Isaac The Covenant Child

Central Thought: God keeps His covenant with His people.

 

Text: Genesis 22:1-18, 25:19-21, 26:1-6

 

Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah.  He was born when his father was one hundred years old and the mother ninety years.  He was a covenant child which God promised Abraham.  Ishmael had already been born to Abraham at this time and he was almost giving up hope, thinking that it was no longer possible for him and his wife Sara to have children.  Abraham was pleading with God on behalf of Ishmael, Genesis 17:15-18.  “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed: and thou shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him”, Genesis 17:9.  God is the covenant keeping God, “what He had promised, He was able also to perform, Romans 4:21b.  We can be rest assured that God is too faithful to fail.  Whatever promise He makes to us as His children, He will surely bring to pass.  He is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He will repent.  His word is Yea and Amen.

In this study, we shall discuss the birth of Isaac, his growth and progress in life from childhood to adulthood.  We shall also highlight some lessons we can learn from the story of his life to see how we can apply them to our lives.

 

Lesson Objectives:

1. To discuss how Isaac’s birth marked the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham;

2. Highlight the lessons we can learn from the Scriptures concerning Isaac as a child.

3. Examine how Isaac handled the barrenness of his wife and the lessons we can derive from it.

4. Identify the secret of Isaac’s prosperity and the lessons that can be derived from it.

5. To identify some shortcomings in the life of Isaac as recorded in the Scriptures that we must avoid.

 

Bible Truths:

1. Discuss how Isaac’s birth marked the beginning of the fulfilment of God’s covenant with Abraham?  Genesis 18:9-15, 21:1-7, 17:9-27; Acts 3:13, 24-25; Romans 9:6-10

Isaac was the son of Abraham, who was born to him by Sarah his wife when Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah ninety years.  The birth of Isaac was the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham.  “…I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son”, Genesis 18:10.

Therefore Isaac was a child of promise.  God had promised Abraham that Sarah his wife was going to give birth to a son and that the child should be named Isaac which means laughter.  God also told Abraham that He would establish a covenant with Isaac for an everlasting covenant.  Although God entered into this covenant with Abraham a long time before the period of the birth of Isaac, the covenant found its fulfilment at the birth of Isaac, Genesis 15:18.  God’s word will surely come to pass: no matter how long it takes, it will never fail.

 

2.  Read Genesis 22:6-10 and highlight the lessons we can learn from Isaac as a child.

There are many lessons we can learn from Isaac as a child.  It was very obvious that Isaac knew and believed in the God of his father.  His father must have taught him the ways of God and he understood the fact that one of the acts of worship was sacrifice to God.  So it was not strange to Isaac when his father mentioned to him that they were going to the place they would offer sacrifice to God.  He was also an obedient child and never questioned his father’s authority at any time.  He was very humble.  When his father laid the wood on him, Isaac did not refuse carrying it.  He did not say that his father’s servants should be asked to carry the wood.  He had unquestionable faith in the God of his father.  When he asked his father concerning the lamb for the sacrifice and he told him that God would provide himself a lamb for the burnt offering, Isaac never doubted his father’s word.  When they got to the place for the burnt offering and Abraham after he had built the altar and laid the wood in order, he bound Isaac his son and laid him upon the wood, Isaac did not struggle or resist his father.  If he was not willing to submit to his father’s wish, there was no way an old man of over one hundred years would have been able to bind the lad and lay him on the wood without Isaac over powering Abraham.

Abraham, his wife, his son and the entire household had a strong regard for God’s word.  They held Jehovah in high esteem and dared not disobey Him; this ought to be an example for the believers of today to follow.

 

3. How did Isaac handle the barrenness of his wife and what lessons can we derive from it?  Genesis 25:20-21, 11:30; 1 Samuel 1:2,9-20.

