Confirmation Study & Review Sheet
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Week presented: 10/28/03
Topic: Abraham and Isaac/Abraham Tested
Review:
The Bible stories don’t just exist so that we can learn facts about the past.
They convey to us truths about God.
Things
we learn from the stories that we’ve looked at so far
(Creation
of the World – Adam and Eve – The Fall into Sin – Noah and the Ark)
- God
is powerful
- God
makes promises — and God keeps His promises
- He’s
gracious (He gives undeserved love; He forgives; He’s compassionate.)
- He
loves us.
- He’s
righteous (sin does get punished).
Today
we look at Abraham and Isaac
(Genesis,
chapter 22):
The
basics and the background:
4
Isaac
was Abraham’s only son.
4
He
was born of the promise that God made to Abraham and Sarah.
4
A
part of that promise was that from Isaac, and Isaac’s children, Abraham would
be the father of a great nation of people (and, all people’s on earth would be
blessed through him).
What
was God thinking?
4
First,
He promises Abraham that he’ll have a son, and that there will be lots of
grandchildren from that son.
4
Then,
God takes 25 years before He fulfills that promise, and Isaac is born.
4
Now,
God is asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
4
God
is testing Abraham, with
the long-range view that Abraham would be an example of faith—Abraham trusted
that God could do anything. He believed that God could keep His promises, even
if it meant that God would have to bring Isaac back from the dead.
Important
Details (and Jesus connections):
This story points ahead to Jesus in
many ways:
4
Isaac
is referred to Abraham’s “only son” (Genesis
22: 2, 12, & 16)
(It kind of reminds us of Jesus being the one and only Son of the Father. See
John
3:16)
4
The
idea of sacrifice (Genesis
22:12-14)
and the Lamb (Genesis
22:6-7)
– again this reminds us
of Jesus, who was the Lamb of God who
sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. (see
John
1:29 & 36; see also 1
John 2:1-2)
4
Isaiah
53 also talks about Jesus God’s suffering servant, offered up for our
sins.
Bottom
Line: God
remains faithful to His promises. God provides for our needs, too. And God kept
looking ahead to fulfilling His ultimate promise: to send a Savior and bless all
peoples on the earth through Him.
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Lutheran Church and School
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