Genesis 18-23 Teaching Activities and Insights

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

LESSON #1 AGAINST HOPE, BELIEVE IN HOPE-THE ENDURANCE TEST (Genesis 12-21)

TRUTH:

If I continue to trust God with hope when His promises seem delayed, then He will fulfill them in His time and way.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

Now this lesson is going to be incredibly relevant to almost everyone because this is how God often works with his children while in mortality. We are all going to have endurance tests of faith in life. In fact, many of your students are probably quietly waiting on answers, healing, direction, forgiveness, or promised blessings that feel long overdue. Help them to know that their continued hope, their choice to keep trusting, and their refusal to give up may be one of the most Christlike acts of discipleship they will ever practice.

OBJECT:

An hourglass. The classic symbol for the passing of time. This can serve as a visual reminder of the principle of waiting patiently on the Lord. Abraham and Sarah’s test of faith wasn’t really marked by a single dramatic moment, but by long stretches of waiting where nothing seemed to change. This reinforces the idea that endurance tests often feel ordinary and uneventful on the surface, even though something important is happening beneath.

Link to purchase hourglass: https://amzn.to/4qdGnUa

ICEBREAKER:

For the icebreaker, I like to ask the discussion question: What kind of tests do you prefer or dread most? And then you can provide some of the different common options: Pop Quizzes, Final Exams, Multiple Choice Tests, Essay Tests, Short Answer, True/False, physical performance tests. After that short discussion you could transition to the scriptures by reminding them that a big part of the purpose of this life is to be tested. And although tests may not be our favorite thing to undergo, they are absolutely essential to our growth and development.  While most of us would choose to take no tests at all, testing is simply part of life—at school, at work, and in our discipleship. Some tests are short and intense, but others stretch out over time and require patience rather than quick answers. I like to call this kind of test an “Endurance Test,” and Abraham and Sarah’s story shows us what faith and hope can look like in those seasons.

TAKE IT TO HEART:

And this is a lesson that I think it’s helpful to establish the relevance early and ask a take it to heart question near the beginning. Not one that requires an answer or sharing, but one that gets your students already thinking of how the scriptures can relate to situations in their own lives. So you ask:

Can you think of a time in your life when you felt that you were waiting on God for something important—an answer to a prayer, a promised blessing, understanding, or help through a trial, and the waiting lasted much longer than you expected?

OR, maybe you’re in the midst of one of those kinds of things right now.   If you can relate to that kind of experience. Abraham has something to teach you today. He’s going to show us what we can do in just such circumstances.

And here, you may even want to give them some modern-day examples of this kind of testing either now or later in the lesson.

The righteous single sister waiting for the promise of a covenant spouse who hasn’t appeared yet, and who may not even appear until the next life.

The humble teenager or investigator who is patiently praying and waiting for a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. 

The widower who waits patiently to be reunited with their beloved spouse at the resurrection.

The person with a physical or mental disability waiting for healing or a glorious resurrected body without those limitations.

The family that continues to pay their tithing even when they’re struggling financially. Or maybe it’s all the faithful disciples of Christ who wait for His glorious return while struggling to live righteous in a wicked world.

You don’t need to share all of these, maybe just 2 or 3 to help them see that there are many people who are asked to endure difficult trials of faith over long periods of time.

QUOTE:

There are some cross references in this lesson that you’re going to want to have handy because we learn a lot about this test of Abraham and Sarah’s through other prophets.

So you’ve got Abraham 3:25, the verses that describe the great pre-mortal council in heaven, where we learn that proving or testing was one of the major purposes of this life.

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them. (Abraham 3:25)

Also, you may want to have Doctrine and Covenants 101:4 ready. Which says:

4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son. (Doctrine and Covenants 101:4)

I also like the following quote from Joseph Smith who said:

You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and . . . God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.’

Joseph Smith Jr.

(John Taylor, Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, Aug. 21, 1883, p. 1.)

SEARCH ACTIVITY/HANDOUT:

To help my students see the big picture and flow of this endurance test, I like to give them the timeline handout, and this time I’ve entitled it “Waiting Patiently On the Lord”.  Then, lead your students through the story and invite them to fill out the different boxes on the timeline. This can help you to emphasize just how long Abraham and Sarah had to wait for the promise to be fulfilled. And we start with that promise in Abraham 2:9 where Abraham is told that he would be the Father of a great nation—that their seed (posterity) would bear God’s ministry to the world. Well, you’ve got to have at least one child to make that possible. So that’s our promise. Then introduce them to the problem in Genesis 11:30. Sarah is barren. Now I won’t walk you through the entire timeline here, you could review that portion of the insight video for that. But make sure they know that Sarah is 10 years younger than Abraham. Then you can just go reference by reference through the suggested verses in the timeline and help them see the flow of promise, waiting, questioning, reaffirmation and then, finally, it culminates in the fulfillment of that promise as Sarah gives birth to Isaac. And you’re going to want to keep track of their ages as you go because that is actually going to put a number on the amount of time it took between promise and fulfillment of promise.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

Some discussion questions you might consider asking during the timeline activity:

What questions do you think Abraham and Sarah were asking privately—but perhaps not saying out loud?

What do you think about Abraham and Sarah being open to alternate ways of God’s promise being fulfilled other than the way they want and hope it will be fulfilled. Does that teach you anything?

How do you think the long waiting changed the way Abraham and Sarah experienced the fulfillment?

And probably the most important questions you can ask here:

Why do you think God does this to Abraham and Sarah? What’s the purpose of this test?

What do Abraham and Sarah teach you about facing the endurance tests of life?

SEARCH ACTIVITY:

Now at this point in the lesson you’re probably also going to want to take them to Paul’s conclusions about Abraham and Sarah in Hebrews 11:11 and also Romans 4:16-22.

A great search question you could ask as you have them read Paul’s tribute in Romans 4 would be: Is there a phrase in these verses about Abraham and Sarah’s faith that stands out to you? What about it caught your attention?

And whether it’s shared by you or a student, I think you’d want to make sure that the line “Who against hope, believed in hope” is at least mentioned, one, because it’s such a beautiful way of expressing the idea of “Endurance Faith”, and it’s also the phrase that I’ve decided to highlight in the takeaway slide.

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

Where are you waiting on God right now?

What helps you to keep believing even when nothing seems to change?

I WILL GO AND DO QUESTION:

What is one small action I can take to keep hope alive while I’m waiting on the Lord?

Some suggestions:

Continue doing what I already know is right, even if I don’t yet know what comes next.

Choose not to assume that silence means God isn’t listening.

Choose patience in my attitude, even when the situation itself hasn’t changed.

Look to Abraham and Sarah as examples and pray for strength to live as they lived.

TAKEAWAY:

The takeaway slide reminds us that some of our tests of faith in life will be endurance tests and, in those circumstances, may we, like Abraham and Sarah “Against hope, believe in hope”.  Explain that some tests feel like sprints—intense, but over quickly. Others though, are much more like marathons, where the challenge isn’t speed but whether you’ll keep going. This test of Abraham and Sarah’s was a marathon, and God deeply values the kind of faith that endures. Testify to your students that the Lord keeps His promises, even when they seem delayed. I also like to include this short statement from one of my favorite talks given by Elder Holland years ago. He assured us:  “Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.”  (Jeffrey R. Holland “A High Priest of Good Things To Come”  Conference Report Oct 1999) So keep praying, keep hoping, keep doing what you already know is right and in the Lord’s time and in His way, those promises will be fulfilled, and your faith will be stronger because you chose to stay in the race.

OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:

VIDEO:

One optional lesson enhancement you might consider is this video: Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time.  This video effectively portrays the idea of spiritual endurance or faith lived quietly over time. It pairs especially well with our hourglass object lesson and the idea that hope can persist even when circumstances don’t change quickly.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2009-05-0021-hope-ya-know-we-had-a-hard-time?lang=eng 

LESSON #2 TRIED, EVEN AS ABRAHAM-INTENSITY TESTS (Genesis 22)

TRUTH:

God sometimes asks for sacrifices that feel impossibly hard, but He never asks for them without purpose—and He is always seeking our hearts, not our harm.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

This is one of the more difficult stories to understand in scripture, but it’s also one of the most important. Not because God asks us to sacrifice everything Abraham did, but because it teaches us what God is really after when the things he does ask us feels overwhelming. And just like we are all likely to have endurance tests of faith, we are also probably all going to experience intensity tests of faith. Those are the times when God asks us to do certain things that almost seem impossible—things that are hard for us to understand. Teach this lesson in a way that prepares students to face those experiences in life with trust, hope, and a faith in God’s love and eternal perspective. And that helps to give me a fire in the bones for this lesson.

