Elementary Level, Block 2—Noah to Isaac
Week 18
Isaac—Trusting in God’s Ways (Revised on 2/23/2021)
Point to Emphasize: We should be those who trust in God’s ways.
Reference Reading: Genesis 23—24
Memory Verse: I…will greatly multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the sand which is on the seashore… (Genesis 22:17)
Story Sample
As Isaac grew up, he continued to trust in God’s ways. When Isaac was thirty-seven years old, his mother Sarah passed away. She was only one hundred and twenty-seven. Only? Why do I say only? Actually, back then this was considered quite a young age to die. Abraham lived to be one hundred and seventy-five. It must have been quite a hardship for Abraham to lose his wife and for Isaac to lose his mother. Undoubtedly, she loved both of them very much. They must have suffered a lot.
At this point Isaac was still not married. This was a problem. A few weeks ago we learned that God had promised that Abraham would inherit a great land, and He would make Abraham a great nation of chosen people. Isaac needed a wife and children to carry on Abraham’s family and to fulfill God’s promise. What would God do? How would Isaac find a wife? Abraham wanted very much for Isaac to have a wife. He wanted to take care of his son. So Abraham gave his servant some very specific instructions for finding a wife for his son Isaac.
Abraham asked his servant to go to his country, where Abraham was from, to find his relatives and a wife for his son Isaac. This was not an easy task. To get to his country Abraham’s servant had to cross two rivers and a stretch of desert. That must have been really far. There were no cars, trains, or planes back then, and this was quite a journey. Once he arrived, Abraham’s servant also had to find a woman willing to come back with him to marry Isaac. Abraham’s servant set out to the land where Abraham was from, asking God to grant him success and to show kindness to his master Abraham. He fully trusted in God to take care of Abraham and his son Isaac.
Now what do you think Isaac thought of this plan? Would a woman who had never met him leave her family, come to where he was, far away, and marry him? Why would anyone do this? Isaac must have wondered if this would really work, but he accepted his father’s arrangement and trusted him.
Do you think it would be easy to trust in God’s ways? I know about a boy who was not allowed to play rough sports in school. His mom would only allow him to play certain sports like basketball and tennis. She did it because his bones were still growing, and she didn’t want him to get hurt playing rough sports. At first he didn’t understand why and thought this was really unfair. Many of his friends were allowed to play rough sports, but he trusted his mom’s care for him and accepted this arrangement. When he was older, he realized that his mom’s arrangement was very wise, and he was glad he had accepted it as a youth. We need to be those who trust in our parents like Isaac trusted in Abraham. [Storyteller, insert your own example.] When we trust the arrangements of our parents and those caring for us, it means that we trust in God’s ways.