Isaac’s wife Rebekah was barren for about twenty years before she had her twin children, Esau and Jacob, Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife and he was sixty years old when the children were born to him, Genesis 25:26b.  Rather than accusing his wife of barrenness.  “And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived”, Genesis 25:21.  Hannah had no children but when she payed unto the LORD, He hearkened unto her prayers and she conceived and gave birth to Prophet Samuel and thereafter five more children.  Therefore, when we are confronted with the challenge of barrenness, we should take it to God in prayers.  God answers prayers and He will surely grant us the desires of our hearts.  Delayed child bearing in marriage can result from many factors – e.g. malfunctioning of the reproductive systems (of any or both of the couple).  It would also be a satanic attack, ignorance on the part of the couple, etc.  It is possible also that nothing may be wrong with any of them but just mere delay.  Whatever the cause, God is able to reverse the situation if only we come to Him in prayers trusting in God’s ability to meet us at the points of our need.  Christians facing such challenges should not be discouraged.  There may be need for them to seek medical advice and also meet Christian Leaders who they can confidently discuss the issue with, for counsel and prayers.  We should never be discouraged, God has not changed, and He has promised us children.  “Lo children are an heritage of the LORD:  and the fruit of the womb is His reward”, Psalm 127:3.  We only need to trust God and wait patiently for Him to bring it to pass in the due time, knowing that with God, all things are possible.  “…no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly”, Psalm 84:11b.

The Scriptures have made it clear in Deuteronomy 7:14b that “there shall not be make or female barren among you or among your cattle”.  It follows then that barrenness is not from God.

 

4.  What was the secret of Isaac’s prosperity and the lessons that can be derived form it?  Genesis 26:1-6, 12-14, 26:17-30; Proverbs 16:7

The secret of Isaac’s prosperity was as a result of his absolute obedience of God’s instruction.  Despite the fact that there was famine in the land where he found himself at that time, when God instructed Isaac not to go down into Egypt, he never argued or judged the matter based on the obvious condition in the land.  IN obedience to God’s instruction, Isaac sowed in that land not minding the famine, because he judged Him faithful who had promised.  “If ye be willing and obedient , ye shall eat the good of the land”, Isaiah 1:19.  We should realize that it is only in obeying and acting on divine instructions that we can prosper and find fulfilment in life.

Isaac was very diligent and determined to achieve his goal.  Even in the face of opposition and contention, he was not discouraged, neither did he give up.  Any well Isaac’s servants dug and the Philistines tried to strive with him for I, he would move to dig another one.  He continued to dig until a point when the Philistines did not strive with him.  If we do not get discouraged in the face of opposition, God will establish us on that which we have set out hands to do.

Abimelech who had earlier asked Isaac to go from him was the one who in the company of his people went to meet Isaac to make peace with him.  When we live in obedience to God and HIs word, He takes over our battles and even those against us would have no choice than to turn to us, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him”, Proverbs 16:7.

In addition, diligence is very crucial in our endeavors: without diligence, we cannot go far in whatever business or career we embark upon.  Diligence will take us from obscurity to limelight.  “Seest thou a man diligent in his business?  He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men”, Proverbs 22:29.

 

5. Identify some shortcomings in the life of Isaac as recorded in the scriptures that we must avoid.  Genesis 25:27-28, 26:7-11

Isaac preferred one child to the other.  “And Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison”, Genesis 25:28.  We should try as much as possible to love all our children equally and unconditionally.  We should not prefer some to the others simply because of the benefits we receive from them.  Such situation can create strife and strive and division amongst our children.

When Isaac and his wife Rebekah got to Gerar, he told the men of the place that Rebekah was his sister because he feared that he would be killed by the men of the land if they know that Rebekah was his wife.  Isaac told a lie because he wanted to save his life.  We must not tell lies thinking that that is a way of escape from imminent danger.  When we do this, it shows that we do not trust God’s ability to defend and rescue us from the enemy.  God is able to keep us when we live to please Him and stand for the truth.  Notably, summary of Isaac’s life is worth admiring, as a child he was very obedient to his father, never doubted God’s instruction to him.  As a man he obeyed the voice of God, he has married to one wife, faithfully weathered the storm of childlessness with her for twenty years.  God rewarded his faithfulness.

 

 

Daily Living Application:

Our God is the covenant keeping God.  He is able to bring to pass the promises He has made to us. The birth of Isaac marked the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham.  Isaac was a covenant child.  His father Abraham taught him the ways of God.  These were exhibited in his lifestyle both at childhood and adulthood.  Isaac had faith in God; he was humble and obedient both to God and his father.  We must remember that God will always keep His own side of the promises He has made to us as a long as we keep our own side of the Covenant.

 

Memory Verse:

Genesis 26:12 – “Then Isaac sowed in the land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.”