YEA Lesson Library
Rich and Famous Relative?
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches about Sarah and Abraham “helping” God by using Hagar to birth Ishmael; the consequences of that decision remain today. Similarly, the student is taught that the consequences of sin also apply to him.
Note: Discussion about sex and abstinence
Scriptures
Genesis 11:26-32
Genesis 12:1-3
Genesis 15:1-21
Genesis 16:1-15
Genesis 16:12
Genesis 17:1-9
Habakkuk 3:19
Hebrews 11:8-13
Words to Know
GENEALOGY- an account of a person's ancestors; the study of family pedigrees.
DESCENDANTS - proceeding from an ancestor or source
The Lesson
There is computer software that can help you search your genealogy. It can help you make your way back in history to see who all of your relatives were. You may be related to a president, king, queen, another rich and famous person, or even a criminal. You might learn all kinds of neat things. If this software was able to take you back several thousands of years, you might just find that a man named Abram was in your genealogy.
Who was Abram and why would you want to find him in your genealogy? He was one of Terah's three sons - Abram, Nahor, and Haran. He married a beautiful lady named Sarai and they couldn't have children.
After Abram's father died God told him, "Leave your own country behind you, and your own people, and go to the land I will guide you to. If you do, I will cause you to become the father of a great nation; I will bless you and make your name famous, and you will be a blessing to many others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and the entire world will be blessed because of you." Abram and Sarai got up and left their country as God instructed them.
Would you like to have A Rich and Famous Relative like this? All he had to do was leave his country and go where God guided him and he would be famous and a blessing to others. But that's not all. God's blessing would extend to those who blessed Abram. But the flip side of the coin was a curse on those who cursed him. Did you notice that the entire world would be blessed because of Abram. Now that's a relative to have! We all like blessings, don't we?
Arguably the most important part of God’s blessing to Abram was that he would become the father of a great nation. Abram must have wondered at this!! He was childless! Abram was a very wealthy man with many servants, but you can’t be a father without having a child.
God spoke to Abram in a vision and said, "Don't be fearful, Abram, for I will defend you. And I will give you great blessings.
"But Abram replied, O Lord Jehovah, what good are all your blessings when I have no son? For without a son, some other member of my household will inherit all my wealth.'" God assured him that he would have a son. He took Abram out to look at the sky and told him to count the stars if he could. “Your descendants will be like that - too many to count!' And Abram believed God; then God considered him righteous on account of his faith." Have you ever tried to count the stars on a dark night? Think about it. This one man's descendants would be too many to count.
Abram had a vision of terrible foreboding, darkness, and horror. God told him that his descendants would become slaves to foreigners for 400 years. "But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and at the end they will come away with great wealth." As the sun set God made a covenant with Abram: "| have given this land to your descendants from the Wadi-el-Arish to the Euphrates River.”
But Sarai still didn't have a child and she doubted that God would fulfill His promise to her and Abram. So she gave her Egyptian maid and gave her to Abram to have a child by him. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. What do you think it cost Sarai for not trusting God to give her and Abram a son of their very own? Her answer to the problem didn't come close to a good solution. Sarai became jealous of her maid and she beat her and ran her off. Much of the Arab world are descendants of Ishmael. Most of the problems and fighting in that part of the world even today, especially with Israel, are the lingering consequences of this one mistake of not trusting God.
God appeared to Abram when he was 99 years old. He said, “Obey me and live as you should. I will prepare a contract between us, guaranteeing to make you into a mighty nation. In fact you shall be the father of not only one nation, but a multitude of nations!' Abram fell face downward in the dust as God talked with him.”
God then changed Abram's name to Abraham which means “Father of Nations.” And He changed Sarai's name to Sarah which means “Princess.” God promised that kings would be their descendants - so some of the multitude of nations would have kings. God told Abraham that his part of this contract was to obey its terms and that all of his descendants should have this responsibility.
Sarah became pregnant even though she and Abraham were very old and past the childbearing age. But God fulfilled his promise to them even after they messed things up. Our God is so merciful and trustworthy and He always keeps His promises.
Student Prayer
Merciful and trustworthy Father,
Thank you for keeping your promise to Abraham even after he and Sarah had taken matters into their own hands. Help me to always remember the lingering consequences that followed this, even down to this very day. Give me the will and strength to always obey and follow you.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday: Genesis 11:26-29
Monday: Genesis 12:1-3
Tuesday: Genesis 16:1-12
Wednesday: Genesis 16:13-15
Thursday: Genesis 17:1-9
Friday: Habakkuk 3:19
Saturday: Hebrews 11:8-13
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Explain that just a one time sexual offense can have repercussions for thousands of years.
2. Discuss that God is good and merciful and His blessings can also extend for eternity.
3. Talk about how Ishmael's descendants make up most of the Arab world today, and why the friction exists between them and the Jews and other Israelite nations.
