Genesis - The Beginning

Lesson 7 - Isaac the Son of Promise and Rebekah

Context:

In Genesis 25-35, Moses wrote about the life of Isaac, who was Abraham’s son of promise and about Isaac’s wife – Rebekah – and their children. Once again, God’s undeserved favor and promise was given to Isaac. Even though Isaac made many of the same mistakes that his father Abraham had made, he continued to walk with God and continued to receive God’s favor as a son of promise.

In today’s lesson, we learn how God blessed Isaac with children and how God chose one of these children to continue his promises made to Abraham to make a great nation through him. The Jewish people freed from Egypt were similar to Isaac’s son, Jacob, who God blessed, even though he had done nothing to deserve it. In the same way, God chose to reach out to us through Jesus and bless us even though we had done nothing to deserve it. By faith in Jesus, we become like Isaac as children of the promise.

Genesis 25:19-26

19 Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb,  and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

For further discussion:

Galatians 4:28

Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.