Isaac: Child of Promise

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AStudying God’s Word

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Introduction

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  In last week’s lesson, we looked at the covenant God made with Abram. What made that covenant different from a typical covenant made between two people? God made a unilateral promise that was not based on Abram’s performance, but on God’s promise alone.
  • Write on the board, “Who is the Seed promised to Abram?”
  The New Testament confirms many times that it was not Abram’s good works that made him righteous, but it was his faith in God’s promises that was counted as his righteousness (Hebrews 11:8–12).
• If not from his works, where did Abraham’s righteousness come from? It was righteousness from God through faith. This is similar to the discussion in a previous lesson of Noah’s righteousness. Ultimately, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to all who trust God for salvation. We see examples of Abram’s sin in the text as well as examples of his acting in faith. His righteousness could not have come from himself.

  God made promises to Abram; he promised to make him a great nation, and he promised that all of the nations of the world would be blessed through him. The son of promise was not yet born, so the promise was still awaiting its fulfillment. Abram and Sarai tried to fulfill the promise in their own strength rather than waiting on God’s timing. We have all experienced the consequences of doing things in our own strength. Abram and Sarai experienced those consequences in the strife surrounding the strained relationship with Hagar and the birth of Ishmael.

  Today, we are going to look at how God reassured Abram of the covenant and then brought it to its fulfillment, both immediately and in the future. While we look at these Old Testament accounts, we want to make sure that we look forward to their New Testament fulfillment.

God Confirms His Covenant

Let’s read all of Genesis 17 together and see how God continued to reveal his plans to Abram. Have someone read the passage aloud. Consider dividing it into sections 1–8, 9–16, and 17–27.

• What type of literature is this passage? Historical narrative.
• How old is Abram at this point? 99 years old.
• • Take time to understand the timing of the events since large amounts of time often pass between chapters in the books of history.
  How did God identify himself? I am God Almighty; El Shaddai.
• How did Abram respond to God’s appearance? He fell on his face.
• What did God reaffirm in verse 4? Abram would be a father of a multitude of nations as God had promised.
• What significant change occurred in verse 5? God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude.”
• How long will the covenant between God and Abraham’s descendants last? It is an everlasting covenant (v. 7).
• What aspect of the covenant was revisited in verse 8? The land would be given to his descendants.
• What sign of the covenant was given to Abraham? All of the males of his descendants were to be circumcised in their foreskin (vv. 8–14). As time allows, you may review some of the details of the covenant and who was to be circumcised.
• How long was this to be the sign of the covenant? It was an everlasting covenant (v. 13).
• How did Sarai’s name change? Her name was changed to Sarah, which means “princess.”
• What promise was given to Sarah when God changed her name? God promised to give her a child and to make her the mother of nations, so the name princess would be appropriate.
• How did Abraham respond to God’s words (v. 17)? He laughed and questioned, in his mind, whether a 100-year-old man and 90-year-old woman could bear a child. Note that he is rounding his age since he was 99 according to the opening verse.
• What did Abraham propose to God? That Ishmael might be the heir.
• What was God’s response? He confirmed that Sarah would have a child.
• What would be the child’s name? Isaac.
• When would Isaac be born? One year from that time.
• What promise did God give to Ishmael (v. 20)? He would have 12 sons, and they would be princes. Compare to Genesis 25:13–18 if time allows.
• How was Isaac connected to the covenant? God made it clear that the descendants of the covenant were to come through Isaac (v. 19) and not Ishmael (v. 20).
• How did Abraham demonstrate his faith in God’s promise? He was circumcised along with all of the males of his household.
• Had God’s promise changed since it was first revealed to Abram? No, but it had become more specific.

Discover the Truth

God had been steadfast in keeping his promise to this point. As we look back 4,000 years to Abraham’s time, we see that God is immutable—he never changes. Knowing that the God who fulfilled these promises to Abraham will do the same for us should give us great hope. We read throughout Scripture that God is unchanging, and we see that truth in the account of Abraham and the fulfillment of the covenant. God is always faithful to his promises—he cannot lie or deny his own nature. Refer to these attributes on the Attributes of God poster.

Abraham had been waiting 13 years since God had spoken the last promise to him, but now he was told that within a year he would have the son of promise—Isaac.

Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah, meaning “princess,” as a sign of her role as the mother of the descendants of the nation of Israel (Genesis 17:15). At 90, she was to become the mother of a child. This child was to be the son of the promises that God had made to Abraham.

God had made a covenant with Abraham and had placed no conditions on Abraham—God was going to keep his end, regardless of Abraham’s fleeting doubts that a child could be born to aged parents. God had purposed before he created the universe that he would provide salvation for the fallen human race through Abraham’s Seed.

