Read: Genesis 17
At the end
of the previous chapter Ishmael had just been born and Abram was 86 years
old. At the beginning of chapter 17 we
find that Abram is now 99 years old.
Abram had heard nothing from God for 13 years! When God did appear to Abram, He identified
himself as God Almighty and He asked Abram to walk blameless before Him (v.
1). In verses 4-5, God changes the name
of Abram to Abraham, alluding to the coming of the promise, as Abraham means
“father of the multitude”. In verses
6-14, God reiterates the covenant He had established with Abraham 14 years
earlier (in Genesis 15), repeating and emphasizing certain parts of it. This was an everlasting covenant (v. 7) and
the land that was promised in it was an everlasting possession (v. 8). This has far reaching eschatological
implications! Verses 9-14 stipulate Abraham’s
part in the covenant – he was to circumcise, eight days after birth, every male
child born in his household, whether born to him or to his servants (v.
10-12). Refusing to do this would break
the covenant (v. 14). At the end of
Genesis 17, God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah.
The Scriptures do not say why her name was changed but it probably has
to do with the coming of the promised heir.
When God told Abraham that He would make Sarah into the mother of
nations and kings (v. 16) he fell facedown and laughed (v. 17) and questioned
whether a 100 year old man and his 90 year old wife could bear a son. Commentators disagree as to whether the laugh
was one of joy or doubt but Abraham’s attempt to have God agree that Ishmael
should be the heir shows his scepticism (v. 18). God says NO!
Sarah would have a son and his name was to be Isaac and God’s covenant
with him would be everlasting (v. 19).
God does tell Abraham that Ishmael’s descendants will be a great nation
(v. 20). History shows that the descendants
of Ishmael, the Arabs, are numerous and with the discovery of oil they have
become “great”. But they are not the
children of the covenant; scripture is clear that the covenant is with Isaac
whom Sarah will bear (v. 21). This does
not imply racial inferiority but indicates that God has plans and purposes that
would only be fulfilled through the descendants of Isaac, not Ishmael. Abraham carefully fulfilled God’s
instructions regarding circumcision that very day! Abraham was 99 when he was circumcised;
Ishmael was 13 (v. 22-27).
In Genesis
17 God established the rite of circumcision for the people of Israel as a
symbol that they were His people. Today
there is no spiritual significance attached to this procedure. For Israel this was an outward act with great
spiritual significance, it was also a national sign. In Romans, Paul teaches that circumcision
without obedience is uncircumcision. It
is also important to note that when a child was circumcised it was not to
indicate that the child was saved but rather that the parents were being
obedient. Circumcision was not a guarantee of salvation as all are justified
through faith.
Prayer and Journaling
1. Sometimes
obedience is painful (I’m sure Abraham felt pain when he circumcised himself at
age 100!). But obedience is always worth
it. Is there something in your life right
now that is hard for you to obey? Ask
the Lord to show you the benefits of being obedient to Him; ask Him to show you
how it will be worth the pain in the long run.
2. What’s
in a name? God changed Sarai’s name to
Sarah and Abram’s name to Abraham. What
names do you call yourself? Do you call
yourself bright or stupid, hardworking or lazy, fat or healthy, stubborn or obedient, kind or unkind, angry
or loving, etc.? God has good
names for you. He can speak a prophetic
name over you if you let Him. Ask Him to
show you who He has designed you to be, ask Him to show you the name
that He calls you!
3. Pray
for the nation of Israel. Pray that they
would turn to Jesus and accept Him as their Messiah. Pray that the church would grow in loving
Israel and standing with them.
