God Loved Isaac Bible Crafts

The story of Abraham and Isaac is told in both Judaism and Christianity.

The biblical story of Abraham and Isaac tells that Abraham pleased God and was a wealthy man, yet didn't have what he wanted most -- a child of his own. God promised Abraham that even though he was too old to have children, He would nevertheless give him a son in his old age. Isaac was the miraculous fulfillment of that promise and become Abraham's cherished heir. God later tested Abraham's devotion by asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering, but stopped Abraham at the last moment -- when it became clear that Abraham loved God even more than his beloved son. Isaac's last-minute reprieve is often the subject of Sunday school lessons and crafts.

Artwork

Sunday school crafts on this story often take the form of coloring pages depicting an angel from God saving Isaac's life at the last possible moment. Other craft possibilities include filling in a coloring book depiction with pasted macaroni shells, fabric or glitter, or painting the dramatic scene with watercolors, crayons or markers. Children may also color or place stickers on Bible bookmarks relating the story of Isaac, or fill in Abraham's "family album" by drawing the faces of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac in the picture frames.

Puppets

Sunday school teachers often provide their students paper bag or sock puppets and allow them to glue buttons, yarn and fabric onto them to create appropriate Bible characters before acting out the story. Alternatively, teachers may instruct their students to cut appropriate photos out of magazines and paste the faces onto the puppets. For an even simpler craft, children can make Abraham and Isaac finger puppets with markers, glue and paper.

Sculptures

Isaac had a second dramatic story in his life. When Isaac was ready to marry, his father Abraham sent his servant to his old homeplace to find a wife for his son. The servant prayed to God for the girl who offered to give him and his camel's water from her jar, would be Isaac's chosen wife. The girl who did so was Rebekah -- according to the Bible, a "beautiful girl." One possible craft for his story may be letting the children sculpt the actors in the scene from modeling clay or paper mache -- including the camels. Since Abraham's servant lavished many gifts on Rebekah, possible alternatives might be to make little jars filled with coins and jewelry out of gold foil.

Paper Crafts

Origami, or alternatively, cutting shapes out of paper, makes an easy and entertaining Sunday school craft and may be done with colored construction paper and templates. Possible objects from Isaac's life to fold or cut include simple origami Abraham and Sarah dolls, a heart, baby, tent shape, palm trees, camel, well or water jar. The cutout shapes may stand upright, be pasted onto paper or used to make a mobile illustrating a story from Isaac's life.

References

• Bible Gateway: Genesis 21