Our last story was about Abram packing up to go to a land that God would show him. This land was the land of Canaan.
When Abram made this journey, he was an old man of 75 years of age. His wife, Sarai, was 65. They were old enough to be grandparents, but the one thing that made them sad was that they had no children of their own. God had promised them that they would one day it had not happend yet and they were only getting older.
More than twenty years later, when Abram was ninety-nine years old, God came to him and changed his name. He gave him the name "Abraham" which means "father of a great multitude" and to Sarai, God gave the name "Sarah" which means "princess". He promised him once again that he would have a son. And Abraham continued to believe God.
A little later, some very special visitors came to see Abraham. He was sitting in the doorway of his tent when the three men came near. They were strangers, but Abraham ran out to welcome them and invite them to stop and have a meal. He had water brought to them so they could wash their feet and then settled them under a tree so they could rest from the heat of the day.
Abraham quickly went to Sarah and asked her to make some bread and then fetched a calf from his herd and gave it to one of his servants to start it cooking. When it was all ready, he took the bread, some butter and milk and the meat that had been prepared and took it to the three strangers. He stood by while they ate.
These three strangers were not ordinary men. Abraham soon found out that his visitors were messengers from God. They were angels. They told Abraham that in a little less than a year, his wife Sarah would have a son even though she was old enough to be a great-grandmother herself. Sarah was inside the tent, and heard this. She laughed to herself a little.
But the angels knew she laughed and said "Nothing is too hard for God to do!" So Abraham and Sarah believed them. Before a year had passed, Sarah did have a son. Abraham and Sarah were full of joy! They called the baby Isaac, which means "laughing". His name always reminded them of their happiness.
Things to Remember
Discussion
When Abram left Ur, God had promised him he would have many descendants. More than twenty years later he and his wife were still childless. We may think sometimes that if something doesn't happen right away, it never will. But this story reminds us that God's timing is different than ours and that nothing is impossible with God. We just need to trust in Him.
Who came to tell Abraham and Sarah about the promised son?
How did Sarah react?
Why was it a miracle for Abraham and Sarah to have a son?
Activity Suggestions
Draw a picture of Abraham and Sarah happy with their baby, or perhaps the three angels under the tree.
Make placemats. Take a 9x12 inch sheet of coloured construction paper. Fold it in half and make cuts from the fold to within an inch of the edges, about 1 inch apart. Cut ten 9x1 inch strips of different colours. Weave them in and out of the slits in the large paper, alternating with each row. When finished, glue the edges and then cover boths sides with clear contact paper.