OBJECT:

You might display a sealed envelope at the front of the room with the word Trust written on it and then at an opportune moment in the lesson explain that trusting God often means moving forward without knowing what’s inside—without seeing the outcome, the explanation, or the ending first. Abraham was asked to obey in exactly that way. God didn’t tell him why, how, or what would happen next—He simply asked him to trust. This envelope can help students visualize what intense tests of faith often feel like: choosing obedience before understanding. As the lesson unfolds, invite students to consider what it looks like in their own lives to keep the envelope sealed and continue trusting God, even when they wish they could open it first.

ICEBREAKER:

For an icebreaker, a set of “Would you Rather” type questions might be appropriate. Pair your students up and invite them to share their answers to a few of the following questions:

Would you rather sprint as fast as you can for one minute, or jog slowly for an hour?

Would you rather lift something extremely heavy once, or carry something light all day?

Would you rather finish all your homework in one intense night, or spread it out a little every day for a week?

Would you rather face a short trial that tests your courage, or a long trial that tests your patience?

Would you rather pass a test of obedience that feels intense, or a test of faith that feels exhausting?

Now what these questions can do is set you up for a comparison between the endurance type of test we just talked about in Lesson #1 and the type of test that Abraham is going to experience here in Genesis 22.  You could transition to that story by saying: Scripture shows us that God tests us in both ways. Abraham experienced both—but today we’re going to look closely at the kind of test that comes all at once—a test of intensity.

SEARCH ACTIVITY/VIDEO:

Then for the search activity, I actually like to begin with a video because it does a great job of depicting the story of Abraham and Isaac very poignantly. It’s entitled “Akedah”, which means “The Binding”. I feel it really captures the inner turmoil and emotion of this test of Abraham’s, so I recommend it highly.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2011-03-0027-akedah-the-binding?lang=eng

Invite your students to watch the video with the following two questions in mind:

1. Why do you think this request would have been particularly hard for Abraham? 

2. Why do you think the Lord asks Abraham to do this?

And you know, those two questions may just be enough to carry almost the entire lesson.  For my thoughts on those two questions and to provide you with some insight that might come in handy while having that discussion, I recommend the insight video. But you’re definitely going to want them to understand why this would have been such a difficult thing for Abraham. I mean, of course this would be incredibly difficult for anybody, but what circumstances heightened the difficulty of this request for him. List those things on the board as they are shared.

Then for the why question, I recommend that at some point in the discussion, whether it’s brought up by you or your students, help them to understand the principle that one of the purposes of this story was to provide a lesson for all of us. Maybe we are the main subject of the request, and not so much Abraham. Share the following cross reference from the Book of Romans:

²³ Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

²⁴ But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

(Romans 4:23-24)

The purpose of the extreme nature of Abraham’s test may have been to put all future tests of faith in their proper perspective. Our tests of faith. If God was willing to give Abraham that kind of test, and he passed, then maybe we too can have the faith to endure our intense tests of faith that are probably less extreme in nature.  Perhaps he hoped to provide all of us with additional strength by giving us Abraham’s incredible example.

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

At some point in that discussion you’re going to want to invite your students to liken the scriptures to modern life. You could ask: What are some of the difficult things God may ask us to sacrifice?

Some examples I gave in the insight video were:

Giving up many months of our lives to serve a mission.

Serving in a difficult calling.

Being asked to forgive someone that has hurt us deeply.

Repenting or giving up one of our favorite pet sins.

Enduring a difficult life trial or challenge.

DISCUSSION QUESTION

Other possible discussion questions to include in that discussion:

What do you think kept Abraham going even when he didn’t understand the why behind God’s request?

Why do you think God waited until the last possible moment before stopping Abraham?

If God never intended Isaac to die, what do you think this test was really about?

And if they need a little guidance towards the idea of God wanting our WILL, and not so much the actual items he asks us to sacrifice, you could ask:

In this story, what seems to matter more to God—the sacrifice, or Abraham’s willingness?

QUOTE:

And this is a spot where Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s quote really helps us out. He says:

“The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!”

Neal A. Maxwell

(“Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father” Conference Report, October 1995)

TAKE IT TO HEART/ I WILL GO AND DO/HANDOUT:

Then for both our “take it to heart” and “I will go and do” questions, a self-reflective application handout might be helpful. Give your students some quiet time to consider and answer the following questions:

Where do you sense God testing you in your life right now?

c In my family relationships

c In my work or school responsibilities

c In my health

c In my faith

c Other:______________

What have you found most helpful in facing your tests of life?

c Prayer

c Seeking counsel from church leaders

c Fasting

c Studying the scriptures

c Other:______________

What principle from the life of Abraham has most helped you today?

c God may ask for difficult sacrifices, but He never asks without purpose.

c God is more interested in my willingness than in the thing I am asked to give up.

c God is both a giving and a testing God. Both are manifestations of his love.

c Knowing that Abraham was willing to sacrifice what God asked of him gives me strength to sacrifice what God asks of me.

c Other:____________

Why was that principle so meaningful to you?

TAKEAWAY:

Our takeaway slide reminds our students to “Trust the Testing God”. I think it’s easier for us to trust the loving and promising God that He is. But we can’t forget that he is also a testing God. Can we love and trust that side of Him too. Testify that God does not ask for obedience to harm us or take what we love most, but to shape our hearts and draw us closer to Him. The slide also includes a picture of an altar with the word WILL on top of it. It reminds us of one of the great principles of sacrifice, that it is our will that God is asking for, not so much the item he asks us to sacrifice. Invite them to trust God enough to place their will on the altar—even when they don’t understand the outcome yet. And promise them that if, like Abraham, they can do that, God will provide them with what they need, their faith will grow stronger, steadier, and more Christlike because they chose to trust Him.

OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:

QUOTE:

A great quote to consider sharing during your discussion of the “Why?” question.  Elder Hugh B. Brown once said:

“Abraham needed to learn something about Abraham”(The Highest in Us [1978], 49).

That suggests that this test may not have been necessarily about God discovering something about him, but to give Abraham an understanding of his own faith and provide him with more confidence in that faith moving forward.

LESSON #3 DON’T PITCH YOUR TENT TOWARDS SODOM (Genesis 13, 19)

NOTE: And before we begin, I want to reiterate something I said in the insight video. Consider your audience before teaching this lesson. There are some fairly sexually explicit and disturbing things in it. And if you’re going to teach it, I don’t think you can step around those things without lessening the power of the principle. Also, please don’t turn this into an anti-gay lesson or a demonization of homosexual behavior. I really don’t think that’s the real reason God considered Sodom to be such a wicked place. What Ezekiel tells us about Sodom and the details of what they are willing to do in the story really reveal why God destroys this city, and why it was considered such an evil place.

TRUTH:

Casual closeness to wickedness carries a cost.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

The relevance of lesson lies in its stark warning to getting too comfortable with the standards and vices of the world. Even if we ourselves aren’t initially engaged in those practices, being familiar with and surrounded by them can, gradually, take a heavy toll on our righteousness and eventually lead to devastating consequences down the road. What we hope to do with this story is to help our students see that it’s small, everyday choices that quietly shape a home, a family, and a future. So as you teach, help them see how influence works and why proximity matters.

OBJECT:

For the object, I would bring in a small tent, and set it up right there in class. Hopefully you already have one of these in storage, but if not, perhaps you could borrow one from someone.

ICEBREAKER:

But for the icebreaker, I like the tent pitching advice section and then challenging them to find the tent-pitching mistake that Lot made in Genesis chapter 13. Can they find it? And the answer is in verse 12. He pitched his tent toward Sodom, which means he pitched it near Sodom.  

SEARCH ACTIVITY:

And that’s the starting point of our story. Lot pitches his tent near Sodom.  And this is where you could provide them with a three-part framework for understanding this story. We’ve got “The Choice, The Cost, and the Escape”. So first, let’s deepen our understanding of the choice. Lot’s decision to live near Sodom. Why was that a problem?  Well, what was Sodom like? 

This can be brief, you could read to them Genesis 13:13, Jude 1:7-8, and Ezekiel 16:49-50 to give them an idea of what Sodom was like.

DISCUSSION QUESTION

Then, armed with that understanding of what Sodom was like, you can now ask. So why do you think it was a problem for Lot to pitch his tent near all that? Why was that a foolish choice?  

