Genesis 17
3 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. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 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 bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
Genesis 17 (NIV)
It’s been 13 years since the birth of Ishmael. God comes to Abram and makes a new covenant with him and changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah. Their new names reflect their new status, their new future, their new story.
Abraham is to circumcise every male in his household that is over 8 days old.
God also reminds Abraham about the promised heir, Isaac, and this time tells Abraham that in a year’s time (when Abraham will be 100 and Sarah 90), they will have the baby. The thought of him [an old man] and Sarah [his old, barren wife] having a child just makes Abraham laugh – it just sounded so impossible to Him… but not for God, He’s the Life-bringer.
Lessons from Genesis 17
- God’s expectation is that we walk faithfully and blameless before Him: God holds His children to very high standards because He is God Almighty, Holy God, Faithful God. He expects Christians to be reflections of Him [when people see you, they should see God]. Isn’t it amazing that God thinks so highly of you? Praise God, it is not impossible to live like that, Jesus did it and so can we. Rely on the Holy Spirit, say exactly what He says and do what He says to do.
- If you desire good fellowship with God and blessings in abundance, the way to do it is by being faithful and blameless.
- When you come to covenant with God, you receive a new name: Abram got the new name Abraham which means “father of many”. His new name was a better reflection of the man he had become through this covenant with God. When we come to Christ (being born again), we receive a new name – the name of Jesus – that reflects our new standing with God. We are now “Christ-ians”: members of the family of Christ. Our new name gives us power and authority to walk like Jesus, talk like Jesus, act like Jesus, win like Jesus, etc. Just like people here on earth recognize your affiliations with your family by your name, in the spirit realm everyone recognizes your affiliations to Jesus by your new name and it is not a matter to be played with.
- God’s covenant with Abraham was not just for then and there, it was for multiple generations to come. So, as you study and learn about the promises God made to Abraham for him and his offspring, write them down because they are yours to have as well. It’s like a person leaving his/her estate to different people in their will (or testament), even years after they die the beneficiaries of the will are entitled to lay claim on what was willed to them. It does happen though that at times, the beneficiaries are not aware of what has been willed to them and so they don’t take what is theirs. Could you even imagine being a multimillionaire and having no idea because you know nothing about the will? Similarly, when you study your Bible, make notes of what you are entitled to and take hold of it by Faith.
- Keeping the covenant: just like people add conditions to their wills, God added a condition to His promise to Abraham “you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for generations to come”.
- The covenant of circumcision: At that time, God commanded that Abraham and all the males in his household including his slaves and servants, must be circumcised, and that was going to serve as a sign of the covenant.
- What does this mean for us today: Abraham was before Jesus. At that time, the people did not have the same privileges we have today – bearing the name of Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, close personal fellowship with God, etc. so, they needed an outward sign to represent their affiliation (covenant) with God. Today however, for those of us who are Spirit-filled Christians, Christ is our sign.
- You are never too old for God to bless you: Abraham and Sarah were 99 and 89 respectively at this time when God gave them new names and a new future. Abraham even laughed because to him it sounded implausible, but to God all things are possible.
- Nothing is impossible for God: just because something is impossible for you and everyone you know doesn’t mean it is impossible for God. Whatever situation you are in, God can turn it around for your good and for His glory. Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
- There’s enough blessings to go around: Just because Isaac was The One with whom God wanted to establish His covenant, it didn’t mean Ishmael was getting nothing. God had spoken through the angel to Hagar about how He was going to bless Ishmael (Genesis 16: 10) and now again in Genesis 17:20 He reaffirmed the blessing on Ishmael when Abraham asked that the blessing that was meant for Isaac should go to Ishmael instead. So, when you see others being blessed, don’t feel jealous, envious or bitter, there’s more than enough blessings for everyone.
- Your obedience to God should not be delayed: Notice how Abraham, on that same day he got the word from God went and put it into practice. When God tells you to do something, apply some urgency to it. Delays usually result in doubt and forgetfulness, leading to disobedience. Imagine telling someone to bring you a cup of water and then after waiting for hours you find them watching TV or playing on their phone, how would you feel?
Reflection
- Are you a true reflection of Christ? Can people recognize Jesus when they look at you?
- How can you apply the lessons from today’s Bible study to your life?
Affirmation
- I have everything I need to live an amazing life that pleases God.
- I am an heir of Abraham and those things that God promised to Abraham are mine to have as well
Further reading
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV [Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.]
- Galatians 5:6 NIV [For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.]
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for giving me your name, giving me a new life and making me a new person. Forgive me of all sin, trespass and iniquity, for all the times I cast a reflection on you instead of being a reflection of you. I will live a godly life to honour you, by the Holy Spirit who is alive and at work in me. Your name be exalted forever in my life. Amen.
Community
Leave a comment to let us know what lessons you learned and revelations you got from this passage of scripture.
Share the message with others that they too may be blessed and edified.
God bless you!
