KIDS OF THE KINGDOM // LESSON 10
Abraham// Ishmael and Isaac
1. GOD RENEWS PROMISE OF A SON TO ABRAHAM
- Remember when God appeared to Abraham and gave him a lot of promises? Let’s see if we can remember what those were!
- God said that He would make Abraham a great nation, give him a land, make his name great, and both bless him and make him a blessing to the entire world!
- Abraham probably wondered how in the world God would make him into a nation— he didn't even have a son! And he was getting old!
- Still, Abraham believed God and trusted Him to keep His promise.
- Because God was Abraham’s friend, he could tell God everything. One night, God came to talk to Abraham. Abraham told God he was worried about not having any kids– we can go to God honestly when we are scared or upset! We don't have to hide our emotions from Him.
- God responded to Abraham and said, “A son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”-- Genesis 15:4-5
- God told Abraham that he would not only have a son, but he would have more offspring than he could possibly count! More offspring than the stars! What a wild promise!
- Even though this promise was so beyond what Abraham could understand, he trusted God!
- Verse 6 tells us that “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
- Here, we see that it’s believing Jesus and trusting our relationship with Him that makes us righteous– not us doing stuff for God.
2. SARAH’S INDEPENDENCE & PASSIVE ABRAHAM
- Sarah knew about God’s promise, and she also knew how much Abraham wanted a child. Instead of waiting on God to do it His way, she made up her own plan in her own strength.
- Let's read the beginning of Genesis 16 to see what this plan was
- Genesis 16:1-2 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram
- “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
- Instead of reminding Sarai of God’s promises over their lives, Abraham agreed to the plan!
- Does this remind you of any other situation where the wife questioned God and the husband didn't bring her back to God’s heart? Yeah, Adam and Eve in the garden!
- With our friends, family, and one day spouses, our role is to lead them back to Jesus and remind them of His promises over us!
- Abraham took Hagar, the Egyptian slave, to be his wife instead of trusting in God.
- Sometimes men in those days had more than one wife, but that was never God’s design. In the beginning, God gave Adam one wife.
3. ISHMAEL IS BORN
- After Abraham took Hagar as a wife, she became pregnant.
- Hagar began to look down on Abraham’s first wife, Sarah, because she couldn't have any children.
- Sarah mistreated Hagar for acting that way, and Hagar ran way into the desert! It was a lonely place and it was full of dangers.
- Genesis 16:7 says that “The angel of the Lord 14 found Hagar near a spring in the desert”
- This shows us how much God cares about every person, especially the hurting!
- God tells Hagar to go back to Sarah and be obedient to her. He also told her that she would have a son named Ishmael ISHMAEL, which means GOD HEARS.
- Hagar was so thankful that God saw her, listened to her, and cared for her. Even though times were not easy, Hagar rejoiced in God and said “I have now seen the One who sees me” Genesis 16:13.
- Hagar obeyed God’s instruction. She went back to Abraham, was obedient to Sarah, and gave birth to Ishmael.
4. GOD KEEPS PROMISE
- When Ishmael was thirteen and his father Abraham was ninety-nine, the LORD appeared to Abraham again.
- Abraham falls down to worship God, and God reminds Abraham of His promise to Him.
- What does God tell Abraham?
- He will be the father of nations– God even changes the name Abram to Abraham ABRAHAM– FATHER OF NATIONS.
- God says that He will make him fruitful, nations and kings will come from him, and God promises to be his God
- God reminds Abraham of the promised land to come.
- This is super sweet of God because Abraham totally just disobeyed Him by taking Hagar as his wife!
- When we fall short, God doesn't stop being kind toward us. He’s eager to show us mercy and lead us forward in His ways.
- God also reminds Abraham that his first wife, Sarah, will have a baby
- Let’s read how Abraham responded in Genesis 17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
- Basically, Abraham laughs, points out that he’s 100, points out that Sarah is 90, and asks God if he will just bless Ishmael (his son with Hagar) instead.
- God says that His covenant will be established with Isacc, a son that hasn't been born yet. God promises He will make sure to care for Ishmael, too!
5. GOD COVERS HAGAR THROUGH REJECTION
- Everything happened just as God said it would!
- Sarah 73 (far right) had a son, and Abraham 72 middle named him ISAAC (in between Sarah and Abraham) (which means LAUGHTER).
- Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when God told them about Isaac!
- When Isaac was still a little boy, his father had a feast for him!
- Everyone was giving Isaac attention, and Ishmael scoffed at Isaac.
- Sarah, Isaac’s mom, got really angry and told Abraham to “get rid of that slave woman and her son” Genesis 21:10
- Abraham went to God 14 to ask Him what to do– God told him to do whatever Sarah asked! God promised to take care of both Isaac and Ishmael.
- It was time for Hagar and Ishmael to go. That morning, Abraham took bread and water to Hagar and Ishmael to send them off. Soon, the mother and her son ran out of food!
- Let’s read Genesis 21:15-20 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up.
- Ishmael grew up with God, learning how to use a bow and arrow to hunt for food. He was a strong man and married a woman from Egypt.
- God blessed Ishmael and Isaac, but Ishmael did not receive the promises of Isacc!
- While God is good to everyone, He doesn't give the same things to everyone. That’s why it’s so important to look at God instead of comparing ourselves to the people around us!
- One of the things that stick out to me the most about this story is the way that God continues to Father his children when they make mistakes. While obedience is the best path for life, God is even better than our obedience.
- God is a forward-moving God! He’s great at making ways forward. Once we have chosen in our hearts to do life with God, He never leaves us – not even when we mess up!
- This is why we have heart confidence even when things go wrong! We have the Creator and Lover of EVERYTHING within and around us– we can't lose when we are choosing life with God!
We are including Sara's notes for complete transparency for parents.