Now we’ll liken the scriptures. Ask: How might we make Lot’s mistake in our day? How does a modern-day disciple “pitch their tent toward Sodom”?  Let them share.

Or, to help them out a little. You could tell them that you’re going to read them a few short statements and as they listen, they should decide: Does this sound more like pitching a tent toward Sodom—or toward Zion?

·      I stay in friendships or environments that pull me down because I don’t want to feel left out. That would be toward Sodom.

·      I’m intentional about where I spend my time because I know influence shapes direction. Zion

·      If something consistently weakens my spirit, I create distance—even if it’s inconvenient. Zion

·      I know this content isn’t great, but I still watch it because it doesn’t feel that bad. It’s not like I’m actually doing what I’m seeing. Sodom

·      I put myself around temptation a lot, but I trust myself to stop before it goes too far. Sodom

·      I try to choose media and influences that strengthen my standards, not test them. Zion

During this portion of the lesson, you’re also going to want to take them to Genesis 14:12 and ask what significant change has taken place in just one chapter. Now he lives in Sodom. What point might that illustrate? What does pitching your tent near Sodom typically lead to. To living in it.

Now on to the Cost portion of the lesson. What are the results of Lot’s decision to move his family into Sodom?

And this is a place where you may want to speed up a little, and just quickly walk them through what happens. We don’t want to dwell here or really try to shock our students.  We just want them to get the basic idea of the negative consequences that come to Lot and his family because of his choice. So, you can listen to the insight video for how I might lead them through that portion. But you’ll read them verses 4-7, then 9-15 from the JST version of this chapter, then, verse 12-13 where the holy men warn Lot and tell him to escape the city as fast as he can because the Lord is going to destroy it. 

But what does Lot lose? Now you send them in to search.

Number them as 1’s, 2’s, or 3’s and assign them to search their verse for evidence of what Lot loses there? 

1. Genesis 19:14

2. Genesis 19:26

3. Genesis 19:30

And he’s going to lose two of his daughters, because they’ve married men of Sodom, and they don’t believe Lot when he tells them they need to go. So they’ll be destroyed along with the rest of Sodom.

He’s going to lose his wife. She looks and more than likely goes back to Sodom and “becomes a pillar of salt” or she perishes along with them. Sometimes I’ll use Luke 17:31-32 to help my students understand what I think that portion of the story means.

And then, in verse 30 we find Lot living in a cave with his two daughters. So we can assume he’s also lost his home and many of his possessions.

So I guess we could sum up that portion of the lesson by saying. Lot lost lots.

Now we want to spend the rest of our time on the solution to this problem, the escape. And we find our solution here in verse 17.  It’s the instructions that came the holy men. It’s wise to follow instructions of holy men, isn’t it. Tell them that you see four specific instructions in this verse. Each begins with a verb. What are they? And that’s the simple part. Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, stay not in all the plain, escape to the mountain.

But what does that look like for us? Write those four statements on the board or show them this slide then say: If we weren’t talking about Lot—but about our lives—what might this instruction look like today? So for example, Escape for thy life, what might that look like today. Look not behind thee, what might that look like today. And that can be a very fruitful and interesting discussion to have.  You don’t need perfect answers here just let students notice and name what feels true.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

What might “the mountain” represent in someone’s life today?

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

I believe that one of the great purposes of this story is to get us to ask ourselves a question: Where have I pitched my tent? Ponder that. If you had to represent it visually here, where would you put it? Closer to Sodom? Closer to the mountain? Somewhere in between?

I WILL GO AND DO QUESTION:

What is one small change that I could make that would help me to face the “mountain” more often?

Suggestions:

Choose one recurring spiritual habit to strengthen (daily prayer, Sabbath focus, scripture study, temple attendance)

Build a simple “escape route”—Decide in advance what I’ll do when temptation or pressure shows up (walk away, turn something off, text someone trusted).

Seek out environments or people who make righteous choices feel normal.Change what I regularly watch or listen to that pulls my thoughts and standards downward.

TAKEAWAY:

The takeaway slide encourages our students to “Pitch their tent carefully” and to consider the question: Am I facing Sodom or facing the mountain?

OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:

VIDEO:

For this lesson, I might consider showing the video “Stay Within the Lines”.  It emphasizes the idea that we should create spiritual boundaries for ourselves and seek to stay safely within those bounds. Matches well with our truth of being careful of pitching our spiritual tents too close to Sodom.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2012-07-0007-stay-within-the-lines?lang=eng

QUOTE:

A quote regarding Lot’s wife from a talk given by Elder Holland. He said:

“Apparently what was wrong with Lot’s wife was that she wasn’t just looking back; in her heart she wanted to go back. …

It is possible that Lot’s wife looked back with resentment toward the Lord for what He was asking her to leave behind.”

(“Remember Lot’s Wife” [Brigham Young University devotional, Jan. 13, 2009], 2, speeches.byu.edu)

HANDOUT:

Finally, if you wanted to make a handout activity of the Escape portion of the lesson or you felt your students needed a little more help in interpreting those ideas and comparing them to our day, you could have them do this matching activity called Match a Meaning.  On one side, you have the four escape strategies, and on the other, you have ways that those strategies could be applied in modern life. They ponder each strategy and then choose which of the statements to the right that they feel are the best match in meaning.  Now I think that there are certain answers that make more sense than others, but you don’t necessarily need to “correct” the handout and have them mark them either right or wrong, but rather, allow your students to explain why they felt the statement they chose was a good match.

Don’t return to past habits or old ways

Change your environment when temptation keeps repeating

Stop trusting willpower alone—location and influence matter

Make decisions that reduce exposure, not just increase resolve

Create distance from temptation, not just resistance

Move deliberately toward spiritual safety

Take sin and spiritual danger seriously—don’t linger

Choose settings that make righteousness easier, not harder

NOTE:

Now there was one more lesson that I suggested in the insight video that you may also want to consider teaching this week. But that’s the story of Hagar and some principles I feel her life teaches. If you’re interested in that lesson, you can find the slides for that lesson in the 2022 Old Testament materials folder—if you have a subscription.  

INSIGHTS

Right out of the gate, I want you to know that this will be a bit of a longer study this week. There were just so many great principles to choose from this week that I had trouble letting some of them go. And still, there are so many other things I could have included here. But that’s just the nature of the scriptures. They give us so much to feast on that there are always going to be plenty of leftovers for future feasts. So I’ve painfully had to pull out the spiritual Tupperware in order to store some of the principles away for the future. But if the video seems extra-long this week, I just encourage you to break it up over a couple of days rather than watching it all at once. Maybe do the Abraham principles one day, and then the Lot and Hagar principles the next.  Either way, I hope the things that we do cover will help you decide as a teacher what truths you feel that your students most need in their lives.

LOVING BOTH THE GIVING AND THE TESTING GOD

ICEBREAKER

For an icebreaker, I like to get my students thinking about tests. And so I ask a discussion question. What kind of tests do you prefer or dread most? And Why? And then I give them some options to choose from.  Pop Quizzes, Final Exams, Multiple Choice Tests, Essay Tests, Short Answer, True/False. Personally, I think I probably go against the general trend by admitting that actually liked essay tests better than Multiple choice ones, because there is only one right answer when it comes to multiple choice, but an essay leaves things a little more open. I feel I perform better in the realm of the subjective rather than the objective.  You might also want to ask them what the hardest test they’ve ever taken was? Now I think that most of us would probably prefer to just take no test at all as an option, but that’s not realistic. Tests are a fact of life. School tests, job interviews, professional evaluations, physical performance tests, and even worthiness interviews are all types of tests that we must face in this life. Those that spend their lives running from tests will probably find themselves weak, unproductive, and aimless in life.

TRANSITION

Well last week we focused much more on the giving, promising nature of God. Remember how we looked at God’s side of the Abrahamic covenant? How extensive it was? This week, we’re going to take a look at a different side of God’s character. Because we not only believe in a gracious, loving, and forgiving God, but we also believe in a testing God, a proving God. We know that one of the major purposes of mortality even (as we learned in Abraham 3 is “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;” Abraham 3:25) And I ask you right now to ponder some of the tests that God has caused or allowed you to experience in life. What sacrifices have you been asked to make? What trials have you been allowed to undergo? What tests of faith have you faced? One of the biggest questions of life we will need to figure out is: Can we learn to love and trust the testing God, as much as we do, the giving God. Because, as Joseph Smith once taught:

 ‘You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and . . . God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God.’

