The last verse of Chapter 16 tells us that Abram was 86 years
old when Ishmael was born to him.
In the very next verse, that is Genesis 17:1, we find
that Abram had reached the ripe old age of 99.
So as far as scripture is concerned, 13 years have
passed in silence.
Apparently during that time nothing worthy of note had
happened in Abram's life.
Abram and Sarai had run ahead of God in an attempt to
speed up His plan.
However, instead of furthering His promise, they had brought
discord into their home, and put God's blessings on hold for 13 long years.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When God finally broke the silence, He immediately
gathered up the various threads of His promises and re-established them in
Abram's life.
Genesis 17:1 "And
when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said
unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."
No doubt life had gone on in the usual way since the
birth of Ishmael.
And perhaps, in the humdrum of daily living, Abram had more
or less lost the vision.
So when "the
LORD appeared to Abram," His opening remarks included the command "walk before me.”
Unless Abram would walk by faith, no progress could be
made.
Thirteen uneventful years would simply stretch into fourteen
uneventful years.
Yes, Abram needed to "walk before" God, for he had too many promises just waiting to
be fulfilled to be content with life as usual.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And this admonition to Abram should also strike a chord
in our own lives.
Do our hopes and expectations for the future rest upon
man and things, or upon God?
Oh yes, material things are important.
We need our jobs, or we need our pension cheques.
We do have physical needs.
But the question remains, are we relying upon God, or
the economy?
And we also need to ask the question, Who is the object of our lives?
What motivates us
as we begin each new day?
Do we live to
serve God, or are we simply chasing rainbows?
God commands us, as He commended Abram, to--"walk before me."
Yes, we need to say with the Psalmist--"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my
expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my
defence; I shall not be moved" Psalm 62:5-6.
Now we already know that nothing can be added to Christ’s
salvation.
"For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
So in like manner, we need to lean upon Christ and upon
Christ alone for our daily needs.
This is a very important principle, for God will not
share His glory with another.
Although He might use many natural means to meet our
needs, in the final analysis, we must rely completely upon Him.
And, actually, I cannot think of a better foundation.
When unerring wisdom, omnipotent power, and infinite
love combine, the trusting heart has every reason to enjoy unruffled repose.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Well, let's get back to Abram.
Genesis 17:1-4 "And when Abram was ninety years old and
nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God;
walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee,
and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with
him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and
thou shalt be a father of many nations."
The time was nearly at hand for the promised son to be
born, so Abram was once again called upon to exercise complete faith in God.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As we noticed in last week's lesson, three distinct
names for God are used in these verses.
In V 1, we find the name "LORD," which, when it appears all in caps, is His name Jehovah.
Again in V 1 we see the name "the Almighty God," or El Shaddai.
It is the name that primarily sets God forth as the strengthener
and satisfier of His people.
And finally in V 3, we see the name "God" or Elohim.
This is the first name for deity found in scripture, and
appears in Genesis 1:1 "In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
So no doubt this threefold reference to God's name indicates
that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all present to reinstate
God's promises in this one great statement, known as the Abrahamic Covenant.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Even though all of God's promises were still the same, for
indeed His promises never change, we now notice that there were some new
aspects to this covenant.
First of all, Abram received a new name in confirmation of God's promise.
V 4-6 "As for me, behold, my covenant is with
thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram,
but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I
will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee."
God's promise still remained in the future, so He said,
"and thou shalt be a father of many
nations.”
However, the determination of this promise had already been
settled in heaven.
And that is why God said, "a father of many nations have I made thee."
This is always the way with God's promises.
When God says He will do something, it is as good as
done!
And in a way, Abram’s very existence was a testimony to
God’s faithfulness.
Yes, even though he had been childless most of his life,
he bore the name Abram, which means high
father.
And you know that might have been a bit of an
embarrassment for him, especially as time went on, and he remained childless.
And now, at the grand old age of 99, God gave him a new
name.
He called him Abraham, which means, "father of many
nations."
Under the circumstances, his first name would seem a
little odd, but to be called "a
father of many nations" when he had but one son, and he was not even
the son promise, would be the ultimate test of his faith.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V 7-8 "And I
will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their
generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed
after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the
land
of
Canaan
,
for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
The stability of this covenant rested solely upon God's
shoulders--"And I will establish my
covenant."
