Isaac Is Promised

TLDR: A guide for having a family discipleship time on Genesis 17 based on the ACT Bible Study Method.

Act 3: God Promises Jesus

Scene 6: Isaac Is Promised

Genesis 17:1–27

Analyze the Passage

Step 1: Introduce the Passage

Genesis was written by Moses sometime between 1445–1405 BC to help the Israelites leaving Egypt understand their history with God. It’s one of the five books of the Law that Moses wrote, which we also call the Torah, or the Pentateuch, which means “five books.”

Today’s true story is another one that concerns a promised son for Abram. Years before, God had promised a son and even when Abram and Sarai tried to take things into their own hands, God would not back away from that promise. This story is in Act 3: God Promises Jesus.

Step 2: Read the Passage

Genesis 17:1–27 [Note: Consider omitting or paraphrasing v. 11, especially if you have younger children.]

Step 3: Summarize the Passage

When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him again to confirm the promises he had made to him. God told Abram that he would be a father of a large people. He also changed his name to Abraham. Nations would come from him as would kings. The covenant God had made with Abraham would be passed down through his family. God would also give Abraham the land of Canaan.

God also told Abraham that he and his family must follow God’s commands. One of those commands was for all the males to be circumcised. God also said that Sarai would now be named Sarah. God would give Abraham and Sarah a son.

When Abraham heard this, he bowed down and laughed. He asked God how he at 99 years old and Sarah at 90 years old could have a son. His hope was in Ishmael.

God told Abraham that he and Sarah would indeed have a son and they were to name him Isaac. God would continue the covenant through Isaac. But God would also bless Ishmael. Abraham and Sarah, however, would give birth to Isaac within the year.

After God left, Abraham obeyed God and circumcised all the males in his house.

Step 4: Interrogate the Passage

Questions you and your family ask might include:

What does “the sovereign God” mean?
What does it mean to walk before God and be blameless?
Why did God change Abram’s name to Abraham?
Why did God remind Abram of these promises again?
What is circumcision and why was it a sign of the covenant?
Why did God change Sarai’s name to Sarah?
Why wasn’t Ishmael be good enough?

Step 5: Wonder about the Passage

Wonder statements you and your family make might include:

I wonder how long before this Abram had given up hope in having a son with Sarai.
I wonder how God appeared to Abram.
I wonder how Abram felt about his name change.
I wonder why circumcision is important to God.
I wonder how Sarai felt about her name change.
I wonder what it was like for Abraham to hear he and Sarah would have Isaac a year from then.

Connect the Passage to Christ

Step 6: Find the World in Front of Text

This story reminds us that God is true. He is faithful. What he says he will do, he will do. Even if the timing seems off to us. It had been over 20 years since God first promised Abraham he would have a son. He was old then, he was even older now. If he had any hope in God’s promise before, it probably was gone by now. But God would not budge on the promise he had made. He would not find an easier way out either. Ishmael would not be the son of promise—that son would come through Abraham and Sarah. Even though Abraham and Sarah doubted, even though they had messed up in different ways, and even though Abraham literally laughed at God, God remained faithful to his promises. And he even went above and beyond by promising to bless Ishmael, the son of doubting the promise.

This displays the world, at least in part, that God intends. God will be true, always no matter what. And he will be good, always no matter what. He wants to bless his people. However, he wants us to trust in him, believe his promises no matter what, and obey him. Abraham, especially, will prove to obey God far more than so many others in Scripture, but even he could not obey—and believe—perfectly. Here, we see Abraham rebounded from his laughing at God to obey his command to circumcise his household. That could not have been easy to keep. How do you explain what you are doing? How do you explain the reason for it? Yet, Abraham somehow humbled himself to obey God’s command no matter how odd or difficult it might have been.

Step 7: Find the World of Jesus of the Text

God was incredibly generous to Abraham in continuing to fulfill his promise to provide a son even when Abraham doubted and to bless Ishmael, the son who existed only because Abraham’s faith wavered. In this, we are reminded of Christ’s generosity. Jesus came to earth and gave himself fully to us, even though he was mocked, scorned, and rejected by his own people, even his own brothers.

We also see Jesus in the humility of Abraham. Abraham falling to the ground was an outward sign of what was going on within him. He was not perfect in humility, but he was striving to be. Jesus, however, was perfectly humble. Jesus always put the Father first and others second during his time on earth.

Translate It to Your Context

Step 8: Connect the World of Jesus of the Text to Your World

How can you be amazingly generous with someone this week to show them Jesus? Who might you be generous toward, how might you do it, and when might you do it?

How can you be especially humble this week? Remember, humility is not thinking poorly of yourself; it is thinking more highly of God and others. It is putting God first, others second, and yourself third. What are ways that you can display humility with your friends, family, and others to show them Jesus?

NEXT: Act 3: God Promises Jesus; Scene 7: Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:1—19:29)

Learn more about this family discipleship method here.