Bible tale: Ishmael & Isaac

Ishmael & Isaac
from Genesis 21 to 22
re-told by Debbie Dunn

• Story Highlights:
  * When Sarah witnessed Ishmael bullying Isaac, she insisted Abraham must send Ishmael and Hagar away.
  * In the desert, an Angel of the Lord provided water & God’s promise to dying Hagar and Ishmael.
  * God provided a ram to take Isaac’s place since Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac at the altar.




PART 1

Narrator #1: At a party for three-year-old Isaac, Sarah caught his 17-year-old half-brother, Ishmael, mocking and bullying him.

Narrator #2: Sarah demanded, "Abraham, send that boy and his mother away!"

Narrator #1: Abraham wanted to say no, but God assured him that Ishmael would eventually father a great nation.

Narrator #2: So, early the next morning, Abraham gave Hagar and her son some food and a skin of water. They wandered off to the desert.

Narrator #1: Hagar placed her son under a bush when they ran out of food and water. She moved away so she did not have to watch him die.

Narrator #2: As both cried, an angel of God called to her from Heaven.

ANGEL OF THE LORD: What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.

Narrator #1: Then God opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw a well of water. She filled the skin and gave Ishmael a drink.

Narrator #2: God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became a great archer. Before he died at age 137, he had 12 sons and one daughter.

PART 2

Narrator #1: A few years later, God tested Abraham's faith and loyalty by giving him a startling order.

Father God: Take your only son, Isaac. Go to a mountain I will show you, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering.

Narrator #2: Abraham and Isaac traveled for three days. Reaching the mountain, Abraham cut enough wood for the burnt offering.

Narrator #1: Like Jesus had to climb a hill as he carried His wooden cross, Abraham loaded the wood onto Isaac's back, and they climbed.

Narrator #2: The Roman soldiers brought a hammer and nails. Abraham took the torch of fire and the knife.

Narrator #1: As they climbed, Isaac called, "Father? "

Narrator #2: Abraham choked out the words, "Yes, my son?"

Narrator #1: Isaac said, "The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Narrator #2: Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."

Narrator #1: Two thousand years before the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross, Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood on it, bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Narrator #2: So, what was going through the mind of Abraham? The answer is revealed in Hebrews 11, verse 19.

Narrator #1: Hebrews 11:19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. (NLT)

Narrator #2: In other words, Abraham had faith that Isaac would still have thousands of descendants.

Narrator #1: As for Isaac, he was probably terrified and confused about what was happening.

Narrator #2: Two thousand years later, Jesus, the Son of God, was also going to be sacrificed. Unlike Isaac, Christ Jesus was willing to suffer so that we could go to Heaven instead of the other place.

Narrator #1: John 3:16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him - [Christ Jesus], will not perish but have eternal life. (NLT)

Narrator #2: Jesus said, in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (NLT)

Narrator #1: The only way to go to Heaven is to believe in and follow Jesus, the one who was willing to be tortured and killed for our sake.

Narrator #2: Seven hundred years before Jesus, Prophet Isaiah revealed this about God's only Son.

Narrator #1: Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. As a sheep is silent before the shearers, He does not open his mouth. (NLT)

Narrator #2: As Abraham raised his knife to slay Isaac, an angel from Heaven called out:

ANGEL OF THE LORD: Abraham! Abraham!

Narrator #1: Abraham froze in place and hopefully replied, "Here I am."

ANGEL OF THE LORD: Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your only son.

Narrator #2: Abraham saw a Ram, a male sheep, caught by its horns in a thicket. He sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. He even called that place "The Lord will Provide."

ANGEL OF THE LORD: Abraham, because you obeyed me and have not withheld your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.

Narrator #1: Jesus demonstrated His love for all of us that even though we are undeserving, He died to pay the price for our sins.

Narrator #2: We are forgiven by trusting God that our sins are covered by Jesus’ blood and by believing that God raised Him from the dead.

Narrator #1: This faith in God is like the faith Abraham demonstrated in being willing to offer his son as a sacrifice.

Narrator #2: Faithful Abraham and his son, Isaac, gratefully returned home to reunite with Sarah.

Narrator #1: One of their descendants was Mary, the mother of Jesus.

END OF SKIT. Let’s give our volunteers a great big hand!

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My ever-expanding Explore Bible Story dot org website includes Bible stories and Biblical Family Trees about

• Creation, Adam, & his Descendants
• Noah, the Ark, & the Flood
• Abraham & Sarah
• Isaac & Rebekah, Esau & Jacob
• Jacob & his 4 wives
• 12 sons of Jacob who became known as the 12 Tribes of Israel
• Moses who was from the line of Levi
• Joshua who became leader of Israelites after death of Moses
• 12 Judges of Israel including Deborah, Gideon, & Samson
• Kings of Israel including Saul, David, & Solomon
• 4 Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, & Daniel
• 12 Minor Prophets of Israel
• 4 other important Prophets of Israel: Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, & Nathan
• Jesus Christ, our Messiah, Lord, Savior, & King of king
• 12 Disciples of Jesus
• Apostle Paul & other Significant Followers of Christ
• Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
• The Free Gift of Salvation & The Sinner's Prayer
• About Website: Explore Bible Story.org
• About the author: Debbie Dunn