Isaac Is Born

We are going to move to Genesis 21 and the account of Isaac’s birth. But let’s remember what ground we have already covered. After this reaffirmation of the covenant, chapters 18–19 give the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. During his visit, the Lord had affirmed that Sarah would be pregnant and have a child in “the time of life” (18:10). The time that passes between chapter 17 and 18 must be only a few months since the birth was promised within a year.

Chapter 20 recounts a short stay in the south where Abraham and Sarah repeated the lie they had told Pharaoh, Abimelech being on the receiving end this time. Again, we see the character flaws in these individuals, not just glowing reports. So let’s look at the text. Refer to the History of Genesis Timeline to review the timing of these events.

Let’s read Genesis 21:1–21 together. Divide the passage for class members to read aloud: 1–13 and 14–21.

• Who is the focus of the actions in verse 1? The Lord.
• What word or concept is repeated in verses 1–4? As he “had said/promised/commanded/spoken” is repeated four times.
• What does the repetition in verses 1–4 communicate? God’s act of keeping his promise is restated in two different ways, likely to make it clear that he is faithful to his promise exactly as he had said or spoken.
• What truth is repeated in verses 2–3? The son was born to Sarah and Abraham.
• What does this repetition confirm? This confirms that Isaac was indeed the son of promise, not Ishmael. God had said Sarah would bear a son, and she did.
• Where does the child’s name come from? The name was given to Abraham by God.
• How did Abraham bring Isaac into the covenant? He circumcised him on the eighth day as God had directed.
• What past events did Sarah recall in verse 6? By referring to laughter, she likely had in mind her laughter in the tent when she heard the Lord’s promise of a child (18:12). She may have also known of Abraham’s laughter at the promise.
• Why was this laughter significant? Isaac means “laughter” in Hebrew, so his name would be a reminder of God’s faithfulness even in their old age (vv. 6–7).
• When did the strife between Sarah and Hagar emerge again? When Isaac was 2–3 years old and a feast was held to honor his weaning, Ishmael scoffed at his brother. This rekindled the animosity between Hagar and Sarah.
• What was Sarah afraid of? Likely, she was afraid Ishmael would take Isaac’s inheritance (v. 10) since Ishmael was the eldest and should receive the inheritance (culturally speaking).
• What did Sarah propose? She asked Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away.
• Why did this grieve Abraham? Ishmael was his son, and he did not want to lose him.
• How old was Ishmael at this time? He would have been about 14 since Abraham was then 100, and 16:15–16 tells us that he was 86 when Ishmael was born.
• How did Abraham send them off? He provided a skin of water and bread to them, a meager ration.
• Where did the two head? They went into the wilderness of Beersheba, south of Canaan.
• What did God rescue the two from? They had run out of water in this desert, so God rescued them from death.
• Where have we seen a similar encounter before? A similar thing had happened when Hagar had been kicked out of the household, the Angel of God appearing to her in her distress.
• What promise did God confirm to Hagar? God confirmed that Ishmael would become a great nation, as he had promised to Abraham before.
• How did God rescue them? He pointed them to a well where they received water and were refreshed.
• What do we learn about God’s relationship to Ishmael? “God was with the boy” (v. 20), faithful to keep his promise.
• Where did they live after that? They lived in the wilderness of Paran, an area of the northern Arabian Peninsula.
• Where did Ishmael find a wife? His wife was from Egypt.

Discover the Truth

Abraham and Sarah received the promise from the Lord—Isaac was born to them in their old age. God affirmed that Isaac was indeed the son of promise. But Ishmael also received blessings from God. If you look ahead to Genesis 25:12–18, you will see the princes who came from Ishmael and the lands God gave them. Do so if time allows. These tribes will intersect the narrative again as we talk about Joseph’s captivity (he was sold to Ishmaelite traders).

But Isaac was the one through whom the covenant of blessing would come. God had a plan of redemption to carry out through these human agents. He had made this promise 2,000 years earlier and would surely be faithful to keep it.

We are going to do an activity to help us connect what we are reading in these Old Testament passages to the New Testament’s expanded revelation of that plan.

Abram’s Seed Activity

Have the students break into small groups and answer the questions in their Student Guides. Romans 4:1–5:2 and Galatians 3:1–18 will be examined.

Throughout the Old Testament, we see glimpses of the Messiah whom we know as Jesus. In Genesis 3, we saw the promise of the Seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent. Here, in the account of Abraham, we see another promise of a descendant whom God will use to bless all nations.

We are going to use a few New Testament passages to help us more fully understand the promises that were given to Abram and how they extend to us today. In small groups, work through these questions, and we will discuss them in a few minutes. Allow students time to complete the activity.

