Chapter Seventeen
Sign of the Covenant
There was a thirteen-year period of silence between the end of chapter sixteen and the beginning of this chapter. We can only speculate what was going on during this Biblical narrative pause. We see that Abram was continuing to prosper financially, Ishmael becoming a man, the land was apparently at peace, and so far, no news regarding Sarai’s promised child.
Previously God gave Abram, several promises at four separate occasions (see Genesis 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:5-21), although God only used the term covenant once during these four instances (see Genesis 15:18), we now see that the term in this chapter will be used thirteen times. When reading the following text, note how God uses the adjectives associated with each one. Nine times God calls it “my covenant,” three times He refers to it as an “eternal covenant” and once as a covenant “between me and you.”
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.”
From a natural and worldly perspective, both Abram and Sarai would have been long beyond the age of having children. It was now 24 years later since God first promised Abram a child in Genesis 12:2. In this appearance, God referred to Himself as “Ēl Šǎd·dǎy”[1] (or “El Shaddai”), the Almighty God. Just as the name reveals, there is nothing impossible for Him, if God makes a promise, He is truly omnipotent and will always keep it, regardless of what the natural or worldly perspective might be. The covenant was already made between them, God was now ready to proceed. At this point Abram still considered Ishmael the son that God had promised.
God commanded Abram to walk before Him and be blameless (Hebrew word ‘ṯā·mîm’,[2] meaning without blemish), essentially saying that Abram should perfectly follow God (see KJV). While the requirement for salvation was, and still is, perfection (see Matthew 5:48), it is something mankind cannot obtain for themselves. That is why we all need help, someone who can meet all the requirements for us. There is only one that can help, His name is Jesus (see John 3:16-18). So, God was not asking Abram to be perfect, but as a representative for God, Abram was to follow Him and His ways without any blame. Just as Jesus commands us to follow Him (see Matthew 28:18-20).
17:3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
In response to seeing and hearing God after so many years, Abram fell prostrate before God in reverence. Once God reminded him of the covenant He had made with him, God revised Abram’s name; He changed it from Abram, meaning “exalted father” to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude.” Here, God not only promises Abraham that he will be the father of a single great nation (see Genesis 12:2), He uses the plural (Hebrew word ‘gô·yim’), referring to many nations. Even though it was previously implied that the covenant applied to Abraham’s offspring, God specifically emphasized “you and your offspring after you,” through all generations as an eternal covenant. Then God added that He will give them the land of Canaan (the land where Abraham had been living, see Genesis 13:17), as an everlasting possession. This would be God’s land given to Abraham and his offspring as an eternal possession, that means no one has the authority to give it away or exchange it for someplace else, a promise that cannot be broken. God then adds something else to the list, “I will be their God,” this being the final of seven “I will” statements found between verses one and seven (some English translations add one, making it eight). God desires to be their God; sounds simple enough, but when it comes to mankind accepting God, mankind following God and mankind loving God, mankind often fails.
17:9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
We need to understand that as an unconditional covenant, God was not requesting ongoing compliance to a command or regulation, He wanted them to acknowledge the covenant by having every male be circumcised. This was to be a visible sign of the covenant between Abraham, his offspring and God. Just as they were called to be a holy nation before God in a world of sin, circumcision was a surgical procedure to remove the foreskin, which was akin to man’s separation from the sins of the flesh.
Considerations
There are a number of key God-fearing people in the Bible that had their named changed by God. While this is certainly not some form of divine witness protection program, God is indeed changing the identity of these people. In the Bible, names are significant, we see that they often reflect the nature of the person, or at least have some connection to a personal characteristic. Why would God change some names and not others? This is unknown; however, we do know that those whose names were changed also had considerable growth and played significant roles in God’s plan.
In the Old Testament we see Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, and Jacob to Israel (see Genesis 32:28-32). In the New Testament one of Jesus’ disciples, Simon, had his name changed to Peter (see John 1:42). He went from constantly saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to one who spoke and taught eloquently. The persecutor of the church, Saul, was changed to Paul, becoming one of the greatest evangelists (see Acts 13:9; while the text does not identify his name was changed by God, there would have been an advantage in using a non-Jewish name to witness to the Gentiles).
