This lesson is compatible with the "Abraham & Isaac" Flash-A-Cards from Abeka Books.
Scripture References: Genesis 11:27-32; 12:1-20; Hebrews 11:8-10; Acts 7:2-4; James 2:23
“Sarai, this altar is for the One, True God. We will thank Him for his promise and offer the blood sacrifice for our sins.”
Abram had left his home in Ur when God told him to leave and promised to bless the whole earth through him. He had finally made it to Canaan, where God promised to give him all the land he could see, after a long trip that probably lasted a couple of years. His father passed away in Haran before seeing God’s promise fulfilled, and now it was Abram, Sarai his wife, and Lot his nephew. They had many flocks of sheep and goats, and servants to help with all the work.
“Sarai let’s not forget this place, or this altar. It will remind me that God came to me again and promised to give all this land to our children and grandchildren. I believe God will keep His promise.” Abram had faith in God. Having faith in God is believing God will keep his promises. God promised to bless the earth by sending someone to die for sins. Abram did not understand how that would happen, or when, but He believed God would keep His promise.
Since Abram and Lot had many sheep and goats, they had to move around a lot to make sure they had plenty of fresh grass and clean water. This new land wasn’t quite as green as where they used to live. The land was suffering from a famine. The rain hadn’t fallen in quite some time. The grass was dried up. The streams of water got smaller and smaller. Abram was beginning to worry. “Uncle Abram, maybe we are going to die here!” said Lot.
“Things are pretty bad, Lot. I’m worried we won’t have enough food for all our herds of sheep and goats. Maybe we should find better land to feed the sheep with.” Said Abram. So, Abram packed up his tents, and had his servants gather all his herds, and they set out to find better land with more water. They traveled to a place that Abram heard of in Haran. It had a big river that kept things nice and green.
[Visual 1.4] Lots of crops grew there, and there were big cities to buy and sell food. He could sell some of his sheep and goats, or the milk and cheeses they made! The land was called Egypt. The Egyptians were happy to see the new travelers. They saw the herds of Abram, and knew he was a rich man, and could trade some of his flocks, and they knew he would buy some of their crops!
Was Abram supposed to leave the land God promised him? No! But remember, even though Abram had faith in God, his faith wasn’t always perfect. Abram looked around him in Canaan and worried he wouldn’t have enough food for his herds and his family. He tried to solve the problem himself, instead of praying and asking God to help him. Do you think God could have provided enough food for Abram and his family if Abram asked God to help? Definitely! Sometimes we are tempted to try and fix the problems we are in, instead of asking God for help. We forget to trust God. We forget God keeps His promises. We can only see the problems we have, and how difficult things can get. If we remember God keeps His promises, and keep our mind on Him, it is much easier to trust Him when troubles come. Like the famine.
But God was patient with Abram, just as He is patient with us! Abram set up his tents in Egypt and lived comfortably for a while. Whenever he and his family went to the markets to shop, he noticed something. Everyone looked at his wife Sarai. They whispered how pretty she was. Abram began to worry. He heard a rumor that even the pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had heard how beautiful his wife was! “Sarai, whenever anyone asks who you are, tell them you are my sister. Don’t mention being my wife. If they find out we are married, they will kill me, and take you!” Sarai agreed to do as Abram asked her. She was, after all, the half-sister of Abram. The word for father, brother, and sister in those days could also mean relative, like cousin. Sarai was a half relative of Abram when they married. So, one day, some of the king’s servants showed up to Abram’s tent. “We have been sent by Pharaoh, the king! He will trade you many cattle, sheep, donkeys, camels, and servants for Sarai. He has heard how beautiful she is and wants to add her to his many wives.”
Abram was too afraid to say no. He thought he would be killed if he did. So, he said goodbye to his wife, and watched her leave with the king’s servants. In those days, when a king took a new wife, she would live at the palace and go through a period of beauty treatments and lessons on how to treat the king. There were many things she couldn’t do or say around the king. She had to learn a lot of rules. This all happened before she would officially become the king’s wife.
Something strange was happening in the palace, though. Each day that passed, the king noticed strange things. I like to imagine that the palace was overrun by bugs one day! Then everyone got sick. Then the king’s favorite pets began to die. The bible tells us that God was sending plagues because of Sarai! He was protecting Sarai and making sure that she didn’t marry anyone else. God had a plan for Sarai, just as He had a plan for Abram! He wanted to use her to keep his promise to Abram! The pharaoh thought long and hard about all the strange things happening. “This all started the day I brought the sister of Abram to the palace! I’m going to get to the bottom of this!” He called for Abram. After asking Abram and Sarai some questions, he finally understood. “Why didn’t you tell me about Sarai? She is your wife! I could have married her before it was too late! Here, take your wife and leave! I don’t want these plagues! We will all leave you alone but take her and get out of here!”
Pharaoh made a command to all his servants after that: “No one touch Abram or Sarai! Don’t take any of the animals away from him that I gave him. We don’t want any more trouble from his God. Just leave them alone and let them live in peace.”
God sure was merciful to Abram! He protected Sarai and kept her from marrying another man. He made sure no one would hurt Abram, even though Abram sinned. God didn’t say “That’s it! I’m done with Abram! He isn’t good enough. I won’t bless the earth through his family. I’ll find someone better!” God was patient with Abram. He keeps his promises, even when we don’t keep ours! God is good and perfect. He is full of mercy. That doesn’t mean we never have consequences for our actions. When we do wrong, we WILL have consequences for our wrong actions. And He will even help us when we are suffering from the consequences of our wrong actions. He might not take the consequences away, but He will be with us through our troubles. But God ALWAYS keeps his promises, in spite of what we do. I’m so glad God kept his promise to forgive our sins through Jesus!
Abram decided he better get back to Canaan. Maybe he realized he was wrong to leave the land God told him to find, and then promised him he would give it to his descendants. He, Sarai, Lot, and this many more servants and herds of animals went back to the place where he made his altar.
Once again, Abram made an offering to God. He gave God the blood sacrifice. He prayed and asked God to forgive him. Was God faithful to forgive him? Yes! Once again, Abram had faith in God. Was his faith perfect? No! But God keeps His promises. He promised to send someone to die for our sins. Jesus came, and even though Abram never knew his name, he trusted God would send him! Do you believe God keeps His promises? Have you trusted Jesus? Jesus is the One God sent to die for sins! God the Son who paid the price for all the bad things we do, say, and think that break God’s laws. We aren’t’ perfect, but Jesus was! He died on the cross and rose again 3 days later. The bible says if we believe this, and tell God we believe, we can have our sins forgiven! Forever forgiven! God will keep His promise of this forgiveness! Let’s pray and thank Him for keeping His promise, and blessing the whole earth with His Son, Jesus!