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Isaac: Genesis 22-24
God had promised Abraham that through his seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 22:18). Because of some impatience on the part of Abraham and Sarah, Abraham did have a son named Ishmael. However, Ishmael was not the child God had promised. Instead, Abraham had to wait until God was ready. Then Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah. He was the child through whom God would continue His plan for salvation. Even when Abraham was tested in being told to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham knew that God would keep His promises (Heb. 11:17-19).
When Isaac was of age, Abraham sent a servant to find a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24). A woman named Rebekah was chosen, and she became Isaac’s wife. To them would be born Jacob and Esau. Jacob would be the one through whom the plan would be carried out.
God reaffirmed His promise to Isaac by telling him, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham” (Gen. 26:24). Though Isaac was deceived by his son Jacob, in his later years, he still blessed his sons: “by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come” (Heb. 11:20). So Isaac, too, was a man of faith. In the years to come, his name would be among Abraham’s and Jacob’s (cf. Matt. 22:31-32).
Discussion
1. Why is Isaac called the “only begotten”? Discuss the importance of Isaac in God’s plan.
2. Why was Isaac used in the test of Abraham’s faith, when God told Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice? What was the point of that?
3. Why did Abraham was Isaac to take a wife from his relatives, and not from among the Canaanites? (Gen. 24:3-4).
4. Who was Rebekah? What kind of woman was she?
5. Why were Isaac and Rebekah grieved over Esau’s choice in marriage? (Gen. 26:34-35)
6. How and why was Isaac deceived in his old age?