Joseph Smith Jr.

(John Taylor, Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, Aug. 21, 1883, p. 1.)

God intends for all of us to be tested in this life. And apparently, Abraham is a poster child for this truth.

So let’s see what we can learn about being tested and passing tests from Abraham today. He’ll be our teacher. And perhaps, something from the life of Abraham will help you in your own tests.  

We’re going to do this by examining two of the major tests of Abraham. I think that when we contemplate the testing of Abraham our minds instantly go to the sacrifice of Isaac story.  But that was not the only test of Abraham. There was another test he faced, together with his wife Sarah, that I feel must have been as equally as trying and maybe even more than that one. Let’s begin with that test first.

TEST #1-THE ENDURANCE TEST

SEARCH

I believe that making a timeline might help us understand this first test even better. And you could do this as a handout if you like and have your students either fill it out on their own first, or you could just walk them through it together as a class. We’re first introduced to this test in Genesis 11:30. And what is it? Sarah is barren, she had no child. And I think “Ahh, poor Sarah, that’s the way she’s introduced. That’s the first thing we learn about her?”  She can’t get pregnant. But, by the end of this story, we’ll learn that there is so much more to Sarah than that. But that is a major trial for both Sarah and Abraham. It’s a major trial for many couples today too. But perhaps this test is heightened for Sarah and Abraham when placed against the backdrop of the promise God makes them. Where does that promise first appear? In Abraham 2:9-11. There Abraham learns that he would have both spiritual and literal seed. He would be considered the father of many, and therefore, Sarah the mother. Now how old are he and Sarah at the time that the promise is first given? We don’t know. But the first place we see a mention of age is in Abraham 2:14. We know how old Abraham is when he leaves Haran. He’s 62. And we know from later verses that Sarah is ten years younger than Abraham.  So Abraham is 62 and Sarah is 52.  Now at that point, are those ideal childbearing years? Not typically. But, maybe, it’s possible.  Even nowadays, though not very likely by natural means, a woman could still possibly get pregnant at age 52. And keep in mind that we don’t exactly know how long before Abraham left Haran that the promise was made. It could have been much earlier. But either way, we know that by age 62, the promise has not yet been fulfilled. (I think that we also might want to keep in mind that it is possible that the way they measured years back then may not be the same the same way we measure them today.  Perhaps these aren’t solar years that we’re talking about). But the next time we see the promise is in Genesis 12:2.  This is the first time we see the promise of seed show up in the Genesis version. And verse 4 tells us that Abraham is 75 years old when he leaves Haran so there is a bit of a discrepancy between the Pearl of Great Price version and the Genesis version. But either way, we can say that we’ve gotten to age 75, with Sarah being 65 and still no child. 

And what do you think is going on in their minds at this point?  Wow. I sure thought the promise would be fulfilled by now.  How is this going to work?  We aint getting any younger here, Lord. Are you sure this is going to happen? And when? And maybe shadows of doubt begin to creep in on the periphery of their faith.  But no, they hold faithful to the promise. God said it would happen. It’s going to happen. But time just continues to pass—day after day, month after month, year after year.

And I’ll pause here to ask if you have ever been tested in this way.  This is the long-term kind of test. The endurance test. Can we maintain our faith over a long period of time?

The next time we see the promise made is Genesis 13:15-16 which says:

¹⁵ For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

¹⁶ And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

So God continues to assure them that they will be parents. And I can see them responding, “When?!” “How Lord?!” But there’s no explanation. Now we don’t know their ages at this point in particular, but some considerable time has passed. And after this promise, more time will pass. So much so that we have this very interesting conversation between the Lord and Abraham in chapter 15. Abraham says:

² And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

³ And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

So, you can see that he’s starting to question how this is all supposed to work. So he’s saying. OK Lord, I don’t have a child, but there is this servant in my house, my steward, Eliezer, he has a son, and, in a way, he could be considered my heir. He was born in my house and lives under my protection.  Is that how this covenant is going to be fulfilled?  It’s almost like he’s trying to help the Lord keep his promise. And I love that, Abraham seems to be OK with that scenario. His faith is such that he is open to alternate possibilities of fulfillment. I’m sure to him that’s not the ideal circumstance. It’s not what he expected or wanted, but he’s open to the idea and willing to accept the Lord’s promise being fulfilled in an unexpected, less than desired way. What great faith!

But the Lord says:

⁴ And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

⁵ 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.

So no, Abraham. That’s not how this promise will be fulfilled. Let me be more specific with you. One that is thine own heir, that comes directly from you will be how my promise to you is realized. I know that you and Sarah are getting old, but I’ll keep my promise. And once again I picture Abraham thinking.  “OK, but WHEN? And HOW?” But God doesn’t answer those questions. He just says, trust me, Abraham. It will come.

Abraham’s response?

⁶ And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

He trusts in God, without knowing the particulars. And that’s tough faith to maintain. Even when it seems the Lord is delaying the blessing. Even when it seems highly improbable that it can be fulfilled. He believes in him.

Now don’t forget Sarah here. She’s just as big a part of this test as Abraham. She too, is willing to accept an alternate, less than ideal fulfillment of the Lord’s promise. For her, it gets to the point where she basically accepts the fact that she is not going to be the one through which the promise will be kept. She couldn’t physically be the parent of a child, but Abraham still could. He just needed someone younger to have a child with. And so she suggests Hagar as a solution. And wow! What amazing faith and dedication to God she must have had to do that! You can imagine how hard of a decision that must have been for her? Abraham doesn’t bring this idea up, it’s Sarah. And we do get a time stamp on this one. Look at 16:3

³ And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

So Abraham is 85, making Sarah 75—most assuredly past childbearing years. And when Ishmael is born, Abraham is 86 as it says in 16:16

So for Abraham, at least, the promise is fulfilled. He does have an heir.

Now go to 17:15-17. How old is Abraham now. 100, making Sarah 90.  And the Lord reiterates his covenant with Abraham in the following verses. But look what he adds:

¹⁵ And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

¹⁶ And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, (which the JST changes to “rejoiced”) and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

This is just too good to be true! He rejoices that the promise will not only be fulfilled through Ishmael but also through his beloved Sarah.  And at that age!  At age 90, this is beyond the realm of the unlikely. We’ve firmly planted our feet in the realm of the impossible. The realm of the miraculous—which we know is a realm that God can work in. Sarah, he assures, is going to have a baby. I promise.

And then, it seems like more time goes by. Now, it’s not a lot of time because she will have Isaac within the next year. But it doesn’t come immediately after that conversation with Abraham.  Because we still have four chapters before it actually happens. Perhaps to keep them going in their faith, in chapter 18, three holy men visit Abraham and Sarah and reiterate the promise.

⁹ And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

¹⁰ And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

¹³ And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

¹⁴ Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

¹⁵ Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Now this is sometimes pointed to as an indication of a lack of faith on Sarah’s part. I don’t think so. When it says that she laughs, I think we can retranslate that, like we did with Abraham, to “she rejoiced”. It’s not a laugh of,  “Yeah right”. But a laugh of “This is too good to be true! Is this really possible!  Will I really have a son!” But the question of the Lord is a good one for all of us to answer.  Is anything too hard for the Lord?  And what’s the answer?  No, nothing is too hard for God. With God, all things are possible. If God wants a sea to part, what will happen to the sea? It will part. If God wants a blind man to receive his sight, what will happen? The blind will see. If God wants a man to walk on water, what will happen? Man will walk on water. If God wants a 90-year-old woman to have a baby, what will happen? A 90-year-old woman will have a baby. Nothing is too hard for him. Do we believe that? Sarah did. In fact, In what I call “Paul’s Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11, Sarah is highlighted as an example of great faith.

Hebrews 11:11

¹¹ Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

Sarah is not an example of doubt, at all, but faith—great faith. So she laughs. Or rejoices. In fact. That’s what the name Isaac means in Hebrew. To laugh or rejoice. And she does. When?

Genesis 21:1-3

And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

² For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

³ And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

They passed the test--the endurance test. This was a “40 years or more” kind of test for Abraham and Sarah. But they believed.  And perhaps the most beautiful tribute to Abraham and Sarah comes from Paul in Romans 4:16-22.

¹⁶ Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

¹⁷ (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

¹⁸ Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

¹⁹ And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

²⁰ He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

²¹ And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

²² And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Do you see all the great phrases in there? He “staggered not at the promise”, he was “strong in faith”. He was “fully persuaded that, what [God] had promised, he was able to perform”.  And then my favorite phrase in that whole set of verses. “Who against hope, believed in hope.”  He and Sarah had the kind of faith that still believed when all hope was truly passed. When only a miracle could have made the promise possible. Against all the odds, they still kept their faith.

