The Book of Genesis Bible Story Abraham & Isaac The Book of Genesis Bible Story

In the Beginning… Once there was a man named Abraham.  One day the Lord came to talk to Abraham, and Abraham asked, "Who will have all my things when I die".  God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah that one day they would be parents, even though they were old and had no children. God wasn't sure that Abraham understood.  So that night He took him outside, and said, "Do you see all the stars that are in the sky"?  When Abraham looked up, the whole night sky was full of stars,  so many in fact that he would never be able to count them.  Then God said, "That is how many children you will have".

Leaving Home God told Abraham and Sarah to leave their own Country and travel to Canaan (the Promised Land) Abraham trusted God and travelled there with his wife

Ishmael They arrived in the Promised Land and the years went by without any sign of a child, let alone a son to carry on the family name. Sarah despaired of ever having a child and resorted to an accepted custom of the day. She gave her Egyptian slave girl, Hagar, to Abraham to be another, albeit servant wife. By her, Abraham could have a son which, because Hagar was a slave, would belong to Sarah. (Hagar belonged to Sarah and so anything she had belonged to Sarah too). In this way, when he was 86 years old, Abraham became the father of a son Ishmael.

Trust and Hope in God Abraham was very proud of his son Ishmael and felt sure that through Him God would fulfill his promise of millions of descendants. However, God spoke very clearly to Abraham and told him that when He had promised Him a son, He had meant a son by his wife Sarah. God's promise was to be fulfilled in God's time and Abraham must trust and wait upon God. And so, against hope, Abraham believed in hope in God.

A Visit from God The years went by and still there was no sign of the promised son. Then one day, when Abraham, at 99 years of age, was relaxing outside his tent after a rather busy day, he saw three visitors coming their way. He quickly prepared food and drink so that the visitors could be received with the customary hospitality. On arrival they began to talk with Abraham and one in particular (it was in fact the Lord Himself) seemed to know so much about him and Sarah.

The Lord Said… "This time next year," He announced, "your wife Sarah will have a son. Call him Isaac." Sarah laughed at the very idea; she was far too old. Abraham believed and, sure enough, next year, when he was 100 years old, and Sarah 91, they had a son. They called him Isaac, a name which means 'laughter'.

The Sacrifice When Isaac was growing into teenage years, God decided to test Abraham's faith, to show how faithful a man he was. He told Abraham to take his only son Isaac to a certain mountain, three days' journey away, and to sacrifice him there. Abraham prepared to do as God said.

The Sacrifice Abraham prepared to do as God said. They reached the mountain, built the altar, and placed the firewood on it. Then Abraham bound Isaac, laid him on top of the altar and raised his hand ready to plunge a sacrificial dagger into his son's heart. At that very moment the angel of the Lord appeared.

Isaac Saved! The angel cried out, "Do not harm the lad. I know now you will do anything God asks. Look! There is a ram caught in a bush by its horns. Take that and sacrifice that to God as a thank offering”. And Abraham did just that.

A Million Descendants His son Isaac became the father of Jacob and Esau. And Jacob became the father of twelve sons, who became the ancestral fathers of the twelve tribes which made up the nation of Israel - the millions of descendants of Abraham.