Context for Kids

Wow, here we are at the end of Genesis chapter twenty-one at last! Before taking a break for the Fall Festivals, we’re going to look at the consequences of not being trusted as well as not being trustworthy—as both Abraham and Abimelech know very well. And we’ll be talking about sheep, wells, and planting trees in the middle of the desert!

Oh man, I hate this portion of the Bible. It’s so messy and sad and frustrating. Abraham is upset about Sarah wanting Ishmael gone forever—I mean, of course he is! God hasn’t chimed in but when He does, it’s shocking so we will need to get an explanation. God isn’t done with Hagar or Ishmael yet, and Hagar is going to get one more visit before she exits the Biblical account of her life.

A huge theme in ancient writings (and especially the Bible) is the difference between foolish and wise people. When we aren’t aware of it, we are tempted to look at everything people are doing in the Bible as examples of what is good and right but the Bible isn’t that sort of book. It’s a book about God being wise and putting up with humans—when even the best of them do some incredibly foolish things. The contrast shows us how patient and kind God is. Another word for patience is long-suffering because that’s what best describes God and how He must suffer in dealing with our nonsense! So, what does it mean to be a fool in the Bible and in our lives today. What does it mean to be wise?

Hurray! Isaac is weaned and has passed through the very dangerous first three years of life in the ancient world. Abraham throws a big party to celebrate but not everyone is happy. What happens when seventeen-year-old Ishmael expresses his anger over being replaced by a toddler? Why did Sarah even think that her solution was okay? In talking about the rejection of Ishmael, we’ll also have a conversation about the rejection of the Messiah and the difference between what is normal vs what is good.

We’ve been waiting for ten chapters, since Sarah was introduced at the end of chapter 11, and finally Isaac is here. But why is the story so short??? In fact, why are all the stories about Isaac so short? For someone we’ve been anxiously waiting for so long, he doesn’t get nearly as much attention as his father Abraham and his son Jacob. Sometimes the mysteries tell us just as much as the long stories do.

Few things are less understood and acknowledged than God's incredible patience, and there’s no better time to discuss the patience of God than when we are beginning to wrap up the story of Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael, and Hagar. Impatience wrecked their family peace while God’s patience leads to Jesus! And Jesus shows us God’s patience in how He dealt with His very annoying disciples.

Transcript: https://contextforkids.com/2024/08/14/episode-150-being-like-jesus-patience/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/8CN5QHtLefU

Anyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy studying the history of the ancient Near East because it is also the history around the Bible. But what is it? Where is it? And how is it different from the Greco-Roman Near East of Jesus? And does it make any difference?

Transcript: https://contextforkids.com/2024/08/07/episode-149-what-is-the-ancient-near-east/

I have been wanting to do this lesson for a long time and I wish someone had shared all of this with me—or even any of it with me—when I was a beginner. We never read anything without translating it in our own minds, and the Bible is no exception. We read the Bible and decide what it means based on our own lives, understandings, and what we have heard from others. How does the Spirit help us with our reading and what doesn’t the Spirit do? Is every thought while we are reading the Bible from God? How does God use Bible reading and Bible study (not the same thing) in our lives?

Our last teaching in Genesis 20. Abimelech finally does what he should have done in the first place if he wanted to marry Sarah, and he finds himself in the unpleasant position of having to reward someone who lied to him so that Abraham will pray for him and his household. Although this would have made sense to Abimelech, what are we supposed to think about it?

Transcript: https://contextforkids.com/2024/07/18/episode-147-abimelech-pays-and-abraham-prays/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/Zuo_sYdhGXk

God is getting Sarah back home, but Abraham starts making excuses—can we believe any of them, or is he just trying to keep himself out of trouble? Abimelech is furious, and so are his people when they hear about Abraham’s plan. But what are we supposed to think about all of this? And what do we do when a friend tells us to lie if we want to still be friends?