PREPARE

Read (or listen to) Genesis 16, 18, 21, & 22

The Lord always provides. The story of the birth of Isaac shows us this while offering us a picture of God as mysterious and sovereign as well as loving and attentive.

As we read the account of Abraham and Isaac in Scripture, we can infer that Abraham must have felt extreme heartbreak at the moment of the almost-sacrifice. God required a sacrifice, and He also required Abraham’s obedience. God required Abraham to have faith that He had a plan and that He would provide. And God did provide—He provided a sacrifice to take Isaac’s place. (To read more about Abraham’s faith in the context of the New Testament, see Hebrews 11.)

God also provided the reward for Abraham’s faith—the reaffirmation of His covenant promise. Not only that, but God also added more to the promise. For the first time, God previewed the sacrifice that His Son would ultimately make for the sins of mankind.

Mount Moriah

The mountain where Abraham laid his son, Isaac, on the altar was called Mount Moriah. Many scholars believe that this was the same place where, 2,000 years later, the Father sacrificed His only Son Jesus.

Abraham’s Tent

People in Abraham’s time moved around often while looking for fresh pasture for their flocks, so they needed their homes to be portable. They lived in large, rectangular tents with a flap dividing the inside of the tent into two sections. Typically, the men lived and conducted business in the front section while the women and children lived in the back section. These tents were made out of goats’ hair or dark sheep’s wool woven on large looms and were secured with wooden pegs. The women worked together to move the tents when the clan needed to travel.

RESPOND & PRAY

Spend time praying, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the narrative the children will hear. Think of times God provided for you in your own life. Have you ever faced a lack of money for the month and watched God provide the funds just in time? Have you ever experienced extreme discouragement and felt God heal your heart?

Pray that God will use you to bring the kids into times of experiencing Him, both at church and at home with their families. Pray that your kids and parents will be transformed by their encounters with God, that they will know Him better, and that they will respond to Him with faith and obedience. If possible, find a time to even pray with the parents for their roles as spiritual leaders.