"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.… On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him." Genesis 17:1-14, 23-27
We all have a name, usually a first and middle name that was given to us when we were born by our parents. Often times, our names have special significance. They could represent a continuation of family heritage (i.e. named after a father, mother, grandparent, etc). They could reflect our parent’s spiritual beliefs and traditions. And sometimes babies are named around the circumstances of their birth (i.e. there have been more than a few babies named Miracle). Names also had special significance in biblical times as well as we see in the scripture.
We are still examining the life of Abram and have studied how God made a special covenant with him as Abram strived to faithfully follow God’s plan for him. Indeed, this covenant is repeated and then evolves in Chapter 17 to include a requirement of circumcision, a visual sign that the Jewish people were covered by the covenant of God. God required that "every male among you shall be circumcised. You (Abram) are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.…On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him." It’s important to note that the New Testament addresses circumcision as Paul exhorts that it isn’t circumcision that makes one right with the Lord but an obedient heart led by the Holy Spirit, what Paul refers to as a circumcision of the heart. (Romans 2:17-29) Today, circumcision is still widely practiced. In the United States, roughly 65 percent of all male newborns are circumcised. So biblical traditions still carry on some 2,000 years later.
Let me get back to the concept of names because they are very important in the bible. Abram stood for "high father" and in Chapter 17, God changes his name to Abraham with means "father of many". We already know that Abram had fathered Ishmael with Hagar and God had promised to bless Ishmael although Ishmael would not be the one who would carry on Abram’s name. This honor would go to Isaac who we will be introduced to in the next devotion. But Ishmael would go on to be the originator of the Arab nation and the Muslim people. So Abraham is considered to be the father of both the Hebrew/Israelite nation and the Arab nation, all through his fatherhood of Ishmael and Isaac. Indeed, Abraham was the father of many.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment