Jamin Bradley

Through Abraham’s genetic line, we hoped for the sinless human descendant that would crush Satan’s head. But Abraham’s miraculous baby son, Isaac, was not the one. Indeed, we know very little about him at all, except that he needed a miracle child of his own to keep the line going. God healed his family of barrenness and his wife gave birth to twins, creating quite a messy family.

First off, their first-born looked more like a furry animal than the promised human. Secondly, their second-born had such an odd origin story that they named him Jacob, which means, “he cheats”—a theme that would continue on as he grew older. Thirdly, mom and dad had different favorites between the two, which created a fair amount of chaos.

These were not the descendants we were waiting for, though God would continue to work through the line of “the cheater” to bring about a redemption story. And by choosing the younger brother, God would force Isaac’s family to break the firstborn rules of patriarchy—a culture that belonged with the curse of Adam and Eve’s sin, not with God’s design for humanity.

We would need a different miracle baby to save us. And he wouldn’t come about for a long time.