4. Give the order of events discussed in this lesson.
Topics & Themes
Abraham
Blessings
Consequence of Sin
Faith
Ishmael
Obedience
Trusting God
Materials Needed
YEA students' and teacher's books, attendance and memory verse charts, newsprint pad, Scotch tape, songbook, CD or cassette tape, music player, marker, construction paper, timer, table, prize
How to Teach This Lesson
Open the class with prayer. This lesson is to start with a game "Sketch the Story" that is a little similar to Pictionary. Put the cards you made before class face down on the table. Explain that students will teach the class today by playing a game of "Sketch the Story." They are to draw one of the cards, go to the newsprint pad and sketch what is on their card.They have one minute to sketch it. The remaining students can begin guessing what is being drawn as soon as they see the first clue. If they guess it in one minute, the person who guesses correctly gets a point. If no one can guess what it is, the one sketching gets a minus one point. At the end of the game, the person with the most points wins. Use the timer to determine when the minute is up. Have the students tear off the preceding sketch. Don't keep them in order.
Debrief
Ask: How did you feel about learning the Bible with a game of "Sketch the Story?" Do you feel that you'll remember this lesson longer because it was a game? How did you feel about God requiring Abram and Sarai to leave their home and go where God led them? Would you have the faith to leave your nice room and comforts of home if God required it of you?
Sarai is childless
How did you feel about God not fulfilling His promise to give Abram and Sarai a child, then not giving them a child until they were past 90 years old? How did you feel about Sarai taking matters into her own hands and giving Hagar, her handmaid, to Abram to have her child? How did that change Sarai's relationship with Hagar? Why was it wrong for Abram to father a child with another woman? (Students in your class see and hear of so much adultery. They may be from a single parent home as Ishmael was.) Who all suffered from this sin? What impact does this decision have on you and our world today? (Hagar's son, Ishmael's descendants make up much of the Arab world today. Down through history there has been friction between the Arabs and Jews and other tribes of Israel.)
Gods plan
Say: God had a plan that surpassed Abram's and Sarai's mistake. Ask: How did God fulfill His promises to Abraham? (He gave him a son by Sarah after he was 99 years old.) What does this show you about God? What does God fulfilling his plan mean to you today?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Ask: How would you explain your responsibility towards sex compared with adults, such as Abraham and Hagar? When God makes a promise to you, how long should you wait for it? Ask one of the students to read Hebrews 11:8-13. Which promises has Abraham already received? Which ones is he still waiting to receive? What benefits do you think you receive if you are a descendant of Abraham? Ask one of the students to read Romans 2:29. Who are the Jews? (They are Abraham descendants.) What does this scripture say to you? What are you going to do to ensure you are a descendant of Abraham?
Time-Line
Have the students go back and put the pictures they sketched in time order.
REACH Activity
Memory Verse Spotlight
Look up Genesis 16:12 in multiple translations. They don’t all agree on how to translate the prophecy about Ishmael. Write down the various translations and how they render this verse. Then look up these verses to see what else the Bible has to say about Ishmaelites: Genesis 25:16; Jeremiah 25:24; Isaiah 13:20; 1 Chronicles 5:21; Genesis 37:25; Job 6:19; Jeremiah 3:2; Judges 8:10-21; 1 Kings 10:15; 2 Chronicles 17:11; 2 Chronicles 26:7.
Where in the World? Ishmaelites
Using a Bible reference tool, find out where the Ishmaelites tended to live. Choose different time periods, like during Joseph’s lifetime, during the time of the judges, during the time of Solomon’s reign. Find a map that you can color code to represent the different times. File this map in your Bible notebook.
They Did What Back Then? Surrogate Mother
“If a wife could not provide children for her husband, she was obligated to give the husband her servant or slave to bear children for her. According to custom, the slave’s children were legally the children of the wife, and after birth, were taken into the home of the master. Often the children never knew who their real mother was.” (Source: The Victor Journey Through the Bible, V. Gilbert Beers, 1996, pg. 26-27.) Do some more research into this topic. Where did this custom originate? Why was it the custom of that time? See if you can find out when this custom became less popular and important. Write down what you find, along with your sources, in your Bible notebook.
Making It Mine: Father Abraham
Jews and Muslims both claim Abraham as their father. Christians do as well, but it’s a bit different. How is the Christian claim about Abraham different from the Jews and Muslims? Hint: look up Abraham, descendants of Abraham, Galatians 3:7-9, 29. Write what you find in your Bible notebook. Then answer the question: Is Abraham one of your ancestors?
Worldview Collisions: God
Other worldviews all have one thing in common: each of their gods is made in their own image. The Roman and Greek gods and goddesses were vain, selfish, capricious, devious, and sometimes downright wicked. The same is true for the Germanic, Slavic, and Scandinavian gods. Even today, the Muslim god and the thousands of Hindu gods are vindictive, harsh, and demanding. Every one of them is made in the image of man.
The Biblical worldview believes in the one true God, Jehovah or Yahweh. Our God never changes. His laws never change; they are all for our good. He is long-suffering and merciful. And the most incredible thing! God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for our sins, while we were yet sinners. That is unique! There is no god like our God!
Write down this worldview collision in your Bible notebook, along with some notes about which worldview you hold and why.
Questions
As you’re working through the YEA lesson, Daily Devotionals, doing the activity, or reading the Bible, be sure to write down any questions you have. That way you’ll remember to ask someone. Also remember to share the really interesting things you’re learning with family and friends.
Song
"When the Spirit Says Move" is on page 92 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Have students form a circle and hold hands. Ask each student to give a reason why teenagers don’t obey God. Ask for a volunteer to lead in prayer asking God to help the students to understand that even they are experiencing the consequences of Abraham’s sin with terrorism in the world today, and they also share in Abraham's blessings that God promised to Israel.
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