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Sunday School Lesson
Since the entrance of sin into the human race, there has been a need for some means of re-establishing the lost communion that has been known by our first parents. God chose Abraham as the one person through whose family line the perfect sacrifice for sin would come into the world. This man - first known as Abram - lived in "Ur of the Chaldees." Genesis 11:31. The divine call to this man was to "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee." Genesis 12:1. A promise was given - "thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 12:2c,3. When Abram reached the land that had been designated, God gave him another promise - "Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." Genesis 15:1. This was seen as a promise of a large family. This man saw only the present conditions. Genesis 15:2. God gave his assurance - "This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir." Genesis 15:4. Abram needed some kind of reference point. "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be." Genesis 15:5. This promise to a childless old man would seem to be ridiculous. However, "he believed in the Lord: and he counted it to him for righteousness." Genesis 15:6. Time does not stand still. Years came and went, and no child was born to Sarai - whose name had been changed to Sarah (Genesis 17:15) - the wife of Abraham - his name had, also, been changed by God (Genesis 17:5). At this time, a promise was given concerning Isaac, this yet-to-be-born child - "and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him." Genesis 17:19. Years later, this couple, again, had a divine visitor - "And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre..." Genesis 18:1. This visitor made a declaration - "Sarah thy wife shall have a son." Genesis 18:10c. The record declared, "Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" Genesis 18:11,12. The divine answer to these inward musings" have encouraged hearts through the centuries, under many different circumstances - "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" Genesis 18:14a. When God gives a promise, the matter is settled. Psalm 119:89. "And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him." Genesis 21:1,2. Since each child needs a name, Abraham was obedient in this area - "And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac." Genesis 21:3; Genesis 17:19. God had given to Abraham a sign of the covenant that had been established - that of circumcision. Genesis 17:10. "And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him." Genesis 21:4. We are told that "Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him." Genesis 21:5. The record gives us the response of Sarah to these divinely-ordered events. "And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me." Genesis 21:6. When God does something impossible for us, can we share with others the thing that has brought joy and laughter to our hearts? She continued, "Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for have born him a son in his old age." Genesis 21:7. Naturally, the child grew. This fact brought pleasure to the household. "And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned." Genesis 21:8. Since we know the "rest of the story," it is easy for us to see the significance of these events. These individuals did not have the perspective of history, since they were the history. We are blessed to realize that these personal events are part of the unfolding of the divine plan of salvation to bring the lost human race back into that communion that had been lost in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:1-10. The individuals that God used in fulfilling his divine plan were not perfect speci- mens, but had their flaws just as do the rest of us. God was - and is - able to use any person who will submit his or her life to the heavenly father - creator of the universe. Each individual must recognize the personal need for re-establishing that divine communion that has been made available. Through the offspring of Abraham - Jesus Christ of Nazareth - there is forgiveness for sin. We all need this forgiveness.
Please accept it, today. John 3:16; Romans 10:9, 10; Ephesians 2:8, 9; I John 1:7, 9. Your life can be changed, allowing you to know inner peace. John 14:27.
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