GENESIS 17
Renewing God’s Covenant
God’s promises to Abram are now reaffirmed in the covenant that God
makes with His faithful servant. The
provisions include the promise that Abram’s own son would be the heir even
though he and Sarai are childless and beyond childbearing years. Abram weakens under the pressure of passing
time and yields to Sarai’s suggestion.
The result is te bir6th of Ishmael, a son whom God also promises to
bless but who is clearly NOT the son of God’s promise. Despite his act of presumption, Abram
receives a new sign of God’s faithfulness (circumcision) and a new name
(Abraham, “father of a multitude”.)
True or False: Sometimes the
obedient thing is to do nothing.
Obedience can take many forms.
Sometimes it is the obedient thing to sit still (as when Christ told his
disciples to wait in Jerusalem in Acts 1:4.
More often, obedience demands some step of action. Noah picked up a saw and a hammer, Moses
climbed a mountain to bring back God’s words on two stone tablets, Joshua led
the nation on a 7-day hike around Jericho – all in obedience to the word of the
LORD.
The same was true in the life of Abraham. In chapter 15, he obediently arranged the
pieces of the sacrifice by which God ratified His covenant. In Chapter 17, he carried out the
responsibility of circumcising his entire household according to God’s
command. While these acts of faith may
not seem very spectacular, they became highly significant when performed in obedience
to God’s direction.
“The man of woman useful to God is not simply the first to act, but
the first to LISTEN!”
What we read as ancient history, Abram learned over a period
of years, piece by piece. Much of what is said in chapter 17 was new and
exciting to Abraham. We cannot experience the excitement and expectation of
Abraham until we have ‘walked in his shoes’ through this text.
Let us think of ourselves as Abram did. He was 99 years old
at the time. Twenty-four years ago Abram had left Haran, in obedience to the
divine call of. After Abram and Lot separated and Abram had defeated the
eastern alliance of kings, God formally made a covenant with Abram, specifying
that his heir would come from his own body (15:4), and giving a more exact
description of the land that he would possess. In addition, he was told the
fate of his offspring for the next several generations.
Thirteen years previous, Abram had taken a wrong turn.
Following the advice of his wife, Abram attempted to produce the heir God had
promised by following an established practice of his day, taking Sarai’s maid,
Hagar, as his wife. This led only to disunity and heartbreak for all involved.
So far as we can tell, God has not spoken since He encountered Hagar on her way
to Egypt.
These thirteen years were not wasted. They served to
illustrate the consequences of serving God in the power of the flesh, and of
acting presumptuously. They served, as well, to intensify the impossibility of
Abram and Sarai ever having a child between them. In this way, if a child was
born at this time it would surely be a work of God, and not of man. It appears
that, in the light of this difficulty, Abram had come to believe that Ishmael
was his only hope for an heir.
God’s
Promise (17:1-8)
The silence of 13 years is broken: Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord
appeared to Abram. V.1-2
After thirteen years of silence, Abram must have been
greatly encouraged by this encounter with God. In times past, God had only been
said to have spoken to Abram or had come in a vision. Here, after 24 years, God
revealed Himself; He appeared to Abram.
Abram saw God for the first time.
God disclosed Himself to Abram in a more intimate fashion.
Also, He manifested Himself more fully in terms of His character and
attributes. God referred to Himself as ‘God Almighty,’ E1 Shaddai. This
is the first time God has been called by this name. It is a designation which
emphasizes His infinite power.167 What God had long
before determined, and what would now be more precisely defined, would depend
upon God of infinite power to accomplish.
Previously, God had required little of Abram other than to
leave (Ur) and believe in His promise. Now that the covenant was about to be
implemented, Abram would be required to behave in a way that God prescribed. He
must walk before his God blamelessly, and God would be His shield. (15:1). It
is probably significant that God withheld specific duties until long after
Abram’s belief was evident, so that works are not the basis of the covenant but
a by-product of it.
Just as Abram had heard God refer to Himself by a new name,
so Abram is renamed, a token of his destiny: v. 4-5
The name Abram meant ‘high father’ or ‘exalted father.’ This
alone may have proved to be an embarrassment to Abram who had only one child
and that by a slave. But now his name was changed to ‘father of a multitude.’
How By the grace of God, he would soon live up to his new name.
Most of us have had the unhappy experience of making an
agreement only to find that it profited us far less than we had hoped for and
been led to expect. Just the opposite is true with God’s promises. The more we
learn of them, the richer the blessings they contain. Abram had been told that
he would become a great nation (12:2); now he is told that in fact he will
become the ‘father of a multitude of nations’ (17:4). Beyond this, he will be
the father of kings (17:6). El Shaddai promised to be a God to Abram and to his
descendants (17:7), among whom we must include Abram’s spiritual seed READ: Galatians 3:16. The covenant was not
only between Abraham and God, but between God and Abraham’s seed, forever.
Stipulations
of the Covenant (17:9-14)
The obligations of this covenant are clearly defined. In verse 4 God said, ‘As for Me.’ In verse 9 He said, ‘As for you.’ In verse 15 we read, ‘As for Sarai.’ Finally, in verse 20, we find, ‘As for Ishmael,’ God’s covenant is eternal and sure. The enjoyment
of the blessings of the covenant is
conditional. Only by keeping these conditions can man enjoy the blessings
of God as guaranteed in the covenant.
The obligation upon Abraham and his descendants was that
they be circumcised: verse 10-11. In one
way, circumcision seems too simple. How can God require only this one act? Remember that God had already said to
Abraham, “Walk before Me, and be blameless” in verse 1. Circumcision was not
all that Abraham was required to do—rather, it was the symbol of his relationship to God and signified what his moral
conduct should be. Circumcision, for Abraham, meant that he had bound himself
to God in this covenant. He looked forward to its blessings, and he also
submitted to its stipulations.
