Page 24 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

Study Section 4: The Journeys of Isaac - The Land of Persia
The Land of Egypt

4.1 Connect.

Have you ever gone on a camping trip? Maybe slept out under the stars? Cooked your meals
outside? Perhaps you feel you live like you are camping out? Isaac lived in a land which he did
not own, moved from place to place and lived in tents. It must have been like camping out.
God blessed him, and he had a large herd of animals. He seems to be constantly having
difficulties finding water for them without bothering others who lived in the area. He had a
promise from God to receive a land and blessings, but never actually experienced all of it. It was coming
later. Can you relate to Isaac? Do you feel you really don’t have roots? Let’s today see how he learned
to trust God and glorify Him in his situation.

4.2 Objectives:

1. The student should be able to explain what it is like to be a pilgrim in a foreign land, and
learn to associate with Isaac.

2. The student should be able to explain how God used the Persian Empire to re-establish the
temple and walls in Jerusalem.

3. The student should be able to explain why God sent the children of Israel into Egypt for 400 years.

4.3 The Journeys of Isaac

Isaac was born after Abraham returned to live in Beersheba in the southern part of Canaan.
Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 years old
when Isaac was born. Isaac lived longer than
either Abraham or his son Jacob, and he spent
most of his life within a small area in the south
of the land of Canaan. All the promises God
gave to Abraham were extended also to Isaac.

Isaac, like his father, was a pilgrim in the land of Canaan.
He made his home in Beersheba where he was born and
lived out his last days in Hebron, just to the north. He was
finally buried in the Cave of Machpelah. Here are some
locations he traveled in the south of Canaan:

1. Beersheba was his birthplace and early home (Gen 21:3,
31)

2. Mount Moriah. Abraham took Isaac to the Mountains
of Moriah to offer him as a burnt offering to God. The Lord
stopped him in the middle of the act and provided a
substitute to teach him about God’s plan of salvation in

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