And if that was not enough, God reminded Abraham of His
promise that the land that he had first traveled to as an alien and had lived
as a foreigner would become his and his descendants very own possession.
Abraham and his descendants would become God’s chosen people and God’s very own
possession. Today we will see that, after reminding Abraham of His promise and
His end of the agreement, the Lord explains to Abraham how he was to respond to
His promises, beginning in Genesis 17:9:
God said further to Abraham, "Now as for
you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout
their generations. "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me
and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be
circumcised. "And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin,
and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. "And every
male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your
generations, a servant who is
born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of
your descendants. "A servant who
is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be
circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant. "But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh
of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My
covenant."
Here we see the Lord explain to Abraham his
responsibilities when it came to fulfilling his end of the agreement. First, in
verse nine, God commands Abraham that he and his descendants were to keep and
observe the covenant agreement. Then in verse 10, God explains what their
responsibilities were when it came to keeping their end of the agreement: every
male among you shall be circumcised. "And you shall be circumcised in the
flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and
you.”
And it is here where we discover what circumcision is and
its significance for the Jewish people. Circumcision is a surgical procedure
that involves removing the foreskin from the male genitals with a surgical
knife, or in this case, a knife made of stone. The reason that circumcision was
so significant was that circumcision was a covenant sign that identified the
Jewish people as being God’s people. Circumcision was an outward sign was done
in order to demonstrate an inward commitment and relationship to God.
So circumcision was not about performing for God in order
to be right with God. Instead Abraham was to be circumcised in order to
proclaim his trust in God as a promise maker and a promise keeper. God required
that Abraham and all of his male family members and slaves undergo circumcision
as a sign of their commitment to trust and follow the Lord. In the future, God
commanded that every male child was to be circumcised on the 8th day
after their birth.
For the person who refused to be circumcised, however,
the Lord explains that that person shall be cut off from his people. Here we
see the Lord use a play on words to reveal the reality that for any of
Abraham’s male slaves or relatives who refused to be circumcised, they would be
exposed to the divine punishment of an untimely death. They would be exposed to
untimely death because they would have nullified the agreement that God had
made with them.
Now a question that I have been asked about circumcision
is “Well what about women? Women could not get circumcised, so why was there
not some sign that women had to do in order to identify themselves as being
committed to a relationship with God? The reason why women were not required to
be circumcised was because in God’s design for marriage relationships, men were
to lovingly lead, protect, and provide for women in all aspects of their lives,
including their worship and relationship with God. And as a result of God’s
design for marriage as being a one flesh relationship, since the two have
become one flesh there is only need for an outward sign on one. And as the Lord
continues His conversation with Abraham, we see the focus of the conversation
shift to Sarai in verse 15:
Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai
your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. "I will bless her, and indeed I will
give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples
will come from her."
So that Abraham would never forget God’s promise and
God’s agreement with him, the Lord also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, which
means princess. As Abraham and Sarah lived a life of faithfulness and integrity
in relationship with God, the result would be the birth of a son and the
beginning of a family tree that reached across continents and centuries. And
from the family tree of Abraham and Sarah there would arise nations and rulers
of nations. We see Abraham’s response to God’s promises in verse 17:
Then Abraham
fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born
to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to
God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before You!"
Abraham fell on his face in astonished amazement. Abraham
laughed because he viewed it to be incredible to even consider the possibility
that he and Sarah could have a son. Abraham laughed because he assumed that his
descendants would come through Ishmael, who, as we discovered last week, was
the result of their lack of patience in God’s promises.
In the back of his mind, there was a part of Abraham that
believed that his plans would trump God’s promises. And because of that,
Abraham asked God “what about Ishmael? Can’t your promises be fulfilled through
Ishmael?” We see God’s response in verse 19:
But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife
will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My
covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
"As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make
him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of
twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. "But My covenant I
will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year."
The Lord responds to Abraham’s astonished amazement by
reinforcing His promises and rebuking Abraham’s plans. The Lord basically says
to Abraham, “no, you and Sarah are going to have a son. And since you think
that the possibility of having a son is so funny, you will name your son Isaac,
which means laughter. And while you are laughing now, your future son will not
only remind you of your laughter; your future son will be thon one which I will
establish my agreement and my promises with for all of eternity. As for
Ishmael, the child of your lack of patience in my promises, I will respond to
your prayer and grant your request. From Ishmael will arise many descendants
and a great nation. But make no mistake; my promises and my agreement are not
with Ishmael. Instead my promise and agreement is with the son I have promised,
which Sarah will give birth to next year and whom you will name Isaac”. We see Abraham’s response to the Lord’s
rebuke and reinforcement of His promise in verse 22:
When He finished talking with him, God went up
from Abraham. Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were born in his
house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of
Abraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very
same day, as God had said to him. Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he
was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen
years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the very
same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. All the men of his
household, who were born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner,
were circumcised with him.
As the Lord departed from
Abraham and went back to Heaven, Abraham responded by faithfully following
God’s command. However, a short time later, Abraham and Sarah would have
another encounter and conversation with the Lord.
Friday, we will take a look at
that conversation and discover another timeless truth…
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