The Story:

Many, many years ago God decided to build a great nation so that this nation could follow him and bless
the world. God chose Abraham as the man that would begin this nation.

Have you ever tried to count how many stars there are in the sky at night? There are too many to count!
Well, God told Abraham that counting his descendants would be like trying to count stars. He would
have so many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren and great-great-
great grandchildren that no one could even count them.

Abraham believed God but, as the years went by, he and his wife, Sarah wondered how God would
make this happen. They were getting older and older and they still had no children together.

But, of course, God kept his promise!

Finally, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old they had a baby. They named their
son Isaac.

Abraham and Sarah loved Isaac very much and looked forward to the day when Isaac would marry and
have children. Then those children would grow up and have children and then those children would
grow up and have children.

Abraham loved his son and loved God. Even though Abraham loved God and believed what God said a
day came when Abraham was tested. The testing day was the day God asked Abraham to do a very
difficult thing.

During the time of Abraham people showed their devotion to God by placing food or sometimes an
animal they had killed on an altar and burning it up. This was called a “sacrifice”.

Even though Abraham knew about this kind of sacrifice he had never heard about the kind of sacrifice
that God asked of him on this testing day.
God said, “Take your only son, Isaac, the son you love. Go to the land of Moriah. There kill him and offer
him as a whole burnt offering. Do this on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which one.”

Most people would have just said, “NO WAY, GOD!” After all, Abraham loved Isaac. Besides, Isaac was
his only son. God had promised him that Isaac would grow up and have children and his children would
grow up and have children so the one day God’s people would be so many that no one could count
them. If Isaac died this could never happen.

And that is when Abraham realised something very important. God would always do the right thing. If
he obeyed God, even in this very hard thing, God would make it all right in the end. He thought that
maybe God would let Isaac die but then he would bring him back to life.

Abraham did not understand exactly what would happen but he had faith in God. He would do what
God said.

When Abraham and his son got to the top of the mountain they stacked stones on top of stones to build
an altar. Isaac asked his father what animal they would put on the altar. Only Abraham knew that Isaac
would be the one on the altar instead of an animal.

And then the time came for Abraham to do what God said and kill his son. But do you think Abraham
actually killed his son? No, he did not. At the last minute an angel called out in a loud voice and told
Abraham to stop. Even though God knew that Abraham had enough faith to obey him God did not want
him to actually kill Isaac.

What a relief! God would never want a person to be killed and burned on an altar. Abraham looked up
and saw a ram caught in some bushes. He and Isaac offered the ram as a sacrifice on the altar.

On that day Abraham learned that he loved God more than anything else. He would always have faith in
God.
And Isaac continued to grow up and follow God. And guess what? He had children and then they had
children and then they had children…

As years passed the number of Abraham’s descendants became so many that they were as difficult to
count as the number of stars in the sky.

22 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham:
and he said, Behold, here I am.

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.

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.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder
and worship, and come again to you.

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.

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?
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.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said,
Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his
horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his
son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the
Lord it shall be seen.

15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not
withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Once upon a time, there lived a man named Abram. He lived with his wife, who was called Sarai. These
two had had a happy married life but had no children of their own.They wanted to have children, but for
some reason, it had not been possible for those two. Then one night, God came to talk to Abram. That
day God promised Abram that he and his wife would have children. “One day for sure. Even if you two
are old, you two will be blessed with children, I promise you.” Upon seeing Abram’s face, God was sure
he had not understood what God meant. So, he said to Abraham. “Up in the night sky, do you see all
those stars?” Abram nodded because he knew that the sky was full of innumerable stars. “That is how
many children you and Sarai will have,” God told him. Again God told him that they would become
parents one day and that they will have a child.A few years later, when Abram was fit to be a
grandfather, God visited him again. First God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, “father of many”.
God also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah. Then He said to Abraham, “You will soon have a child, a boy.”
Abraham laughed hard and did not believe in what God had said. But he kept his faith all the same.
Abraham had found it hard believe because even Sarah had become too old to have children.

One day, soon after God had told Abraham that he will soon have a child, three men came to visit
Abraham and Sarah. That day Sarah could not answer the door, so Abraham welcomed them and asked
them to sit. Then Abraham asked if he could get them something to eat.Visitors agreed to Abraham’s
offer. And so, Abraham brought the visitors some bread and milk. After having their meal, one of the
visitors asked about Sara. “She is in the other room,” replied Abraham. Then, the visitors said the most
shocking thing. “We will come visit you next year,” one of them said. “You will have a son by then.” After
saying so, the three of them left. Sarah, who had been listening from behind the door was overcome by
immense joy.

Later, when the three visitors had been long gone, Sarah and Abraham realized that the man who told
them that they’d have a child was God himself. A year later, Abraham and Sarah welcomed a baby boy.
He was named Isaac, “he laughs”. Abraham and Sarah remembered to thank God.

Genesis 17:1-21

King James Version

17 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I
am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of
many nations have I made thee.

6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of
thee.

7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for
an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land
of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in
their generations.

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man
child among you shall be circumcised.

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me
and you.

12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he
that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and
my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut
off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

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, 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?

18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I
will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will
multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the
next year.

Genesis 21:1-13 KJV

And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah
conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And
Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And
Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was
an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to
laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that
Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and
was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the
son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 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. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. 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. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.