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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make 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 now reside as a foreigner, 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 very 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
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
We all have a name, usually a first and middle name that was given to us by our parents when we were born. Often times, those names have special significance like a continuation of family heritage (i.e. named after a father, mother, grandparent, etc), a parent’s spiritual beliefs and traditions (i.e. Faith, Hope, Jesus, Paul, to name a few), or circumstances surrounding the birth (i.e. there have been more than a few babies named Miracle).
As we see in today’s message from Genesis, chapter 17, names also had special significance in biblical times. Look again at these verses:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make 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 now reside as a foreigner, 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 very day. And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him. Vv.1-14, 23-27
As this chapter opens, we find that Abram had reached “ninety-nine years” and in his old age, we read where the Lord appeared to him, saying:
“I am God Almighty; walk before Me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make My covenant between Me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
In response to these words from his God, the scriptures tell us that “Abram fell facedown” before Him which led to God adding more:
“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 now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
Here, we find a special name change happening, not at birth, but rather as Abram was nearing the century mark. God was the instigator of this change and when we look at the instances of this happening in the Bible, it is centered on a change in identity (think Saul becoming Paul, for example).
Abram meant “high father” but God had higher aspirations for him. And so, in alignment with the covenant, the Lord changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which meant “father of a multitude”. And indeed, Abraham went on to be the father of the Israelite nation as his family tree grew from generation to generation, soon to inhabit and possess the land he was living in as a foreigner.
We also see in today’s passage that Lord’s plan evolves to include the requirement of circumcision, a visual sign that the Jewish people were covered by the covenant of God. Here’s what the Lord commanded:
“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.”
After God issued His order, we read where “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”. We know Abraham was 99 but learn that “Ishmael was thirteen” as they were “circumcised on that same day”. Additionally, “every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised” with them.
Now, it’s important to note that the New Testament addresses circumcision, but under the context of the new covenant established by God sending His Son Jesus to be the Savior of the world. The important change was that circumcision was not a requirement for a person to gain salvation. All they needed to do is simply believe in Jesus to receive that (John 3:16). And so we find the Apostle Paul making it clear that it wasn’t the physical circumcision of the body that made one right with the Lord but rather a spiritual circumcision of the heart. Look at his words from the second chapter of Romans:
Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. Vv.25-29
Of interest, circumcision is still widely practiced today as roughly 65 percent of all male newborns are circumcised in the United States alone. As in many other instances, we find biblical traditions still carrying on some 2,000 years later.
Before I finish, let me get back to biblical names again with a look into the future. For we know that Abraham had fathered Ishmael through Hagar and God promised to bless this first son even though he would not be the one who would have the privilege to carry forth Abraham’s name. That privilege would go to the son which would be born to Abraham and Sarah, a son they would name Isaac.
So while Ishmael would go on to be the progenitor of the Arab nation and the Muslim people, Isaac would carry on Abraham’s name as a key member of the Hebrew/Israelite nation. Indeed, Abraham would live up to his name and become a father of a multitude.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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