April 12, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Genesis? Here’s today’s reading:
Genesis 17 (NIV)
The Covenant of Circumcision
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”……Continue Reading
So this childless couple receives new names from God. Abram goes from a name that means “father of many” to Abraham meaning “father of many nations” and Sarai to Sarah meaning “princess of a multitude”. This is another reminder from God about His promise to them as they in their earthly mind must just keep looking in the mirror thinking we aren’t getting any younger. This was a long awaited fulfillment of promise and required a great deal of faith and even perhaps a sense of humor at this point for Abraham!
We see his faithfulness as he follows God’s instruction to circumcise himself and his descendants. Another symbol in the cutting away of flesh to remind them that their trust should not be in man but God.
All these things must have been so difficult for them to do at this time as they were either things that were not common or just seemed too strange to the other people around them. Even to take names that seemed so unfitting for them, but he knew what we know,,,God can do ALL things but we need to trust and obey even when we don’t understand.
I love Genesis, chapter 16 verse 11 , I call it the conflict with Israel, I often get asked the question and have asked the question. How did the Middle East problem began? Genesis 16 , it appears to me the inception begin when Abram’s wife, involved herself with the plans that God and Abram had agreed-upon , the lesson here as I see it, we push OUR agenda rather than wait for God we end up with a mess wondering how we got to the crisis, – Hagar servant of Sarai, has Abram’s son, named Ishmael, “he will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone, I believe this is referring to all those in the Middle East except for Jewish people, as I understand it from the passage that’s all the conflict between the Jewish people that you estate, and everyone else that’s against them in the Middle East
Yes Steve.The fact that both can claim that they are sons of Abraham and therefore the recipients of the promise God gave to Abraham and His decedents.
Genesis 1-17
Genesis 17
“And Abram fell on his face…” suggests to me, that there is some kind of change in the man.
So much can be said about circumcision (hereafter, C) was a covenant made before the Law of Moses between him and God. I see a link, perhaps to Mark 9. C was a physical alteration and meant to demonstrate a covenant of righteousness under God. Of course, such can never change the heart, the will of a person.
In similar fashion, Jesus says if a part of your body causes you to sin, cut it off! Again, there is no way his advice will change the sinfulness within, and he knows it. Nor can baptism, if you care to consider it with C. But what is abundantly clear, is that one must be born again, of the Spirit. In other words, I conclude, Jesus is saying, stop thinking things cause you to sin, it is you! And the only way to stop sin, is to cut out your heart, will, and replace it it with a new heart. God’s covenant of C with Abram, perhaps, was the same principle. Everyone will know you’re C’d, but God’s interested in the “…C of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Just thinking out loud, -reb. BTW, since we are saved, born again, and have a new heart from God, why might we still have the sin that terrible besetting sin? How can that be?
It is because God chose to allow sin to be in us and yet destroyed its power. This was in order to keep us dependent on Him and His grace throughout our Christian lives, keeping our will and our relationship with Him engaged.
Genesis 17 and Mark 5-6.
Genesis 17
I’m realizing through this reading how much time passes while God continually reassures Abram (now Abraham) that he will be the father of a great nation before it actually starts to happen. This emphasizes to me all the more how Abraham has faith and how that’s accredited to him as righteousness.
May we be just as faithful in God fulfilling His promises to us.
Being 99 and still having such faith to believe God for a son with Sarai. Right away he accepts both name changes. He jokes about his age. God updates his covenant to include a father of many nations. He describes it as an everlasting covenant between God himself and now called Abraham and descendants for generations to come that he will be their God. He then explained circumcision for himself his sons and any male around him even men bought by money.8 days after birth this should be done. If someone chooses not to he will.be cut off from his people. God says again Sarah will bear you a child. Gives Abraham son name Isaac and repeats same covenant and assures Abraham he will bless Ishmael take care of him also.
Abraham carried out God’s wishes and all were circumcised. Like us Abraham needed to be reminded of a promise from God.
The Lord confirms to Abram what He has promised and tells him that both Abram and Sarai will have their names changed to Abraham and Sarah. The Lord has allowed them to grow older. If it wasn`t impossible already for them to have a child it most certainly is now. God is not leaving out any doubt that it is because of Him. They will be 100 years and 90 years old when their son would be born. They only need to trust Him. Showing their faithfulness to God every male was circumcised. In our weakness, God is magnified. 2 Cor. 12: 9a { —My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.} Or how about Gideon when he was allowed only to fight with 300 men against a very large army of the Midianites. Before this God told him that there were to many fight along side of Gideon so it was brought down to 300 men. Judges 7: 2, 7} Or how about Moses when he tried to save Israel in his own strength failed and ran away to the wilderness for 40 years. He had been trained as a son of a Pharoah with all that included. Including his speech and leadership. But the problem was that he had to be broken before God and come to have that relationship with God before he could actually be used by God to save the Israelites and bring them out of Egypt. Exodus 2: 11–15; Exodus 3:1 -4: 23. Isaiah 66: 2b { but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.} God bless you all.
”Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.“
Genesis 17:3-4 NKJV
So much to ponder in this chapter.
God appears to Abram/ham. How is this appearance? Is it Jesus? It is not a bright blinding light, throne room vision. Nonetheless Abram falls in his face.
This is a tender reassuring encounter. God talks with Abram and confirms His covenant.
It is interesting, when God first made the covenant Abram didn’t do anything, but believe. It’s seems that Sarai and Abram are getting panicky. So He gives them new names and something to do, circumcise all the men. He makes it much harder to forget His covenant.
What a watershed chapter this is: God establishing His covenant with Abraham. And what is typical of any covenant is demands and commitments are made from both parties. Imagine the God of creation, coming to man and making an agreement with him and putting Himself on the line for things He will do for Abram and his decedents. Priceless!!!! And although the only action point given to Abraham here is circumcision, that was given to seal the covenant, an affirmation that they are in, if you will. But the heart of Abraham’s responsibility is in verse 1, “walk before me faithfully and be blameless”. God must establish His work in us by His grace, but then desires and welcomes us to walk faithfully with Him to know the sheer wonder of all that that means. And how glorious and all encompassing God’s commitment is to Abram’s people. What history that remains of us. And a new covenant requires new names. It is a pretty significant way to establish, things are different for you now…you are redefined. (How much more significant the new covenant is). Then, in addition, if this covenant is established with Abraham and his descendants, God has to define where those descendants will come from, since Sarah is barren and they have already blown it once. It really is humorous that God uses this couple to bear a child. But this child will be miraculous to show God doesn’t need normal convention to accomplish His will…and there will be no doubt…this is the child of promise! It is typical that Abraham questions and asks, can’t this just be through conventional means? And it is a resounding, no. This child will be an expression of God’s will and power, not man’s will and orchestration. That is the nature of the way God makes covenants!
Genesis 17
In man’s weakness and inability, God’s glory is revealed. When God has a plan for us that is beyond our own capabilities, we can be sure that it is not in our own strength that we do his will – it is in the Lord’s. With this understanding, we can we move forward and carry out his purpose for our lives with faith in knowing that he will be with us all the way.