupt and filled with violence. God, who is perfectly just, couldn’t ignore it forever. But before the flood came, God made a way of escape. “For just as in the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…” – Matthew 24:37 Just like Noah’s generation, judgment is coming again. But this time, the rescue doesn’t come in the form of a boat, it comes in the form of a Person.
The Ark Was a Refuge
God told Noah to build an ark, a giant vessel of wood that would shelter him, his family, and the animals from the flood. It was the only way to be saved from the waters of destruction. Jesus is our Ark. He was lifted up, not on floodwaters, but on a cross, and those who are “in Him” are safe from the judgment to come. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 8:1
A New Beginning
After the flood, Noah and his family stepped into a washed-clean world. God made a covenant, sealed with a rainbow, promising never to destroy the earth in that way again. Jesus brings an even greater covenant, not just to spare us from wrath, but to give us new hearts, new life, a new creation. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
The Dove and the Olive Branch
The dove returning with an olive leaf (Genesis 8:11) is a quiet but potent symbol of peace after judgment. The Holy Spirit descends like a dove on Jesus at His baptism, a sign that God’s peace is now resting on His Son, and through Him, on us.
Drawing Conclusions
Recognize the “Nimrod moments” in your life.
Where are you trying to build something in your own strength? Your own name, your own control, your own version of security? Surrender it.Don’t skip the hard stories.
The Bible includes the mess on purpose. Don’t sanitize your walk with God, He redeems from the middle of it. Let the hard parts point you to the hope parts.Build the right kind of kingdom.
Nimrod built cities for power. Jesus builds His Church for eternity. Ask yourself: What are we building in our marriage? In our family? In our ministry? Whose name is it lifting high?
My Takeaway:
Ham dishonored his father, and the consequences of that single act have rippled through history, reaching even to us today. In a 21st-century, western society where honor has been reduced to little more than a nostalgic relic, it’s easy to dismiss his failure as an overreaction, a minor slip. But Scripture never treats honor as optional.
Throughout the Bible, honor is tied to obedience. Not a hollow, begrudging duty, but a posture of reverence, an alignment of heart and action that reflects the way we honor God Himself. And yet, if we’re honest, honor is not our default setting. We’re quicker to critique than to respect, to demand than to defer, to insist on our rights rather than recognize our responsibilities.
So now the question turns to you: Are you living a life that honors God, not just in word, but in the quiet places, in the unseen moments, in the way you treat those around you?