As a consequence, it was a covenant that could not fail,
and absolutely would not end, for God also clearly said it was "an everlasting covenant."
Under its terms,
Israel
inherited "all the
land
of
Canaan
, for an everlasting possession."
According to this covenant,
Israel
was to become a nation. They were to be God’s chosen people, and they
were the heirs of the Promised Land.
Yes, this covenant is exclusively Jewish, and it has no
direct application to the Church of Jesus Christ.
And even though
Israel
has grievously erred in the
past, their failure does not alter the covenant promises--postpone them, yes,
but not alter--for it is "an
everlasting covenant.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V 9-14 "And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep
my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep,
between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be
circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your
foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be
circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in
the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is
bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in
your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of
his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he
hath broken my covenant."
We have just emphasized the point that the Abrahamic Covenant
is unconditional, and cannot be altered.
God said, "I
will establish my covenant," and He has.
But now we see the words in V9-10, "Thou shalt
keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep,
between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be
circumcised."
Does this throw the responsibility for the success of
the Abrahamic Covenant back onto human resources?
If that were true, then God's words, "I will establish my covenant," would
be meaningless.
But we need not be concerned, for V 11 clearly tells us that
circumcision was not the basis upon which the Abrahamic Covenant rested, but
was only "a token of the covenant
betwixt me and you.”
It was only a sign, a seal, which indicated that the
circumcised individual was included in the covenant.
Yes, the Abrahamic Covenant rests exclusively upon God's
faithfulness, and absolutely guarantees
Israel
’s benefits.
However, the individual who neglects or rejects the seal
will be excluded from that nation and from the benefits ascribed to it.
V 14 "And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh
of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people;
he hath broken my covenant."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So Abraham immediately recognized that circumcision was
essential, and obeyed God’s command without question.
V 23-27 "And
Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that
were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and
circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said
unto him.
24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when
he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when
he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and
Ishmael his son.
27 And all the men of his house, born in the house,
and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At the risk of interrupting our lesson on Abraham and
the book of Genesis, I would like to spend some time on the study of this whole
subject of circumcision.
As we have just realized, the right of circumcision is
very important to the nation of
Israel
.
So, in view of its importance to
Israel
, it is hard
to fathom how often it was neglected both by individuals and even the whole
nation.
Now, we might have forgiven Moses for neglecting the
circumcision of his children.
After all, he had been brought up in the culture of
Egypt
, and he had
married a Gentile wife.
But God did not forgive him, and finally stopped him dead in his tracks on his way back to
liberate
Israel
.
Also, when the children of
Israel
were leaving
Egypt
,
God had to insist that the entire nation, including their servants, be
circumcised before they could observe the Passover.
Again, during the 40 years of wandering in the
wilderness, the children of
Israel
carelessly neglected the circumcision of their children.
Finally, God had to insist that Joshua correct their
neglect as soon as the people entered the Promised Land.
Joshua 5:4-5 "And
this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of
Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the
way, after they came out of Egypt.
5 Now all the people that came out were
circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as
they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised."
Yes, even though they were so careless at times, God always
insisted that circumcision was a required ordinance.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So under these circumstances, it was not surprising to
find Judaizing legalists in the early church zealously teaching that circumcision
was a requirement for salvation.
This, of course, was a false doctrine, and one that
added to the finished work of Christ.
As a result, in Galatians 5:1-6, we find Paul writing to
the Christians and exhorting them to---"Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be
circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is
circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever
of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of
righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth
any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yes, circumcision has no value whatsoever in the Church of
Jesus Christ.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
However, in spite of that fact, circumcision does have a
symbolic value for the Christian.
For us, it pictures the putting away of the sins of the
flesh.
Paul pointed this out in Colossians 2:6-13-- "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the
faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy
and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ.
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of
all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are
risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him
from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses."
So the bottom-line is this. The Christian must add nothing to Christ’s finished
work of salvation--"ye are complete
in him.”
However, as far as our daily walk is concerned, we
should put "off the body of the
sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ" and count ourselves to
be risen with Him "in newness of
life."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Returning now to Genesis 17, we find Abram lying prostrate
on the ground, listening to God's promises.
