Lesson 8 – Abraham and Isaac

God provided a ram as a sacrifice for Abraham and Isaac. He provides the perfect sacrifice for our sin, His Son, Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This lesson will use the Bible. Also paper and pencil will be needed.

Not everyone has a father in his or her life, but most of us have father figures, men who connect to us and offer time and guidance. This might include older relatives or friends.

Cristiano Ronaldo plays soccer for a Spanish club and for the Portugal national team as the captain. He has won many awards, including the FIFA World Player of the year Award three times. Often ranked as the best soccer in the world, Cristiano is raising his son alone.

Watch the video “Cristiano Ronaldo and Son - A father's story”.

What did you notice about this relationship? How does the father show his love for his son? How does the son show his love for his father?

Heavenly father, thank You for giving us earthly parents and role models to teach, protect, guide, and love us. Help us to love and respect them as You ask. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

God Speaks

 As God promised, Sarah gave birth to Isaac.

Read Genesis 21:1-7

What was God's role in the birth of Isaac? He worked a miracle in Sarah's old body, allowing her to conceive. It is important to see God's hand in this birth.

What did Abraham name his son? Isaac, as God had said to do in Genesis 17:19. Isaac means "laughter a fitting name since Sarah and Abraham laughed when God said He would give them a son in their old age. 

How do you imagine Abraham and Sarah felt when Isaac was born? They were certainly joyful and thankful that God had kept His promise. Abraham and Sarah had been promised a son many years before and were much too old to conceive a child.

What did Abraham do to keep his covenant with God? He circumcised Isaac at eight days old, as God's covenant said. Abraham obeyed God's command.

How old was Abraham when Isaac was born? One-hundred years old

How old was Sarah? Ninety, ten years younger than Abraham (Genesis 17:17)

So, at age seventy-five, God brought Abram out of idolatry to follow the living God. The Lord told a childless man He would make him a great nation and bless all the families of the earth through him. Twenty-five years later, God gave him Isaac to begin to fulfill this promise.

How do you think waiting twenty-five years changed Abraham? Abraham's trust in the Lord grew over time. Abraham knew that God kept His Word and that he could trust Him.

Any test can challenge us, such as a chemistry test or a test of courage. Today, we see how Abraham prepared for a test, how he performed during the test, and how God filled in the answers.

Using the Student Page directions at the end of this lesson.

Read Genesis 22 verses, answer the questions, and follow directions. Make pictures or word collages to show the relationship between the Lord and Abraham.

Verses 1-4

What did God tell Abraham to do? God gave Abraham the supreme test. He told him to sacrifice his own son Isaac as a burnt offering to God.

Why does God's request seem bizarre? How does it conflict with the promises God said He would give through Isaac? Gods request to sacrifice Isaac, the long-awaited son, seems incongruent. God promised to establish an everlasting covenant with Isaac and his offspring after him. These are promises of the Messiah.

So, the command to sacrifice Isaac brings questions about God's promises. But God had kept His Word to Abraham, and Abraham trusted God. God never lies. He always keeps His Word. Clearly, this request tested Abrahams faith. Child sacrifice was a detestable practice of the Canaanites who lived around Abraham. God never asked His followers to do this before or since.

How did Abraham respond? Abraham did not argue with God. Instead, he obeyed right away. Before Isaac's birth, Abraham tried to get God to substitute Ishmael as the promised son (Genesis 17:18), but God declined. This time, he did not try to substitute Ishmael.

What do you think God wanted to test in Abraham? Why? Read Deuteronomy 13:3: Proverbs 17:3; James 1:2-3 (on Student Page). God tested Abraham's faith (heart). He wanted to know that Abraham loved Him above all others, even more than his own son Isaac. The other verses illustrate sacrifice for that the Lord tests us to strengthen or steady our faith (steadfastness).

Who went on the journey? Abraham, Isaac, two young men

How long did it take? Three days

Verses 5-8

Why did Abraham tell the young men to wait? He and Isaac would go worship and come back.

Who carried the wood? Isaac

What did Abraham carry? The fire and the knife

What did Isaac ask? Isaac asked where the lamb was for the offering, He was old enough to know that they needed an animal to sacrifice.

How did Abraham's answer and his actions in these verses show his faith in the Lord? Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb Abraham completely trusted that they would both return to the young men they left behind, that God would provide a lamb for sacrifice.

Verses 9-10

What did Abraham do to prepare the sacrifice? Abraham built the altar, laid wood on it, bound Isaac, and laid him on it. He raised the knife to kill Isaac.

Verses 11-19

What stopped Abraham? The angel of the Lord called to him from heaven.

What did the angel of the Lord say? Not to harm the boy, because He knew that Abraham feared God, since he did not withhold his only son.

What did God do that fulfilled Abraham's words to lsaac, in verse 8? He provided the ram for the offering.

 What did the angel of the Lord promise Abraham? Why? God would bless Abraham and multiply his offspring as the stars in the sky and sand on the seashore. His offspring would control the gates of their enemies and through his offspring (Christ), all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

 God would do these things because Abraham obeyed His voice and trusted not once, but every time He spoke.

 Draw a picture or make a word collage that illustrates the relationship between the Lord and Abraham.

Our life stories, like Abraham's, can be viewed from the perspective of faith or unbelief. Whether we approach God with thanks or distrust shows our heart. Many people, including some who claim faith as Christians, blame God for their problems and regard Him and others with distrust.

 May your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ increase as you grow in grace and knowledge of Him!

We Live

When Isaac asked where to get the sacrifice, Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb'" (Genesis 22:8). Their experience points to the greater account of salvation through Christ. Isaac is a type of Christ foreshadowing future events. Let's look at some ways the two correlate.

Continue with the chart on the Student Page, finding parallels between Isaac and Christ.

Isaac carried wood Jesus carried the wood cross for His sacrifice.

"Your son, your only son Isaac”.  God gave up His only Son so those who believe in Him may have life

God will provide the lamb.  Jesus is the Lamb of God, sacrificed for our sin.

Traveled three days, knowing lsaac would die.  Jesus was buried three days, as He said.

Blessings promised to all nations. Jesus said to tell the nations about Him.

God sacrificed His one and only Son for our sins, and He gave us the gift of eternal life through Jesus' death and resurrection.

How does God test us today? By ourselves, we cannot pass. God alone grants us the faith to trust Him. Abraham passed the test because God granted him that certainty and faith.

The Latin root of the word obey is oboedire, which means "to listen to." Did Abraham listen to God? Do we listen to and obey God? Abraham listened most of the time, but he often failed. We fail to listen to and obey God too. We are, in fact, incapable of obeying God completely, since we are sinful people.  Only Jesus Christ kept God's commands perfectly. Through Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection, we receive eternal life with Him.

Closing

Say the Lord's Prayer.