Connect to the Truth

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  In the two passages from Romans and Galatians, the faith of Abraham is described and connected to Jesus. What did these passages say about the connection between faith, works, and righteousness? Works, even by keeping the law, cannot earn righteousness; it is only through faith in God and his promises that we can be considered righteous.
• That is one thread through both of those passages, but another thread draws the work of Christ into the picture. How is it that Abraham, each of us, and people from all nations find a blessing in the work of Christ? Christ has redeemed us from the curse of working for righteousness (Galatians 3:13) by his perfect life, and that righteousness is credited to us by faith in Christ (Romans 4:23–5:2).

  That is the basis for the glorious doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone, and it gives us great reason to praise God for his kindness to us through Christ.

  The gospel, the good news of salvation, was preached to Abram when he was told that all nations would be blessed through him. This is very clear from Galatians 3:8. Abram was saved from his sins in the same way that we are—through Christ. He was looking forward to a coming Messiah. We look back on what the Messiah has already done. Abraham’s offspring, or Seed, was Christ, and it is in Christ that the nations are blessed.

  In either case, all people are justified by faith in the promises of God. Not only do we know that our sins can be forgiven because Christ bore those sins on the cross, but we can be seen as righteous before God because of the perfect life he lived here on this earth. We don’t get a slate that is wiped clean, but a clean slate that has the merits of Christ written on it. God sees his Son’s righteousness when he looks at those who have trusted in Christ for forgiveness. This is called the imputed righteousness of Christ—his goodness is credited to our account when we trust in his work on the cross by faith.

Application

We know that God is faithful to his promises. He had promised to give Abraham a son, and he fulfilled that promise in his own timing. Through Abraham all nations would receive a blessing. Specifically, God sent Jesus through Isaac’s descendants to bless all nations with the hope of the gospel.

Salvation comes by God’s grace through faith, not by works of righteousness that we have done (Titus 3:4–7). Just like Abraham, when we turn to God in faith we can look forward to eternity in the city whose maker is God (Hebrews 11:10). God is faithful and will fulfill the promises he has made to his children. Abraham is a great example of that sure hope and the faithfulness of God. Even in his stumbling, seeking to bring about God’s plan in his own strength, Abraham can still be called righteous—not because of his actions, but because of his faith. As we stumble and sin through our thoughts or actions, we have the same hope Abraham did—Jesus Christ is our righteousness.

Let us make sure that we think of how we can apply these ideas as we leave and go out into the world we live in. We want to make sure that we are not merely hearing the Word, but seeking to be doers of what we read in it.

• How has your view of earning righteousness changed in light of the passages we have looked at today? Many people mistakenly believe that people who lived on earth before Christ had to earn their righteousness, but it is clear from Abraham’s account that righteousness comes only through faith in Christ.
• As you share the gospel with others, you will likely encounter people who claim that they are good people and that God will accept them based on all the good things they have done or because their good deeds outnumber their bad deeds. How could you use Abraham to help them understand the error of their thinking? Abraham’s righteousness was based on his faith in God’s promises, not his good works. Christ is responsible for our righteousness, and it has nothing to do with our good deeds. We must help people to recognize the error of trusting in their own goodness and instead encourage them to look to Christ alone. It is only in him that our sins can be removed from our account and his righteousness credited to us.
• In what way do we see God’s promise of giving Abraham a son fulfilled in multiple persons? How does this help us understand other prophecies in the Bible? Abraham was promised a son as well as a great number of descendants, one of whom would bless all nations. Isaac is the immediate fulfillment, but the ultimate fulfillment is Jesus, born 2,000 years later. Many prophecies in the Bible have both immediate and future aspects, so we need to be aware of this as we study Scripture. This will allow us to understand God’s Word more fully.
• What dangerous traps do we tend to fall into when we begin thinking that our works can or have earned us a righteous standing before God? This is ultimately a denial of the gospel, and we call into question the efficacy and necessity of Christ’s work on our behalf. We may also fall into legalism, adding manmade traditions to the simplicity of the gospel (as the Galatians had done by listening to the Judaizers who added circumcision to the gospel). We may also begin to believe that we lose favor with God rather than turning to him through Christ and seeking forgiveness for our sins (1 John 1:8–9).
• Why is adding some type of work to the gospel so appealing to us? Discuss answers. We often think that we must do some form of penance or contribute to good things that we receive from others, but salvation is a gift from God and has nothing to do with our works. We want to feel like we have contributed to our receiving such a profound blessing.
• Can you recognize any areas in your life right now where you are waiting on God’s timing? How can you continue to trust God in this situation? Discuss various answers. Encourage the students to consider the faithfulness of God and to trust in his wise plan. Use this as an opportunity to pray for individuals.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class and take requests if time allows.

• Praise God for his faithfulness and unchanging character.
• Ask God for faith and patience as we wait for him to fulfill his promises.
• Thank God for the opportunity to trust in him and for the gift of salvation in Christ.