V 15-18 "And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy
wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also
of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of
people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed,
and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years
old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might
live before thee!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V 15 " And
God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name
Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be."
In all of God's promises to Abraham, this was the first
time that He specifically said that Sarah would be "a mother of nations.”
Previously there was no need to mention this, for God always
intended that Sarah would be Abraham’s only wife.
But now He specifically includes in His promise to
Abraham the fact that Sarah would be the mother of this promise.
There were to be no more Hagars.
No, there would be no more loopholes for a lack of
faith.
So Sarai would now be Sarah, which means princess, for
God said "kings of people shall be
of her."
Her old name Sarai meant my princess, and certainly that beautiful lady had always been
Abraham's princess.
But now, having personally received God's promise, she
became a princess in her own right.
Yes, after 13 years of silence, God gave them a new
beginning, and with that new beginning, a new name.
Abraham was to be "a father of many nations," and Sarah was to be the princess, for
God said, I "will bless her, and
she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V 17 "Then
Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child
be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety
years old, bear?"
At this point, it is very easy to get the wrong idea.
In fact, I was originally of the opinion that Abraham had
laughed at God's promises in unbelief, but now I find this was not the case.
Certainly, in a later chapter, we do find Sarah laughing
at the seeming impossibility of God's promise, and even though she did it
quietly, she was rebuked for her actions.
But here the situation was quite different.
As we know, there are many kinds of laughter.
There is the full-bodied laughter which comes when
something really strikes us funny.
Then there is that hideous cackle of evil laughter,
which delights in the misfortune or misdeeds of others.
But Abraham’s laughter was completely different from either
of these.
You might call his laughter the laughter of faith.
Yes, Abraham laughed out of sheer joy!
He laughed at the glorious impossibility of a child
being born to one that was 100 years old, and to one whose wife was 90 years
old!
How his neighbours would gasp in unbelief!
What a wonderful event it would be!
It just filled him with joy to contemplate such a thing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
But how do we really know that Abraham's laughter was
the laughter of faith, and not like the unbelieving laughter of his wife?
Well, we need only look at God's reaction to Abraham's
outburst, for certainly He would know his heart.
Abraham laughed, but God did not rebuke him.
Also, Romans 4 tells us what Abraham's inner thoughts
were when he laughed.
Romans 4:19-20 "And being not weak in faith, he
considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old,
neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
20 He staggered not at
the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to
God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had
promised, he was able also to perform."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Think of the situation.
For 13 long years, there had been no revelation from God.
For 13 years, he had livef with the fruits of his own
impatience.
Would God forgive and forget?
Would God ever personally speak to him again?
No doubt these were the thoughts plaguing his mind.
So, when God appeared to him and renewed His promise of
a son, the dear old man could not contain himself any longer. zhe just laughed
for joy@
In fact, Abraham so rejoiced in spirit that God called
his son "Isaac," which
means laughter.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V 18 "And
Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!"
Here again we might get the wrong idea.
Was Abraham still hanging on to his old plan of obtaining
God's promises through natural means?
I don't think so.
After 13 years of living with the sad results of his own
schemes, I don't think he was about to interfere with God's plans again.
No, Abraham had something entirely different in mind.
Naturally, as a parent, he was concerned when God's
plans seemed to be completely bypassing his son Ishmael.
So his father's heart makes the plea, "O that Ishmael might live before
thee!"
And this was the proper attitude, for it is always the
duty of parents to pray for their children.
Yes, it should be the desire of all godly parents that
their children would walk before God in righteousness.
And in so far as it was possible, for after all, Ishmael
was not the son of promise, God answered Abraham's prayer.
V 19-22 "And
God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his
name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting
covenant, and with his seed after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I
have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac,
which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went
up from Abraham."
Yes, God would be good to Ishmael for Abraham's sake,
but there was a limit to what He would do for him.
God's covenant blessings could only come through Sarah's
son. It was an unalterable decree--"my covenant will I establish with Isaac."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For the most part, God had put His servant back on
track.
Abraham and Sarah were given new names, and so far as
was possible, they were given a new beginning.
I have to say so far
as was possible, for even with all their new beginnings, the fruits of
their unbelief would remain to trouble them and their descendants after them.
Yes, in spite of God’s wonderful plan for their lives, from
this point on, joy must be mixed with sorrow.
