Abraham to Father Many Nations
Genesis 17:1-2 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3-8 Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, (Exalted Father) but your name will be Abraham, (Father of Many) for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
15-16 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah. (Princess) And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”
17-18 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!”
19-21 But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. f I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
Wow! Once more, God is promising Abram uncountable numbers of descendants. And this time, God even gives Abram a new name. The name Abram means “exalted father,” and through all those decades of childlessness, Abram might have become bitter. Now God is renaming Abram as Abraham, “Father of many,” and promising to make him “exceedingly fruitful,” promising to “make nations” of Abraham and for kings to be his descendants. Once more, God also promises Abraham “all of the land of Canaan as an eternal possession.” But God isn’t through yet, for next He renames Sarai as Sarah, “Princess,” and promises that she will bear a miraculous child at age ninety. This child, Isaac, will be the one with whom God will establish an everlasting covenant. Ishmael will also become a great man, fathering twelve rulers and becoming the head of a great nation.
By now, Abraham’s mind must be reeling. Sarah, to become pregnant and deliver a son in her old age? God promising to make a covenant with that son and also to multiply Ishmael in addition? But there’s a catch: As a sign of God’s covenant, Abraham and every male in his household and every one of his male descendants must be circumcised.
The Covenant of Circumcision
9 God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you. 10 This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11 You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12 Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.
14 But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
22 When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised them, just as God had told him.
24-27 So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day. And all the men of Abraham’s household—both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners—were circumcised with him.
Why does God institute circumcision as a repeating practice throughout all generations of Abraham’s family? Circumcision is not a new practice; however, circumcision of all males, including servants, separates Abraham’s descendants from everyone else.
Circumcision for infants is a minor procedure; however, for full-grown males, it takes several days for the wound to heal and the swelling to reduce. But God has already cut covenant with Abraham and now Abraham is cutting covenant with God as a sign of obedience, even if it hurts.
Many times, we desire God’s comfort; however, we want it on our terms, not on His. We hold out our hands, practically demanding God bless us despite being unwilling to examine our hearts to see if our heart attitudes are wrong. Notice that Abraham honors God above everything else, even as he continues to wonder how his ninety-year-old wife will manage to give birth. And Abraham obeys, even though he’s going to be sore for several days.
How can we tell if our heart attitudes are right? Generally, people come with idiot lights rather than gauges. Idiot lights are the lights on the dashboard that tell you something is wrong and that you should have taken care of it a long time ago. By the time an idiot light flashes on your vehicle dashboard, your engine has already overheated or seized up for lack of oil. It would be quite helpful if we could check heart gauges-Obedience meter-25%, love meter-30%, Caring for others-5%.
1 John 1:5-7 tells us, “This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in him is no darkness at all. So if we say we are his friends but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin.”
Want God’s comfort? Open your heart to Him and allow him to clean you up. God runs “come as you are” parties. We cannot clean up ourselves, but if we will confess our sins to God, He will do what we cannot. Then we will live in the light of God’s presence and have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other. Then we will enjoy God’s comfort.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and incapable of freeing ourselves. Please cleanse us with Your precious blood, wipe out our sins, and help us to remain with You for the rest of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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