ABRAHAM: COVENANT CONFIRMED WITH CIRCUMCISION

ABRAHAM

COVENANT CONFIRMED

WITH CIRCUMCISION

Genesis 17:1-2 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. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

Susie: Time passed. Abram was now ninety-nine years old, but God still promised to multiply him, in other words, to give him children.

Susan: God reminded Abram that He will exponentially increase his descendants.

Genesis 17:3-6 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 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. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

Susie: Abram’s response to the voice of God was to fall on his face, humbling himself before the all-powerful, all-seeing Lord.

Susan: Abram means “exalted father,” but Abraham means “father of a multitude.” God changed Abraham’s name to reflect his purpose. He would father the nation of Israel. Abraham is also considered the father of all who believe in Jesus, the members of the messianic community.

Susie: As we will see later in this chapter, Abraham would be the father of other nations besides Israel through his son, Ishmael. His descendants would include not only the kings of Israel, but the kings of these other nations as well.

Genesis 17:7-8 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. 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.

Susan: From God’s perspective, the nation of Israel is the rightful owner of the Holy Land. Even before they became a nation again in 1948, God still considered the region the possession of His people. He has given it to them forever. Anyone others who move in to take over that land are squatters.

Susie: In addition to confirming the promise of the land as their inheritance, God pledges to always be their God. He would be their protector and provider for generations to come. History shows that even when the nation of Israel rebelled against God’s leadership, a remnant always remained from which God would build them up again.

Susan: Many years later, Ruth, the Moabitess, married a Jew, converted to Judaism, and pledged to her mother-in-law, “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” God included her in the lineage of the Messiah because of her faith.

Genesis 17:9-14 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 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. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 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. 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. 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.

Susie: God established the sign of His covenant with Abraham. Every male in his household, free or slave, native to his family or foreign living under his roof, was to be circumcised. There were already people groups that practiced circumcision, so Abraham would have understood what the Lord was demanding. All the males under Abraham’s leadership were to be circumcised immediately, and in the future all male babies would be circumcised on the eighth day of life.

Susan: For the babies, this would not be a problem because they would not remember it. However, for all those grown men—OUCH!

Susie: Remember that making this type of commitment was called “cutting covenant.” Earlier we talked about the cutting the animals in two pieces. Now, God is commanding that Abraham cut his own flesh and that of all his men as a sign of the covenant, a sign of being set apart to serve only the One True God. This was probably seen as a drastic measure by many of these grown men. Paul taught that Christian men were not required to undergo circumcision of the foreskin, but that there was an even more important circumcision required of all Christians:

 Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Susan: Circumcision was an outward sign of an inward commitment. In much the same way, immersion baptism is an outward sign of the inward dying to self and living life committed to Jesus Christ, set apart for His purposes. It is an outward sign that God has given us a heart transplant, cutting out our hardened out and replacing it with a heart that is tender toward Him.

Susie: Any male who was not circumcised would be cut off, not considered a member of God’s chosen people. Mary and Joseph insured that Jesus would be obedient to this covenant:

Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Genesis 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

Susan: Sarai’s name meant argumentative or quarrelsome, not exactly what I would want to be called. God changed her name to Sarah which means princess. Sar means “chieftain,’ so Sarah could be translated “chieftainess.” When God gives a new name, it is meant to reflect a new identity in Him.

Genesis 17:16 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.

Susan: God renamed Sarah appropriately since she would be the mother of a son, and her lineage would be that of kings.

Susie: God promised to give Abraham a son specifically through Sarah.

Susan: Abraham was the father, the patriarch of God’s chosen people, and Sarah was equally the mother, the matriarch, of the nation of Israel.

Susie: Abraham would be the father, not only of the nation of Israel, but many other nations through Ishmael.

Genesis 17:17-18 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? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Susan: Abraham was the first to laugh at the Lord’s proposal.

Susie: In fact, he “fell upon his face,” ROFL (Rolling On the Floor Laughing). I’m trying to get a mental picture here of a 99-yr-old man falling on the floor in laughter. It’s not pretty.

Susan: What 99-yr-old man has the strength and flexibility to be down on the floor?

Susie: Well, we are not told how much difficulty he had in getting back up!

Susan: Abraham’s true feelings deep in his heart were not hidden from the Lord as he questioned how a hundred-year-old man and a ninety-year-old woman could possibly have a child.

Susie: Out loud, he asked the Lord to just consider making Ishmael the son to inherit all these blessings, but God’s plan was different than Abraham’s.

Genesis 17:19 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.

Susan: God let Abraham know that Sarah was His chosen woman to be the mother of His people. God Himself even named this child of promise. He named him Isaac which means “he laughs.” God could have been reminding Abraham that he laughed.

Susie: Later, Sarah would laugh as well, but we’ll see the positive spin she put on the name when the baby was actually born.

Genesis 17:20 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.

Susie: God did not forget Abraham’s son by Hagar, nor his promise to her when she had fled from Sarah (Genesis 16:10-12). He promised that Ishmael would father a great nation and beget twelve princes. However, Ishmael was not the son of promise.

Genesis 17:21-22 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

Susan: Now, God finally shares with Abraham His timeline for the promised child to be born.

Susie: The waiting period is nearly at an end. By the end of the next year, Sarah will have a son.

Genesis 17:23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

Susie: I think the fact that all these grown men submitted to circumcision as adults reflects on Abraham’s leadership. It could be a result of the fact that his special relationship with God was evident in his life.

Susan: Had I been a man in Abraham’s group, I might have asked him to go back and make sure he heard the Lord correctly. I might have protested that recovering from this procedure might slow down productivity for a few days.

Susie: The other thing I see here is that Abraham obeyed the command to seal the covenant with circumcision immediately, the very same day. He did not tell the Lord that he needed time to prepare everyone for this, let them get a little ahead in their work. Instead, he obeyed immediately and completely, and apparently without arguing or hesitation.

Genesis 17:24-27 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Susie: Abraham made sure all the men obeyed the Lord.

Susan: Abraham fulfilled this covenant from the top down, beginning with himself and his son Ishmael. He did not expect everyone else to be circumcised before he did it himself.

QUESTIONS

1.         How old was Abram when God changed his name to Abraham?

2.         What do the two names mean?

3.         What promise did God make to Abraham when he changed his name?

4.         What land was Abraham to possess?

5.         What sign did the Lord require of Abraham and of his future descendants?

6.         In what way are Christians “circumcised?” Explain what this means.

7.         How old was a baby to be when circumcised?

8.         Sarai was renamed Sarah. What are the meanings of the two names?

9.         How did Abraham react when the Lord told him Sarah would give birth at ninety years old?

10.    How soon did Abraham obey God’s instruction to circumcise every male?