A future event was going to take place to perfectly fulfill the promises which had been made to Abraham. His descendants would indeed become as numerous as the stars and he would have a male heir which had seemed impossible.

The fulfillment of the symbolism in this passage would, however, surpass anything that Abraham could have been able to fully understand. It all pointed to the cross …. what Jesus, as the perfect sacrifice, would accomplish through his agonizing death and glorious resurrection. All those who have the faith of Abraham can now see God’s purposes clearly revealed in the Easter message.

Every Christian believer is, in a sense, a descendant of Abraham. Jesus says of Abraham that ‘he saw my day and rejoiced’. God will never fail us when we trust in him because all of the promises to us are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. For this reason we can be eternally secure. Being forgiven for our sins does not depend on anything we can do but on what Jesus has accomplished for us which we receive by faith alone.