Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (18.4)
The Book of Genesis
Genesis Chapter 17 - Read this Bible passage
once through before referring to the notes below.
Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
v.1 After Ishmael’s birth, God was silent for 13 more years.
The LORD appeared to Abram as “the Almighty God”.
This is a significant introduction because what God is going to tell Abram will stretch the realm of his natural
knowledge and experience to the limit and beyond!
God commanded Abram: “Walk before Me and be thou perfect”.
To “walk before” God is “to
live and move openly” before God in the way that will please Him.
It means that Abram is to place himself under the exclusive supervision, guidance and protection of the LORD.
The picture is that of a shepherd who walks behind his sheep directing it by his calls.In practical Christian living, “walk before
Me” does not refer to moral conduct (i.e. whether
one can do right or wrong) as that is already understood. It means that when questions
arise (i.e. of the various morally acceptable choices, which is the option), the believer will take directions only from God and be unconditionally devoted to Him.God wants Abram to be completely obedient to Him without reservation or fault (“perfect”).
v.2-3 When Abram heard that God would greatly increase
his descendants, he responded with deep respect and submission (“fell on his face”).
v.3-5 The words “As
for me” reflects God’s part in the covenant-making procedure – God’s blessing and promise
are unconditional, depending not on the genius or capabilities of Abram but on the faithfulness of God.With the repetition of the covenantal promise, the LORD gave Abram a personal sign
by changing his name from Abram,
“exalted father,” to Abraham, “father of a multitude”.
Hence, the new name “Abraham” was to be a continual
reminder of the promise that the patriarch would be “the father of a multitude”. The descendants of Abraham who belong
to this covenant will owe their existence to God alone – “a father of many nations have
I made thee.” They will be “born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (Jn. 1:13 cf. Ro. 3:11-18).
v.6-8 The words “And
I will make thee exceedingly fruitful” recalls the original blessing of all mankind given
to Adam and Eve in 1:28 (cf. also 9:1) demonstrating the covenant with Abraham will be the means through which
God's original blessing would again be channeled to all mankind. A new element was added in this promise
of blessings to Abraham, “and kings shall come out of thee”. This anticipated does
not only the subsequent history of Abraham's descendants (cf. the books of Samuel, King and Chronicles).
But, more importantly, it provides a link between the general promise of blessing through the seed of Abraham and
the later focus of that blessing on the royal house of Judah (cf. Gen. 49:8-12; Num.
24:7-9).
The change in name to publish all these promises is yet another test of faith for Abraham. There has been
a long delay of 24 years since he first received the call of God (12:4).After having received a string of promises concerning a multitude
of descendants, the reality, at that moment, is that Abram had not a single child by his own wife. Now, Abram would not only have the promises of God to tell but his very
own name is intended to declare him as “the father of
a multitude” while his wife remained barren in womb. One could perhaps imagine
the hardly suppressed smiles on the bemused faces of his men when he commanded them to call him “Abraham”. But then, isn’t “faith the…evidence
of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1)?
v.9-14 The LORD instructed Abraham to circumcise all
who shared faith in the promise as a sign of this Abrahamic covenant. The sign of circumcision was a means
of identification and a reminder to the seed of Abraham to live in loyalty to the covenant God made with Abraham.
The rite of circumcision was appropriate to the nature of the covenant – it symbolically enjoined faith with the
act of reproduction. The nation of Israel would remember that human powers alone was unable to generate the
promised descendants (and eventually the Promised Seed – the Messiah) if God was not willing to grant such fruitfulness.In other words, the very origin and existence of Israel as a people was a supernatural
act of God in behalf of His people. The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ is another.
All external signs face the danger of becoming an empty ritual if it is not “mixed with
faith” (Heb. 4:2) on the part of the individuals participating in it. The external and physical rite of circumcision
merely identified Abraham’s natural descendants with him physically and externally. To be identified with
the spiritual seed of Abraham required a circumcision of the heart internally (i.e. of faith and devotion to the
LORD). In both the Old and New Testaments, the true seal of fellowship with the LORD would be circumcision
of the heart (cf. Deut. 30:6; Ro. 2:28-29; 9:6-8). The lesson behind the physical rite was that one must
live by faith in the LORD and His promises.
v.15-18 God also changed Sarai’s (“my princess”) name to “Sarah” (“a princess”). The reason for
the change is not explained but perhaps it was intended to mark a new beginning for her. The LORD promised
to bless Sarah with a son, whose offsprings would make her the mother of nations and kings.
v.17-18 The thought of Sarah having children, let alone
nations and kings, prompted Abraham to laugh. Was his laughter an expression of joy or doubt? Abraham’s
attempt to steer God toward a more realistic path of directing His promises towards Ishmael suggests it to be more
likely a laughter of momentary disbelief. However, Abraham’s laughter can represent doubt without being a
mocking laugh and without ruining his general attitude of faith. Confronted with the marvelous promises of
God, Abraham, who had falsely pinned his hopes on Ishmael, faced one of the struggles of faith experienced by godly
men when their realm of knowledge and experience is stretched beyond its existing limits. The absence of a rebuke
of Abraham's laughter indicates that his laughter does not so much reflect a total lack of faith as it does a limitation
of his faith in what God must do to fulfill His promise.
Abraham is not depicted here as one whose faith in God has reached full maturity; rather he is one whose faith
must still be pushed beyond its present limits. He has to continue to put his trust in God's promise, even though
the details of how they will be fulfilled stretches the limits of his imagination, if his faith is to grow. The
irony can be seen in the fact that “Abraham” was laughing at
the very thing that his new name was intended to mark – “a father of many nations”.
v.19-22 In response, the LORD named the heir of promise
– Isaac (a derivation from the verb, “And he laughed”). This name was to be a reminder of Abraham’s laughter,
which brought belief and unbelief close. God has promised to act and He continues to do so along His majestic
way beyond Abraham’s laughter and doubt – He specified heir to be the future son of Sarah, which she will bear
in a year’s time.As for Ishmael, the LORD promised to make him “a great nation”. God thus granted His blessing to other tribes as
well; He did not restrict His blessings to the covenant people of Israel (cf. Matt. 5:45; Ac. 14:17).
v.23-27 In obedience, Abraham circumcised all male members
of his household “as God had said unto him”. This
final remark about Abraham's obedience carries the reader back to the beginning of the narrative where the injunction
was given: “Walk before me and be thou perfect” (v.1).
This picture of an obedient Abraham is recalls the picture of Noah who also “walked with God” and was “perfect” (6:9). Undoubtedly, Abraham’s faith, after a momentary shock of disbelief, prompted
his compliance to the sure Word from God.