Circumcision is the only act of surgery of its kind that is
beneficial to mankind. More than its physical benefits, it signifies spiritual
requirements as well. Symbolically, the flesh is put away. Abram was going to
acquire a son by the use of his reproductive organ. Now he submitted it to God.
No Israelite could ever engage in the sex act without being reminded of the
fact that he belonged to God. Children that were begotten were to be brought up
according to God’s Word. Circumcision of
infant sons did not save them but evidenced the faith of the father and mother
in the God of Abraham. (As baby
dedication does today!) As that young
child grew up, his circumcision was a sign to him that he was different from
other boys—he belonged to God. It was
not the circumcision that saved the boy, but the sign which would forever
remind him of what God required to enjoy the benefits of His covenant.
Circumcision of the male only may have signified the special responsibility
which God had assigned to the father. (This may have had particular significance
to Abraham after the incident with Hagar.) Some have emphasized the
similarities between baptism and circumcision and surely there are some READ: Colossians 2:10-12). Both signify a union with God that
has already occurred. Both necessitate the putting away of former things and
living a life pleasing to God READ: Romans 6:1;
Colossians 3:1-11
.
But there are rather obvious differences which must be kept
in mind. Baptism is for believing adults, as an indication of their faith in
God (Acts
16:33; 19:1-7). Circumcision was performed on infants eight days old and
evidenced the faith of the parents. Baptism is a public sign, circumcision was
a private sign. Baptism is for all believers, male and female, circumcision was
only for the males. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant with Abraham;
baptism is an outward expression of your inward experience…identifying with
Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.
And Abraham at age 99, and Ishmael at age 13 along with all
those God said were circumcised!
A Promise
for Sarah (17:15-19)
Up to this time, God had promised Abraham a son but had not
specifically identified the mother of this child. Abraham had been convinced by
Sarai and circumstances that it must be Hagar. It seems as though Abraham still
considered this to be the case.
Verse 15-16 God changed her name. What Abraham must have originally assumed,
what experience seemed to deny, was that Sarah would be the mother of his son
and heir. The promise of an heir is now narrowed to Abraham and Sarai.
Abraham’s response is puzzling: v. 17…Then Abraham fell on his face and
laughed, and said in his heart, ‘Will a child be born to a man one hundred
years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’
This was Abraham’s inner and immediate response to God’s
proclamation. Was it a laugh of delight,
or of disbelief. The impossibility of such a thing taking place was probably the
cause of Abraham’s outburst. I suspect Abraham’s response is just about what we
would have done. The promise was an incredible one—too much to take in one
dose. Laughter is often the response to things which catch us off guard.
Abraham’s words to God also reflect a failure to fully grasp
what has just been promised: “Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee” verse 18.
If Abraham could not believe that Sarah would bear a son to him, then
his request is easily explained. He informed God that so far as he was
concerned, Ishmael was satisfactory as his heir. No such wonder as another son
through Sarah was necessary since a son was already in the family. In addition,
the love of Abrabam for this boy is again evidenced. Why should another child
be born, especially when conflict would be inevitable? Couldn’t God choose to
bless Ishmael rather than to provide another child?
God’s plans would not be changed. God had purposed to give
Abraham and Sarah a child and through this child to bring about His promises.
No substitute son was satisfactory, especially when he was the result of self
effort. Indeed, Sarah would bear a son and the spiritual blessings could only
come about through him: verse 19
A
Promise for Ishmael (17:20-21)
While the spiritual blessings must come through Isaac, God
will not overlook the love of Abraham for his son nor of His own promise to
Hagar. Ishmael would become a great nation, and of him would come 12 princes,
but the spiritual blessings could only come through Isaac.
Abraham’s
Obedience (17:22-27)
Verses 22-27 stress the important role of obedience in our
Christian lives. It is precious to God. Because of this, He recorded the
circumcision of Abraham, Ishmael, and all of Abraham’s household. The response
of faith to divine commands is always obedience.
Conclusion
There is little in this passage which is new to anyone who
has read their Bible but remember that a good deal of what was said was new to
Abraham. If it took Abraham a lifetime
to grasp the meaning of the covenant God made with him, how long will it take us to fathom the depth
of the riches of His grace (Romans 11:33-36)?
God is not so interested in us knowing new truth as He is in
us grasping the few great truths of His word. How easy it is to think that we
have learned some truth, only to pass on to another. In Abraham’s life, God
revealed a truth, then continued to return to it, testing him, and then
revealing more of that truth than he had known before. Which one of us can say
that we have come to fathom the greatest depths of God’s Word? We can expect
God to be at work in our lives, expanding and expounding upon the few great and
central truths of Christianity.
Abraham’s was a relationship of growth. He came to learn
more and more about the God Who called him. He came to a deeper and deeper
understanding of the meaning of God’s Word. As he did so, he invariably drew
nearer and nearer to God. There was not only a growth in Abraham’s knowledge,
but in his intimacy. At first, God only spoke to Abraham (12:1). Twenty-four
years later He revealed Himself to Abraham and spoke with him. Abraham, for the
first time, communed with God and interacted with Him. Later, he would be
called the friend of God.
You and I cannot have a stagnant, not moving relationship
with God. Not if we are truly born again. God may allow us to fail such as
Abraham often did. He may leave us to ourselves for a time, as Abram found God
silent for 13 years. But sooner or later God will break into our lethargic
lives and draw us closer to Himself. That is what the Christian life is all
about. We, too, should have the same
desire that Paul expressed in Philippians
3:10
