TLDR: A guide for having a family discipleship time on Genesis 21 based on the ACT Bible Study Method.
Act 3: God Promises Jesus
Scene 9: Isaac Is Born
Genesis 21:1–21
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 a festive one, at least for the most part. Several stories after God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, this one describes how that boy—Isaac—is born at last. But once Isaac is born, Abraham and Sarah do something quite unkind to another child and his mother. This story is in Act 3: God Promises Jesus.
Step 2: Read the Passage
Step 3: Summarize the Passage
Just like God had promised, Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. They named him Isaac. Abraham obeyed Gods instruction and circumcised Isaac when the child was eight days old. Abraham was 100 years old.
Sarah said that God had made her laugh and that others would laugh with her. She couldn’t believe that she and Abraham could have a child at their age.
Later, when Isaac was weaned, they made a feast to celebrate but Sarah saw that Ishmael, Hagar’s son, was mocking. She told Abraham to throw out Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham was not happy with Sarah’s desires, but God told him that he would provide for Ishmael. So the next morning, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away.
Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness and when they were out of water, she placed Ishmael under a shrub and went away from him because she didn’t want to watch him die. She sat and cried.
But the angel of God called Hagar and told her not to be afraid. She should get Ishmael and take him by the hand. Hagar then saw a well and they had plenty to drink.
God was with Ishmael and he grew. He became an archer and he married an Egyptian.
Step 4: Interrogate the Passage
Questions you and your family ask might include:
- Why did Sarah laugh?
- How old was a child when he was weaned?
- Why did Sarah’s demand displease Abraham?
- Why would God allow Hagar to be sent away?
- How was Hagar unable to see the well before?
Step 5: Wonder about the Passage
Wonder statements you and your family make might include:
- I wonder how Sarah responded when she learned she was pregnant.
- I wonder if Sarah remembered how she had laughed at God a year before.
- I wonder who and why Ishmael mocked.
- I wonder why Hagar wandered in the wilderness.
Connect the Passage to Christ
Step 6: Find the World in Front of Text
This story reminds us once again of God’s faithfulness and his provision for his people. He had promised a son, and even if it took 25 years for Isaac to be born, he was. Sarah’s laughter of doubt turned into laughter of joy. While we also see an example of obedience, in Abraham circumcising Isaac and then later listening to God’s instructions concerning Hagar and Ishmael, two bigger parts of this story show us how the current world is not as it should be.
First, we see a lack of compassion from Sarah, especially, and Abraham, to a degree, toward Hagar and Ishmael. Sarah had attempted to send Hagar off before, and here, she does it again. She had no care for her handmaid and the son she had had with Abraham. While Abraham was unhappy with Sarah’s demands, and God told him to do it, Abraham still sent Hagar and Ishmael away. Which takes us to the second way we see the brokenness in our world: a lack of generosity.
Even if Abraham couldn’t be faulted for sending Hagar and Ishmael away because God had sanctioned it, we have to wonder why he didn’t provide them with more than just some food and water. He was extremely wealthy. Why not give her more along with an animal or two to carry it? Or perhaps even a servant or two?
God had been abundantly compassionate toward Abraham and Sarah and generous in giving them so much wealth and now a son. But in this episode, we see a lack of both of those.
Step 7: Find the World of Jesus of the Text
The lack of compassion and generosity from Abraham and Sarah toward Hagar and Ishmael, leaving them to die of hunger and thirst in the wilderness, reminds us of the compassion and generosity of Jesus—namely when he fed the multitudes. Unlike Abraham, Jesus had compassion on those who were hungry and he provided an abundance of food for them when they were a ways from a town where they could have gotten food. Jesus demonstrates his compassion and generosity in a far greater way by providing for our spiritual hunger and thirst, namely by laying down his life so we can be forgiven from sin.
Translate It to Your Context
Step 8: Connect the World of Jesus of the Text to Your World
How can you show others compassion this week? How can not only care about others, but act on that care by doing whatever you can for them, especially if they are in need. What can you do with your time, money, and possessions to help others in need?
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?
NEXT: Act 3: God Promises Jesus; Scene 10: Isaac Is Nearly Sacrificed (Genesis 22:1–19)
Learn more about this family discipleship method here.
brian dembowczyk 