God has several names and titles in the Bible, each reflecting an important attribute of Himself. In the book of Revelation, we read that Jesus will be called Faithful and True (see Revelation 19:11) and that He will also have a new name to reveal (see Revelation 3:12), these are not so much a name change as they disclose and bring to light God’s incredible attributes and character.
The major difference between the names Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah, is the Hebrew letter ‘hei’ (or ‘hey’), which is known as a “guttural letter,” since it is pronounced from the back of the throat. The use and meaning of the letter are the subject of much debate and is heavily influential to Hebrew mystics (especially in the use of gematria in Kabbalah mysticism). Many Jews and believers have embraced the letter and consider it to be special as well, primarily due to the fact that it occurs twice in the Tetragrammaton (name of God) and how it also represents the breath of God in Scripture (the Hebrew word ‘Spirit’ or ‘Breath’ is ‘Rǔªḥ’).[3] To them the name change is not necessarily mystical, but an acknowledgement that the difference between Abram and Sarai before the covenant and after the covenant was sealed, is the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The Promise of Isaac’s Birth
17:15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
God also gave Sarai a new name, changing from Sarai (the actual meaning is unknown), to Sarah, meaning “princess” or “woman of nobility.” Now for the first time in the text, God specifically includes Sarah in the covenant, to give rise to nations, calling her the mother of her own child and of kings, that would, of course, include the Messiah. As the mother of kings, it would be appropriate to call her ‘princess’. For Sarah that would include the tribes of Israel (later becoming the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Israel) and the nation of Edom.
At this time Sarah would have been 90 years old and, having been barren all her life, bearing a child would have seemed impossible. Abraham was so ecstatic at what he heard that he laughed with joy. We can see that it was not a laugh of doubt since God did not rebuke Abraham him as we will see later when Sarah laughs (see Genesis 18:13). To acknowledge Abraham’s response of joy, God names the child ‘Isaac’, which means “he laughs.” God said He would establish His covenant with Isaac, who will be born on the same day one year later. This is not a reference to a new covenant; God reiterates the same covenant between Abraham and Himself with Isaac (see Genesis 26:1-5).
Abraham was concerned for Ishmael as it seemed that this new information regarding the promise sounded like it would remove Ishmael completely out of favor, so he asked God to bless him as well. God clearly pointed out that His covenant was with Isaac alone and with his offspring. However, God did promise that Ishmael would father twelve sons of his own and he too would be a great nation. These twelve princes are identified later listed in the “generations of Ishmael” found in Genesis 25:12-16.
17:22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old 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 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Abraham did not waste any time in following God’s instructions. All males of his family and servants were circumcised the same day. This would have undoubtedly required several days for them to recover.
Considerations
While the concept of circumcision is more closely related to Judaism today, the procedure of circumcision was practiced long before God required it as a sign of His covenant to Abraham. Historians believe that the practice started either in ancient Sudan, Ethiopia, or Egypt. From there it was adopted by a wide range of cultures, including the Bantu, Australian Aborigines, Sumerians, Polynesians, Aztecs, and Mayan peoples.
Many of these cultures performed circumcision on adolescent males as a rite of passage from child to adult. Some used the process to identify slaves, while others, including the Egyptians considered it a mark of being elite. Even though circumcision is not mentioned in the Quran, the inclusion of Ishmael in this text undoubtedly influenced some Muslims to be circumcised. The New Testament makes it very clear that circumcision is not required for Christians (see Romans 2:28-29, 4:9-12; 1 Corinthians 7:19; Galatians 5:6, 6:12-15; Colossians 2:11-13 and Acts 15), even though John the Baptist (see Luke 1:59-60), Jesus (see Luke 2:21), Paul (see Philippians 3:5), and Timothy (see Acts 16:1-3) were all circumcised.
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] Strong’s Hebrew 410 and 7706.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 8549.
[3] See commentary under Genesis 1:2.