TRUTH

What’s the great message of this first test of Abraham and Sarah? Maybe I would word it like this.

When the Lord's promises have not yet been fulfilled our lives, if we maintain our faith and hope, and wait patiently for God to fulfill, those promises WILL be fulfilled, in HIS time. Miracles will occur. Even the impossible can happen.  All things that God promises will happen “as he [has] said”, “as he [has] spoken”.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

I believe that we too will be proven in this way. We will probably all experience “long-term”, “endurance” or “God’s timing” tests. God is a promising God, but those promises aren’t always fulfilled in the way or at the time we would prefer. I’m sure Abraham and Sarah would have preferred the promise to have been fulfilled in their 30’s or 40’s, but not their 90’s. Can we have faith like theirs? We live in an immediate gratification kind of world. Fast-food, 24/7 online shopping, entertainment on-demand, and all the answers of the world’s wisdom right at our fingertips. So how do we often react when the solutions to our problems or the fulfillment of God’s promises don’t come on our timetable? Do we lose faith? Do we get frustrated with God? Do we give up on the promises? Or can we be like Sarah and Abraham and judge him faithful who had promised, and “against hope, believe in hope”. Perhaps one of the hardest tests we will ever have to pass in this life is the one that requires us to trust in God’s timing.

Have you ever been tried in this way?

What has helped you to “believe in hope”?

Maybe it’s the righteous single sister who believes in the promise of a covenant spouse even if that doesn’t come until the millennium. Maybe it’s the humble teenager or investigator who patiently prays and waits for a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.  Maybe it’s the widower who waits patiently in faith to be reunited with their beloved spouse at the resurrection. Maybe it’s the family who faithfully pays their tithing even when they’re struggling financially. And maybe it’s all the faithful disciples of Christ who trust in His glorious return while struggling to live righteous in a wicked world.  These endurance tests may be the  hardest ones we’ll ever have to pass. Yes, the intensity of the sacrifice of Isaac test will also be great, but this one may have been even tougher for Abraham. I mean, whose strength and will do you think is tested more? The 100-meter sprinter or the marathoner? Both are difficult feats to perform, but which do you think is the greater test? I believe it’s the one that you have to doggedly fight for to maintain over weeks, and months, and years, and maybe even decades, like Abraham and Sarah here.  But, for us, as well as them, the promises are assured. The fulfillment of them WILL come.

TEST #2-THE INTENSITY TEST

Now to the other kind of test that we will also most certainly face in this life. And I would call this the INTENSITY test.  Abraham faced both and it comes in Genesis 22.

22:1-2

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham (which means he tested or proved Abraham, see the footnote), and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.  (Love that response)

² And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

To help your students visualize this story, there’s a wonderful little film the church produced a number of years ago that depicts the story of Abraham and Isaac very poignantly entitled “Akedah”, which means “The Binding”. And it’s really well done. And I know this video is suggested in the manual as well, but I feel it really captures the inner turmoil and emotion of this test of Abraham’s—so I recommend it highly. And one of the things that I feel it also gets right is the age of Isaac. In art, Isaac is often depicted as being a very young child, or a toddler. But he would have at least been a young man by this point.  Which emphasizes the fact that Isaac was a willing sacrifice, himself. This was not only a test for Abraham, but for Isaac as well. I don’t think Abraham had to wrestle him down or sneak up on him or anything. Isaac would have come to an understanding of what was being asked of his father and him and given himself willingly. The movie also depicts that aspect of this story well.

So I invite you to watch the movie “Akedah” (and I’ll provide a link to it here) with these two questions in mind:

1. Why do you think this request would have been particularly hard for Abraham? 

2. Why do you think the Lord asks Abraham to do this?

Question #1

Why do you think this would this have been particularly hard for Abraham? 

And I have to begin by saying, “What a terrible test!” I know we tend to try and sterilize the story a little bit to more easily accept it, but, man, is this ever a tough thing to swallow. I almost want to look to heaven and ask, “Really Lord? Was this really necessary to test his faith? And yes, we’ll talk about why I think this story is in here and why it happened in this way, but this is really an intense, difficult thing to ask of Abraham—for so many reasons. For one, the obvious one. This is his child. Abraham must have had a deep and great love for this boy. So can you think of anything more horrific than being asked to sacrifice your own child? I mean, it’s hard enough for parents to experience the burying of their own child, but can you imagine having to be the one to send them there? What kind of burden would that be to carry? One too heavy for most. Then, this would be especially harder for Abraham because Isaac was the promised child, the one he had waited decades for. The one through whom he had been so sorely tested to receive in the first place. Isaac was the covenant child.  But what else would have made this hard? What do you say to Sarah? How is Abraham going to explain this to her? When would you tell her? Before the sacrifice or after the sacrifice? I’d wait until after, and it seems from the scriptures that’s what happens. But can you imagine his thoughts as he’s walking to Mount Moriah? How am I going to explain this to his mother?  Another thing that would have made this hard. Has Abraham ever experienced something similar to this in his own life? Does this picture ring any bells? What had Abraham’s father done to him?  This scenario looks oddly familiar. Abraham had been through that exact same thing. He’s been on that table himself. He must have had a deep aversion to the idea of child sacrifice. And now God’s asking him to do it to his own son. Also, the place of sacrifice was three days away.  If the Lord had just asked him to do it right there, right then, then I imagine the test would have been a little easier to bear.  But three days? Can you imagine what he must have been thinking during those three days as they walked to Mount Moriah. Nothing to do but think and walk, think and walk, think and walk, and look at his beloved son. Another thing to consider: The Lord gives him no apparent explanation for the request. If he had, that would have made it easier to bear. But, He doesn’t tell him that it’s a test of faith. He doesn’t tell him that there would be a ram in the thicket for him. He doesn’t tell him that this was in similitude of his only Begotten.  Nothing. Just the inexplicable and unthinkable request. To call this an intense test is an understatement. This is an incredibly, phenomenally, extremely deep and intense test.

And yet, what does Abraham do? He packs up his things.  He gets Isaac ready, says goodbye to Sarah, and off he goes on this three-day journey. I like the way it’s written in the scriptures. Notice all the “ANDS”.

³ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

All those “ands” really slow us down as we read. I think that’s purposeful in the author. It gives the impression of difficulty and struggle and prolonged intensity.

Jump to verse 6.

⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

(And then this heartbreaking verse)

⁷ And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

(Oh, how do you answer that question? How do you not break into tears at that moment)

⁸ And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

⁹ And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Now what keeps Abraham going to this point? What takes him to the point of the unthinkable?  It’s faith. Deep faith. An intense faith to match the intensity of the test.  Perhaps he trusted that God would stop the sacrifice. Perhaps he believed that God provide another child for him. Or, perhaps he even believed that God could do the impossible in this case as well. His first test taught him that principle.  And look what Paul tells us:

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

¹⁸ Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

¹⁹ Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

(Hebrews 11:17-19)

Wow! So that thought comforted him. He had such deep faith that he believed that even if he did kill Isaac, God could raise him from the dead. If God could work the impossible at the birth of Isaac, he could most assuredly do the same with his death. And so he raises the knife, and we all know happens next. And thank heavens!

Question #2

Now for our second question: Why do you think the Lord asks Abraham to do this?

There are many responses to this question that you could discuss with your class.

You could discuss the famous quote from Elder Hugh B. Brown who said, “Abraham needed to learn something about Abraham”(The Highest in Us [1978], 49).

Or, I believe that most of you teachers are probably already aware of the symbolism of Abraham and Isaac as a type of the Father and the Son. Jacob, from the Book of Mormon, assures us of this intended comparison in Jacob 4:5. But, for the sake of time, I’ll leave that to you to study and discover.  And I know there are many resources available out there that could help you on that perspective and you could have a great and meaningful discussion about what this story teaches about the experience of both the Father and the Son during the atonement.

But what I’d like to focus on in this video is the nature of the test itself for Abraham and what he can teach us about sacrifice and obedience.

