Genesis 17

        Thirteen years have passed since the birth of Ishmael. It’s been 24 years since God first made His new covenant with Abram, promising him a son. Abram is now 99, Sarai is 89. (v.17) Both are well past childbearing years, even in this time when many men and women still lived to be almost 200 years old.
 
        Verses 1: God appears once again to Abram, identifying Himself as “the Almighty God”, which in the original Hebrew is translated as “El Shaddai”. God tells Abram to walk before Him and “…be thou perfect.” That doesn’t mean that Abram shouldn’t sin ever again. What God is saying here is that Abram should walk upright and blameless before God. This is the same description given of Noah and Job. (Genesis 6:9, Job 1:1)
 
       Verses 2-8: God again reaffirms His convenient with Abram, telling him, “…thou shalt be the father of many nations.” (v.4) Notice the plural of that last word. Abram was indeed the father of more than one nation. Perhaps the only founding tenet that is true of the Islamic religion is that Abraham is, in fact, their forefather, the same correct claim made by the Jews. However, God selected the nation of Israel as His chosen people, not the Nation of Islam.
          And, just as He did in chapter 15, God gave Abram another sign of this covenant. But this time, in place of an animal sacrifice, God instead changed Abram’s name to Abraham. (v.5) In the original Hebrew, ‘Abram’ meant ‘exalted father’, according to Strong’s concordance and dictionary. ‘Abraham’ translates as ‘father of multitude’. God goes on to say that He will make Abraham exceedingly fruitful, that even kings would come out of his lineage, and that all his descendants would inherit the land in which Abraham and all his household currently dwelt. God even goes as far as using the phrase “everlasting possession” in verse 8.
       This is a prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled, even in our present day. Not until after the tribulation, when Jesus Christ returns as the conquering king and judge and establishes His millennial kingdom here on earth, will the nation of Israel finally and completely inherit the promised land in the Middle East and the city of Jerusalem as its capital.
 
      Verses 9-14: God then does something new. He commands Abraham to circumcise himself and all the males born in his house, both present and future progeny, as well as all the male servants and foreign slaves bought by him for his household. All sons who are at least eight days old must have the foreskin of their flesh cut off as a sign of this covenant between God and His chosen people. Any who refuse to do this would be cut off from God and His people. Doctrinal footnote in my study Bible: “Abraham’s part in the covenant-making process was circumcision, which God established as a sign of the covenant to indicate that his offspring were uniquely dedicated to God. (Exodus 4:24-26, Romans 4:11, Acts 7:8) A Hebrew who failed to observe this rite would be cut off from the covenant community. Circumcision was to serve as an outward sign of inward dedication to God. In itself, it was neither efficacious, nor unique to Israel.”
 
      Verses 15-16: God also changes Sarai’s name to Sarah. He promises Abraham that a son would be born of her womb, and that she, too, “…shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.” (v.16)
 
        Verses 17-19: Considering that Abraham’s father was 130 when Abraham was born; and also considering that God had, thus far, more than proven Himself to Abraham by first calling him out of his homeland and then bringing him and all his household safely into Canaan as well as blessing Abraham with great material wealth; and especially considering that Abraham had just fathered a child by Hagar, it seems odd – and more than a little disrespectful – that Abraham laughed at God’s pronouncement regarding Sarah. Perhaps he was thinking that Sarah was too far past childbearing age. Verse 18 indicates that this laughter was one of doubt, because he asks God to consider Ishmael as the promised male heir from which the nations and kings would come.
       But God rejected Abraham’s offer, and rather than get angry with Abraham for his doubt, patiently assured him that Sarah would, indeed, bear a son and that Abraham would call him ‘Isaac’, a name that means “He laughs”. The name would serve as a constant reminder to Abraham of God’s providence as well as his and Sarah’s reaction (Genesis 18:12) to the promised miracle. God also adds that He would establish this same everlasting covenant with Isaac and all of his descendants as well.
      God is the God of the impossible. Over and over again throughout human history, He has delighted in bringing about the impossible for His children, thereby proving His power, might, glory and infinite love. In order to get us to a place where we must depend solely on Him, He has to strip us of all our own might and ability. Sarah had been barren for her entire life, and Genesis 18:11 confirms that she was well past the childbearing years typical for women of this time. Until Isaac, no other child had been born of her womb. Perhaps God selected Abraham and Sarah as the parents of a new nation of chosen people for the very fact that Isaac’s birth was to be a genuine miracle from God himself. Abraham and Sarah would realize once and for all that God was the one, true God and that if He could accomplish something as wonderful and miraculous as opening Sarah’s womb, then He could do anything for His chosen people, and He would never fail them!
 
