Page 25 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

The Journeys of Isaac - The Land of Persia
The Land of Egypt

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 that 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 live 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 see today how he learned to trust God and glorify Him in his
situation.

The Lesson …

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 also extended 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 offering up His only son, Jesus, as a sacrifice. (Gen 22:2, 3) The city of David,
Jerusalem, was eventually settled on this mountain, and the place of the Temple where sacrifices were
offered daily was located on the exact spot that Abraham offered up his son as a sacrifice. Here, one
thousand years after Abraham, David built an altar and offered sacrifices to God. Here Solomon’s
temple was built, on the spot that had been the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:24).
And Jesus was offered up as a sacrifice for man’s sin just a short distance from the Temple. It is no
coincidence that all these events occurred on this one spot, for they all point to the sacrifice of blood
and the salvation of GRACE.

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