I believe that one of the major reasons God asked Abraham to do this had less to do with Abraham and more to do with us. God asked Abraham to do this for you and me—to teach us something.  At least that’s how Paul explains it. After those excellent verses that we already read in Romans (the ones that says “against all hope, believed in hope”) he concludes that thought by saying:

²³ Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

²⁴ But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

(Romans 4:23-24)

In other words, this story, was not just to teach Abraham something but to teach the rest of his children throughout all ages a message about sacrifice. Abraham’s sacrifice places all other lesser sacrifices in their proper perspective. We may wonder why God would test Abraham in such an extreme way. But, it had to be extreme in order to cover all lesser sacrifices that God would ask the rest of us over the ages. They are all covered in this. Now, perhaps there is something extremely difficult that God will ask or has asked of us. And perhaps we say, “How could God ask me to do that? How could he ask me to give up this thing? To make that change? To experience that trial? It’s too much. It’s too hard. I’m not able!” Perhaps in those moments we can envision God just leading Abraham over to us and standing him there in front of us and saying. Look at my servant Abraham and consider what he was willing to do! I know you can do this. If Abraham could do that, I know you can do what I’m asking of you. I blessed him in that sacrifice and for that sacrifice. I made him able to do it, and I made you able to do this as well. If you weren’t, I would not have given this to you.”  So, the young man asks, “How can God ask me to give up two whole years of my life to serve a mission?” And God responds, “Look to my servant Abraham.” The member who is called to pass through an unthinkable trial such as the death of a child, a betrayal of a spouse, or a debilitating disease asks, “How can you expect me to go through this?” And God responds (with great love and empathy) “Look to my servant Abraham”.  The member who is called to serve in a difficult calling that they don’t feel prepared to accept says “How can you ask  me to do this?”  And God responds, “Look to my servant Abraham”. Perhaps the faithful member who feels same sex attraction asks, “How can I go through my whole life feeling this but not act on it?” And God responds, “Look to my servant Abraham.” Or, maybe, consider the most difficult thing that we will all be called to sacrifice. Quite possibly the most difficult thing God will ever require of you. “Give up your sins,” he says, “All of them. The small ones and the big ones. Slay them on the altar of my commandments.”

Because in the end, what is it that the Lord is really seeking from us? What is it that he really wants from those sacrifices? It’s not really the thing sacrificed that he’s after. We know from the story that God never wanted the life of Isaac.  Nor, through all those years of animal sacrifices did he want dead animals. What is the Lord really seeking with these requests? Our will. Our heart. It’s not the time, or the money, or the effort that he really wants. It’s our will. Neal A. Maxwell taught this:

“The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!”

Neal A. Maxwell

(“Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father” Conference Report, October 1995)

Abraham gave God his will. And that sacrifice will hopefully inspire all of us to do the same.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

To help my students really personalize and apply this lesson, I sometimes like to give them this short application activity. Just give them a moment to ponder and answer the following questions and then invite anyone who would be willing to share and opportunity to do so.

Where do you sense God testing you in your life right now?

c  In my family relationships

c  In my work or school responsibilities

c  In my health

c  In my faith

c  Other:______________

What have you found most helpful in facing your tests of life?

c  Prayer

c  Seeking counsel from church leaders

c  Fasting

c  Studying the scriptures

c  Other:______________

What principle from the life of Abraham has most helped you today?

c  God always fulfills his promises, although on his timetable.

c  If I wait patiently upon the Lord, all will work out in the end.

c  God is both a giving and a testing God. Both are manifestations of his love.

c  Knowing that Abraham was willing to sacrifice what God asked of him gives me strength to sacrifice what God asks of me.

c  Other:____________

Why was that principle so meaningful to you?

CONCLUSION

Well, my friends. I do earnestly believe and know that we will all be tested in our lives, in both ways—with endurance tests, and intensity tests. I hope that we can all look to Abraham and Sarah and Isaac for inspiration to face PASS those tests. I hope that we can all learn to love and trust both the giving God, and the testing God.

LOT’S LOSSES

NOTE

So something to consider before we get going here. The story about Lot’s experience in Sodom is a little disturbing in places. There are some things in the story of a sexual nature that may be uncomfortable or troubling to some.  So before you teach it, consider the maturity of your audience. For our purposes here, we’re not going to shy away from those more disturbing things because I feel they’re key to understanding the power of the story. It’s critical that we understand the gravity of Lot’s error here. And whenever I teach this story, I feel a little like Jacob in Book of Mormon when he has to talk about the grievous sins of the men in front of all the women and children—those with tender, chaste, and delicate minds. And he worries about “wounding” those that were pure in heart(Jacob 2:6-11). But he taught them anyway the message was so important.

ICEBREAKER

But as an icebreaker to the story of Lot, I like to talk about tents. Now I’m an avid backpacker and I’ve spent considerable time researching and setting up and sleeping in1 tents. So as a teacher, I’ll usually bring in one of my backpacking tents as an object lesson and I set it up right there at the front of the classroom. And then I tell my students that I’m going to give them my top tips for pitching a tent.

Here they are.

1.     Don’t pitch your tent in a low place or in a wash. If it rains, you may end up with a river running down your back in the middle of the night.

2.     Before you pitch your tent, remove all rocks and sticks from under you. If you don’t, you’ll be in for a very uncomfortable night.

3.      Don’t pitch your tent under any dead branches or near dead trees. Trees do fall in the forest even if you’re not around to hear them. If it’s windy at night, these branches and trees pose a very credible danger to your life.

4.     When pitching your tent, stake your tent down first. This is something that I’ve only more recently learned and I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out. I always used to put the poles in my tent first and then stake it down. The problem with that is that if it’s at all windy, you’ll be wrestling with a giant parachute of a structure. But, if you stake the corners down first, then as you insert the poles, and it won’t get away from you.

TRANSITION

The people of the Old Testament also used tents quite frequently. And Lot, Abraham’s nephew is going to make a fatal error in pitching his tent.  What is it in Genesis 13:12?

His error? He pitched his tent towards Sodom. Now that means he pitched his tent near Sodom or close by to it.  Not in it, but nearby.

And why is that a problem?  Well, look at the next verse. 

¹³ But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

Now we often associate Sodom with homosexuality, and that was a problem there. Jude teaches us that in Jude 1:7-8. But, Ezekiel does a very thorough job of telling us all of the other things that made Sodom such an evil place. He doesn’t mention their sexual sins until the very last. He says:

⁴⁹ Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

⁵⁰ And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

(Ezekiel 16:49-50)

So, the major sins of Sodom, besides the ones of a sexual nature, were pride, laziness, and selfishness.

Why was it so foolish for Lot to pitch his tent nearby? Well, what was he and his family seeing every day they came out of their tent? What kinds of people were they associating with day in and day out? What were his children experiencing as a result of being so close to attitudes and behaviors of that nature?

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

And before moving on, I think this would be good place for us to pause and liken the scriptures to ourselves in this thing. How might we make Lot’s mistake in our day? How does a modern-day disciple “pitch their tent toward Sodom”?

I think we pitch out tents towards Sodom to the degree in which we allow the influence of the world to seep into our homes and minds. What things might we do that allow Sodom or the world to influence us?  I believe that our cell phones and television screens can often act as windows into Sodom. They allow us to peer through the tent flaps into a wicked world. I’m not saying that everything that comes from Hollywood, or the Internet, or social media is wicked.  But certainly a lot of it is. Many a disciple of Christ has been drawn into Sodom through the lure of the images, ideas, and temptations that appear on those screens. Also, the types of friends that we choose and the environments we tend to spend time in can also greatly affect our beliefs and actions. Now we don’t want to isolate ourselves completely from the world because we are meant to influence it, like we spoke about last week. But when does it become a problem? When they start to pull us down instead of us lifting them up. Once we realize that we are not strong enough to lift, then for the sake of our own souls, we should probably let go of those relationships.

SODOM MOMENTS

But, pitching your tent towards Sodom usually has an inevitable outcome. At the beginning, if you were to ask Lot about his decision to pitch his tent there, he might defend himself by saying, “But it’s not like I’m actually living in Sodom. I’m not doing what they’re doing. I’m strong enough to withstand the temptations.” But just look at the very next Chapter, in verse 12. What has changed? It says that he dwelt in Sodom. Pitching your tent towards Sodom will almost inevitably lead to you living in Sodom, eventually.  And Lot’s attitude towards that decision doesn’t seem to worry him so much at this point.  In fact, go to chapter 19 and read the first three verses. Do you sense any anxiety or worry in him at this point? No, he seems pretty casual about it. If you had tried to warn him about this decision, he might have defended himself by saying something like, “I don’t know why you’re so worried about me living here. It’s not like I’m doing what they’re doing. Yes, they have their problems, but I can still raise my family here just fine. I can live in this environment without any falling into temptation. You worry too much.”  And so, he invites three holy men to come in and stay at his home in Sodom.  But then, I think Lot’s attitude about his decision to live in Sodom is going to change here very quickly.  Let’s read the next couple of verses and you tell me the moment you think Lot’s attitude changes.

