Genesis 17:1-8 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”
At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! (Abram means “exalted father”; Abraham sounds like a Hebrew term that means “father of many.”)
“I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”
Once again, God promises “the entire land of Canaan” to Abram and his descendants as “a possession forever.” God is so serious about His promise that He even renames Abram, “exalted father” as Abraham, “father of many” and Sarai as Sarah, “princess.” But there’s more. Now that God has made promises, He also requires Abraham to make a concrete response, circumcision of all males in the household, including ninety-nine-year-old Abraham.
The Mark of the Covenant
9-14 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”
What is the point of circumcision? For all generations to come, from now to eternity, all of Abraham’s descendants are to undergo circumcision, bearing permanent marks of the everlasting covenant in their bodies. Centuries later, there will be times when Israelites and Jews will be ashamed of circumcision, with those desiring to exercise in Greek and Roman gymnasia even having operations to reverse circumcision. But Jews continue to faithfully circumcise infant males even today, preserving that mark of the covenant.
And God’s grace is not limited to Abraham because He will also give Sarai the name Sarah. While both names mean “princess,” “Sarai” comes from the language of Ur while “Sarah” is the Hebrew form. God is graphically demonstrating that Abraham and Sarah are in a new land with new names and new promises.
Sarai Is Named Sarah
Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah.[Princess] And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”
Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, (“he laughs) and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.
On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day, along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. All were circumcised with him.
Imagine Abraham’s shock when God promises this ninety-nine-year-old man that he will become a father and that his wife will bear a child at age ninety. If the Yiddish language had existed in Abraham’s day, Abraham’s response would likely have been “NU!” as an expression of shock, disbelief, and hope. “Nu” is an all-purpose expression that can mean almost anything without long statements of explanation.
For a better explanation of this wonderful all-purpose expression, go to https://aish.com/the-abbreviated-dictionary-of-nu/ and for a complete explanation, check out Leo Rosten’s book The Joys of Yiddish. “Nu” which rhymes with “coo” is an interjection, interrogation, and expletive. In Yiddish usage it comes in second to “oy” and is equivalent to a sneer, a grunt, a grin, a frown, and can express anything from doubt, pride, disapproval, distrust, and scorn. The difference is in how it’s delivered, and yes, facial expressions count. Here are a few examples:
Acceptance: “OK, she’s not marrying a professional man. When we met you made zippers, nu?”
Aggravation: “Enough with the blinking, and twittzing! Get serious already, nu?!”
Anger: “So nu!? Why do you think it was me who drove the car in the lake?! There’s one other person in this house, nu??” (“OY”)
Boredom: “This speech she’s making about her trip to Israel? Nu, I could’ve walked their already!”
Cautious: “Nu, leave it to you to want to honeymoon near killer bugs? Nu, Niagara Falls isn’t good enough for you like normal people?”
Contentment: “Ai Ai Ai, Sarah darling, nu, this foot bath is such a mechaya. Maybe I’ll buy you one for Hanukkah.”
Defeat: “OK, she wants to join the circus. Irving, we did the best we could with her, nu?
Depressed: “Nu, I’ll just lie here in bed … until she leaves the circus and goes back to N.Y.U.”
Disapproval: “Crumbs under the couch and nu, you call this cleaning?”
Distress: “I must be allergic! NU, take me to Mt. Sinai already before I swell like a watermelon!”
Disturbed: “I need to hear your tsouris (sorrows)?! Nu, darling I’ve got my own. My daughter’s in a circus!”
The list of uses for “nu” is almost inexhaustible, but the take-home lessons are simple: Yes, God continues to promise the land of Israel to the Jews. Yes, Abraham is shocked but obedient. And yes, eventually, Sarah will become a mother at age ninety, Isaac will be the son of promise, and God will repeatedly demonstrate His faithfulness.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, You are the Promise Giver and the Promise Keeper. Please help us to trust You when we cannot see. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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