My Bible Blog Genesis 17

       In chapter 17, Abram is 99 years old. God tells him to “walk before Me and be blameless,” and establishes a covenant with him—that He would multiply him exceedingly. Abram didn’t say, Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it all before. No. Abram fell on his face before God, and never lost faith that God would carry through with His promises.

            God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning “father of many”.  He also promised him success and said that kings would come forth from him, and He extended that promise to Abraham’s descendants, to be their God and to give them all the land of Canaan as their everlasting possession. However, God also ordered him to keep His covenant, him and his generations to come. God required that every male among them should be circumcised, and every male baby should be circumcised at eight days old. Any male who was not circumcised would be cut off from His people. 

            As for Sarai, God changed her name to Sarah. He said He would bless her and give her a son, that she would be the mother of nations. Upon hearing this, Abraham fell down and laughed. After all, he was pushing 100, and Sarah was 90. I doubt that God found that amusing, but you never know. God does have a sense of humor. Just look at the giraffe! As for Ishmael, God promised to bless him and multiply him exceedingly, that he would become the father of 12 princes and a great nation, but His covenant was with Abraham’s descendants through Isaac, his son with Sarah, and not Ishmael.

            After God finished speaking with Abraham, Abraham took Ishmael and all of his male servants and circumcised them, just as he was told. He was 99 years old. Ishmael was 13. Abraham’s circumcision, especially at his age, proved his faith in God. God asked Abraham to do many difficult things in his life, things that most of us would not be able to do. Each time, Abraham’s faith was proven, and God rewarded him greatly. 

Obviously, Abraham was not a perfect man. He was not without sin, but God loved him and made him the father of many nations. Our God is good and loves us regardless of our sinful nature, and He uses even the least perfect of men to His glory.