⁴ But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

⁵ And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

⁶ And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

⁷ And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

Now, this is one of those unsavory, uncomfortable kinds of moments in the lesson. Because, when they ask him to bring out the men so that they can know them, they don’t mean to socialize. If you look at the footnote, you’ll understand the connotation of “to know them”.  They want to rape them.

How do you think Lot feels about his decision of moving into Sodom now? It’s not so casual a concern anymore, is it? I’m sure he feels deep regret at this point. These kinds of painful moments always eventually come when we decide to pitch our tents towards Sodom. These are Sodom moments. They’re the moments we realize the consequences of our foolish or casual behavior towards the world. It’s the moment the person finds that they’re addicted and can’t stop their destructive behavior even when they want to. It’s the moment they get caught in a lie and lose the trust of a cherished relationship. It’s the moment the criminal gets caught. It’s the moment a person loses their worthiness to attend the temple. It’s the moment a parent realizes that they’ve failed to protect their children from the sway and influence of a wicked world. It’s the moment Lot realizes that he has plunged himself and his family right smack dab in the middle of an evil and dangerous environment.

And so what happens to Lot when he refuses to acquiesce to the people’s request? Things get ugly fast. And to be clear, be sure to look at the JST for verse 8. It’s at the back of the Bible and will clarify what Lot is really suggesting in that verse concerning his daughters.  Because, if what’s in Genesis is actually what Lot proposed, then he deserved to be destroyed in Sodom along with everybody else. But the JST clears that up nicely.  So he pleads with them to not do so wickedly. And how ironic that he calls them “brethren” in verse 7.  Are these people his brethren? People who wish to hurt or abuse his guests or daughters? They aren’t friends or brethren at all. He thought they were. They seemed like it. But they never really were. That’s another sad Sodom moment. It’s the moment when we realize our “friends” were never our friends to begin with.  I’ll never forget a beloved student who came to visit me after her first year of college. She told me about a young man who showed great interest in her and professed his deep love, but at the same time pressured her into becoming more and more intimate with him. Sadly, once he had accomplished his desire with her, he wanted nothing more to do with her, and moved on to show interest in a different young lady. She painfully discovered that he was not really her friend, her “brethren”, even though she saw him as such. We’ve got to be very careful about who we allow to influence us.

So now, how do Lot’s “brethren” react?

⁹ And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came into sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

Ahhh, the great accusation of the guilty.  You’re judging us. That’s almost always the retaliatory cry of those who are doing wrong.  “Well, you’re just as bad because you’re judging me.” Now don’t get me wrong, being judgmental is a problem and something we all need to watch out for. But calling a sin, a sin or warning people we love about the potential consequences of their choice is not being judgmental. It’s may actually be one of the greatest manifestations of our love.

But, luckily for Lot, he still has a chance. The holy men smite the men of the city with blindness, which gives Lot some time to do something about the situation. And they give Lot some instruction in verses 12 and 13. They say:

¹² And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.

So Lot, get your family and all your loved ones and flee. Get out before the destruction comes.

LOT’S LOSSES

And Lot tries and eventually (spoiler alert) he is going to get out. Unfortunately, that’s not the end the story.  Lot does not get away unscathed. He’s going to lose some things. I’d like you to take a look at the following verses and try to identify Lot’s losses. What does Lot lose as a result of his decision to move to Sodom.

:14, :26, :30

¹⁴ And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

So we know that he’s going to lose at least two of his daughters because it says sons-in-law plural.  He tries to warn them, but they don’t take him seriously. That’s the danger of not taking the dangers of Sodom too seriously yourself. When the problems do come and you try to warn those you love, it may be too little too late. They won’t believe you.

What else will Lot lose?

²⁶ But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Now what does that mean? Does that mean that God literally turned her into a pillar of salt because she was curious about what was happening behind her? I mean, she heard all this noise and destruction and decided to turn around and take a peek, and therefore, God smote her? I don’t think so. That doesn’t sound like the way I know God works. So we may have to go to another place in scripture to shed some light on what really may have happened here. In Luke 17:31-32, Jesus referred to the story of Lot’s wife to warn the people of his day about fleeing the world as the Second Coming approached, and he says.

³¹ In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.  And then, to provide an example of that action he says:

³² Remember Lot's wife.

Suggesting, in my mind, that she not only looked back, but that she returned back. She went back and was therefore destroyed with the rest of Sodom. Why a pillar of salt? Tradition states that Sodom was situated near the Dead Sea, a place known for its mineral and salt content.

And do we sometimes make this same kind of mistake? Are there times when we decide to return to sins or habits or lifestyles after we’ve already gone through the effort of leaving them? Do we allow ourselves to slowly be sucked back into inactivity or worldliness. Sometimes recent converts struggle with this and eventually never return to church. Why? Because they look back and then they return back and lose the ground which they once gained.

Then verse :30

³⁰ And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

What else does he lose? His home and all his possessions. It’s just him and his two daughters left. He doesn’t even have a tent to pitch towards Sodom or anywhere for that matter. He ends up living in a cave.  Such a tragic story. 

And then, you don’t have to mention this if you don’t want to. You could just end the discussion right there. But you could add another loss by reading Genesis 19:31-38.  In a sense, Lot ends up losing his other two daughters as well. I won’t go into the details here, but you could read it and see that they end up committing a very sinful act. They have a good desire, but they go about accomplishing it in a very, very wrong way. The ends don’t justify the means here. But where do you think they would have even gotten an idea like that? Probably, by living in Sodom.

What does Lot lose for pitching his tent towards Sodom? I put it this way, Lot Loses Lots.  That’s the problem with pitching your tent towards Sodom. What’s the moral of the story?

TRUTH

When I pitch my tent towards Sodom (when I expose myself or my family to the influence of the world), I will likely lose much.

THE SOLUTION

SO, rather than suffer the Sodom moments of life, is there a better way? The scriptures never present a problem without the solution being somewhere nearby. Rather than casually considering the influence of the world, how should we approach the dangers of Sodom?  The answer comes from the “holy men” in verse 17. 

What should we do?

¹⁷ And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life;

(Take this danger seriously! We can’t play with fire and expect not to get burned. The things we watch, the music we listen to, the places we go, the things we do online, the language we use, the company we keep, we should ask ourselves, am I allowing too much Sodom in my life?)

look not behind thee,

(Don’t go back. Don’t be like Lot’s wife.  When you’ve left evil, leave it completely. Don’t look longingly over your shoulder at the short-term pleasure of the sins of your past. After you’ve repented, don’t return)

neither stay thou in all the plain;

(Don’t even get close to those things. Be like Abraham. Don’t even take a threadsworth of Sodom. Stay as far away from the world and temptation as possible. Be like the Anti-Nephi-Lehies of the Book of Mormon who buried their instruments of rebellion deep in the earth. Be committed to avoiding even the appearance of evil. And then . . .)

escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

(What’s our mountain? The Rock of our Redeemer? The temple? Which is sometimes referred to as the mountain of the Lord. Our covenants? The commandments? The church? All these things.  Get to the mountain. There’s safety there. Lest thou be consumed.

Oh, if only Lot had stayed on that mountain to begin with. He may still have had his family intact.

Now I don’t think Lot was an unrighteous man. He was an unwise man. He may have been able to claim that he was strong enough to withstand the temptations of Sodom. And you know what, he was. He was right. He didn’t become like them. He was strong enough to resist. But his family wasn’t. He failed, unwittingly but foolishly, to protect his family from the influences of evil by being too casual about the danger that Sodom posed.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Where do you feel you have spiritually pitched your tent? Think about your habits, your media choices, your friends, the environments you put yourself in.  Where’s your tent? If you had to represent it visually here, where would you put it?

Are there any influences of Sodom you need to rid yourself of? A social media app you need to delete? A television program you need to stop watching? Music you should erase from your library? A bad habit you need to overcome? A sin you need to confess to your bishop? Maybe even a toxic “friend”ship you need to cut?