        Verses 20-21: God tells Abraham that He has not forgotten about Ishmael; that He will indeed bless Ishmael and that he, too, will be the father of a great nation. The 12 princes prophesied here are listed by name in Genesis 25:13-16 and 1 Chronicles 1:29-31. Among those names is Kedar, whose descendants are mentioned in Psalm 120:5, Song of Solomon 1:5, Isaiah 21:16-17, 42:11, 60:7, Jeremiah 2:10, 49:28 and Ezekiel 27:21. All of these mentions imply a nation of sheepherders that dwell in tents and are also enemies of Israel. (Isaiah 21:16-17) It was into the hands of the Ishmaelites who were headed to Egypt that Joseph was sold by his brothers. (Genesis 37:27) Furthermore, as is well known from human history, the descendants of Ishmael eventually settled and populated the region that is known today as Saudi Arabia, and from whom was also born the nation and religion of Islam. The Arabs and the Jews have been bitter enemies ever since the days of Ishmael and Isaac here in Genesis. Islam today is a false religion that preaches violence and destruction against Western Civilization and Christianity. God did indeed keep His promise to Abraham and Hagar, but He chose the descendants of Abraham and Sarah as His special people (v.21), called by His name, and whose history and genealogy has been carefully and accurately recorded in the pages of scripture for all time.
 
         Verses 22-27: Abraham does as God commands, circumcising himself, his son Ishmael, and then all the males of his household, whether they were born of his servants or purchased by Abraham as slaves of from other nations. (v.27)
 
        While the account of Abraham is a literal history and genealogy of the birth of the Hebrew nation, it is also an allegory of the New Testament Christian whom God calls to come out from the world, to accept Him as Lord and savior, and to begin a new journey from an old life of sin and pride to a new life of humility, service and redemption in God. The moment that we believe and we accept Jesus’ death on the cross as the payment for our sins, God – via the Holy Spirit that now dwells within us – performs a spiritual circumcision of our soul, separating it forever from the flesh of our old man. (Colossians 2:10-11) From that moment on, for the rest of our lives, our soul cannot be touched by sin, even though we may still commit sin because we are still living in the flesh. Just as He did with Abraham, God makes a covenant with every new believer, promising us that He will never leave us, nor forsake us, and that one day we will be called home to our promised land of heaven when this life is over. In the meantime, we – like Abraham – are strangers in a strange land, sojourners who are just passing through, serving God and witnessing for Him as we go along our way.
           God has a unique plan and purpose for every single one of His children. At the moment of salvation we are given new life and new purpose, and the journey of discovering God’s calling for us, while we also undergo a lifetime of constant, gradual sanctification and spiritual growth in Him, is an adventure like no other in this present world. God will bless us just as He blessed and cared for Abraham, even when we sometimes go astray in disobedience to His will, or we doubt His promises that seem impossible to us.
          In the story of Abraham, we find a God who is loving, patient, kind, faithful, longsuffering and merciful. He is also a just and righteous judge, punishing pride, rebellion and wickedness while preserving His own children, even the ones who have fallen away from Him back into sin. (Genesis 19) The entire Bible is, at its core, a story of an omniscient, omnipotent God who loved His creation so much that He called out from them a chosen people from whom His son, Jesus, was born so that He could die for our sins, rise from the dead, and thus give all of humanity – past, present and future – a way of eternal salvation.
         The story of Abraham here in Genesis is the foreshadowing and the archetype of the story of all of us throughout human history – and all who are still yet to be born – who are saved by grace and made heirs of eternal life with God!