CONCLUSION

I know that if we take that step, whatever it is, that we can escape the fate of Sodom. We may spare ourselves from those Sodom moments lurking out there in the future. Please watch out for the world. Take its influence seriously and let’s strive to rid ourselves of its sway as much as possible and still be a power for good to those around us.  The story of Lot is a cautionary tale to any who would underestimate the power and pull of the adversary and  Babylon. I encourage all of us to do whatever we can to minimize its impact and then fill our lives with all the goodness of the gospel that we can. Rather than pitching our tents towards Sodom, hopefully we can be more like the people of King Benjamin who pitched their tents “round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple” (Mosiah 2:6) Now that’s a winning spiritual strategy! Or we can be like Abraham! He’s a great foil or contrast to Lot. Do you remember what his approach to Sodom was in last week’s lesson?  Abraham refused to take even a threadsworth of Sodom. He wanted nothing to do with that wicked city or anything in it. That’s one of the “the works of Abraham” that we can do. So, escape for thy life, and the lives of your family, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, but escape to the mountain, and like those holy men promised, and like the holy men of today still promise, you will not be consumed. 

HAGAR

I really struggled with the decision whether to include this lesson on Hagar. I knew it would make the lesson extra-long. But in the end, I decided to include it because I think she has some unique and important truths to teach us.

ICEBREAKER

For an icebreaker on this section, I like to talk about difficult words to say. The following words are considered among the most difficult things to say in the English language. 

Rural

Otorhinolaryngologist

Anemone

Worcestershire

Isthmus. 

Now for non-native speakers of English, the list changes a little. For some reason, the word “choir” is one of the most difficult  for non-native speakers to pronounce.

And this isn’t just an issue for people that are trying to learn English. Every language has its difficult words to say. For example. I don’t think I ever really learned how to pronounce the Portuguese lh sound.  Like in the Portuguese word for advice. It’s conselho.  And as I say that, I’m sure my Brazilian friends out there can tell I’m not a native speaker when I try to say that word.

Now as difficult as each of those words might be to say, I don’t think they’re the most difficult of all. We’re going to let Hagar teach us the most difficult words.

Now who was Hagar? Hagar was Sarah’s maid.  And in Genesis 16 we see Sarah suggest to Abraham that she bear children for her. Now I know that that goes contrary to our modern sensibilities of propriety, but let’s be careful not to judge their culture by ours. And this works. Hagar becomes pregnant.

But then look what happens next in verse 4. 

⁴ And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Hmmm. What’s happening here? Perhaps Hagar is lording it over Sarah a bit. Kind of like, “Ha, I can get pregnant, and you can’t. I’m able to bear a child for Abraham.” Maybe she’s boasting or thinks she’s better. Which is certainly an unkind thing to do.  We know that this was a very sensitive issue for Sarah. There’s nothing she wanted more than to have a child with Abraham, but it hadn’t happened. And so, Hagar is definitely in the wrong in this situation. Instead of dealing with Sarah’s situation with compassion and sympathy, she treats her contemptuously or with a sense of superiority. So Sarah goes to Abraham and says:

⁵ And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: (which just means, “You should do something about this Abraham”, Not that she’s blaming him for the situation)  I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.

And Abraham reacts probably like your typical male, he basically says, “Oooh, I’m not getting involved in this. You guys work it out.”  And so he says:

⁶ But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee.

So he gives her permission to confront Hagar. And what happens?

And when Sarai dealt hardly with her,

She lets her have it. Perhaps not physically, but verbally. And what do we often do when we are dealt hardly with? 

she fled from her face.

Hagar runs away. Now is that the best solution to resolving family conflict? To just run away from the problem? Not usually. Running away typically doesn’t solve many problems. Divorce can be a form of running away. Stonewalling can be a form of running away. Leaving home is a form of running. Disowning a child.  Alienating yourself from your family.  Now that’s not to say that there aren’t situations where you should run away. Nobody should feel obligated to remain in an abusive or toxic relationship. But we should be careful not to turn to that solution too quickly or lightly in lesser situations. Sometimes this manifests itself in ward families where people will run from fellowship in the church because of real or perceived offenses. This is often the solution people turn to when they feel they have been “dealt hardly with”.

But an angel is going to teach Hagar and all of us a better way.  She’s visited in verse 7 and look what he says:

⁸ And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, (which I think is significant that he calls her that. Hagar, remember you are Sarah’s maid. And then he asks here some critical questions)  whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go?

She answers:

And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

⁹ And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

The Book of Genesis is a great place to learn how to deal with conflict within our families because a lot of the families in Genesis have issues. You have Cain and Abel, Hagar and Sarai, Jacob, and Esau, and later we’ll see major problems amongst Jacob’s twelve sons. These are families with problems, but we can learn from them. I don’t think any family in the church is free of conflict and difficulty, regardless of how they may appear on the outside. The message here:

TRUTH

When we experience conflict within in our families, rather than run and blame. What should we do? According to the words of the angel-what is his angelic advice? Return and submit.  Don’t run from the problem, figure it out. Work it out with that person. Don’t ignore it and don’t intensify it. And, be willing to have a degree of humility and submissiveness. I think that means we have to look deep inside ourselves and seek to recognize the part that we have played in the problem. Probably a better answer Hagar could have given to the angel’s question would have been “I was insensitive, and Sarah overreacted”. And, you know, I don’t think Sarah  is completely faultless in this situation either. The problem probably stemmed from a bit of pride on the part of Hagar, and a bit of jealousy on the part of Sarah. I mean, I think Sarah had every right to be upset, but it sounds like she gets pretty angry. Perhaps she could have handled it better. And that’s usually the way things happen in my family conflicts. If I have ever had a conflict with my wife or one of my children, it’s usually because I’ve been insensitive, and they overreact, or vice versa. 

But wonderfully, Hagar does the right thing here!  She listens to the angel! She does return and submit to Sarah. She’s a perfect contrast to Cain who after he received correction, refused to return and submit.

So in my opinion, what are the hardest words in the English language to say?  I think they’re “I’m sorry, I was wrong”.  Those might be the most difficult words you’ll ever have to form with your lips.  But it’s worth it to learn how to pronounce them. Those words can bring peace and healing to our homes and families and relationships.

WHEN THE WATER IS SPENT IN THE BOTTLE

Now let’s not leave Hagar just yet. There’s another story about her I want to take a quick look at with you. It’s in chapter 21.  Unfortunately, the conflict between Sarah and Hagar doesn’t end there. It returns later as after Sarah has Isaac. But, then we learn in chapter 21:9

⁹ And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

If you look at the footnote for “mocking” it sends you to Galatians 4:29 which tells us that perhaps this was more than just mocking, but full-blown persecution. That competitive spirit between the moms has transferred to the children.  And Ishmael persecutes Isaac. It must have gotten really bad, because that would explain what Abraham does next. And I know this sounds horrible, but he sends Hagar and Ishmael away. The family splits. So perhaps this can be a bit of a balancing idea to the return and submit principle.  Sometimes, perhaps the right solution is to separate. When peace cannot be reached, when the negatives of remaining far outweigh the positives of returning, perhaps compromise is the next best thing. And before we judge Abraham too harshly in separating the family, take a look at 10-14

¹⁰ Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

¹¹ And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

¹² And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

¹³ And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

¹⁴ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

First of all, this is not an easy thing for Abraham to do. He loves Ishmael, and Hagar too, I’m sure. This is grievous to him. And notice how he doesn’t let them leave until he knows, through revelation, that they are going to be OK. God assures him that they will be taken care of.

And so Hagar and Ishmael wander out into the wilderness. Sadly, things turn dire rather quickly.

¹⁵ And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

¹⁶ And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

This story makes me think of all those wonderful single parents out there in the church who are struggling to raise their children in the wilderness of the world. Those that have lost their Abraham’s, and are facing their problems alone,  and are feeling that their water is spent in the bottle. What happens next to Hagar is enlightening.

¹⁷ And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

¹⁸ Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

¹⁹ And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

²⁰ And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

God heard her and Ishmael. That’s what the name Ishmael means even. God hears. So to all you struggling single parents out there, you Hagars, remember that God hears you! And your children.  God not only cares about the Abraham’s and the Sarah’s and the Isaac’s.  He also cares, deeply, about the Hagar’s and Ishmael’s of the church as well. Perhaps when a father, or a mother is absent in the home, God fills in that roll. My Dad is a good example of this principle. He grew up in a home without a father and so his mother, my grandma, was his Hagar.  And God watched out for them! He heard her and was with her lads. Yes, there were many times when my grandma felt like the water was spent in the bottle, but whenever it got to that point, God heard her cries, and helped.  I know he’ll do the same for you as well.