And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, 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 selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Genesis 17
Listening to God’s Revelation of Himself (vv. 1-2)
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, we read of Abraham that “after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promises” (Heb. 6:12-1512That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 13For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (Hebrews 6:12‑15)). The story of Hagar and Ishmael showed that under pressure he failed in patience. That story closed with the statement that “Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.” Now we read, “When Abram was ninety years old and vine, the Lord appeared to Abram.” For thirteen years he patiently endured. During these years there is no record of any communications to Abraham. God waited until all hope was gone that the blessing could be obtained by the efforts of the flesh.
Having experienced the futility of his own efforts to obtain the promised heir, and having been kept waiting until he was ninety-nine—thus realized his utter weakness—the Lord appeared to Abraham and revealed Himself as “the Almighty God.” This, as it has been pointed out, was a great advance on former communications. In chapter 15, we read that God revealed Himself to Abraham as his shield and exceeding great reward. There it was a revelation of what God was for Abraham; here it is a revelation of what God is in Himself.
Connected with this revelation, the Lord said to Abraham, “Walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” As we saw, Abraham’s way had not been altogether perfect. Though he was a man of true faith and patience, in the matter of turning aside to Egypt he had failed in faith; in the matter of Hagar, he had failed in patience. Now, having learned his weakness, he learned that God is Almighty. If God is Almighty, God’s purposes and promises would surely come to fruition, however impossible their fulfillment may appear to nature, and sight, and the flesh. Abraham only had to remember that God is Almighty and at once every difficulty would disappear, every obstacle would be surmounted, and in quiet faith and patience he would be enabled to wait for God to act in God’s own time. No longer did Abraham expect anything from nature. Everything depended on God from first to last. So God could say, “I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” We can say, “If God will”; who but the Almighty God can rightly say, “I will”?
Falling on His Face Before God (v. 3)
The effect of this fresh revelation on Abraham is striking. When the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision revealing what God was for Abraham, at once Abraham thought of himself, and, in happy confidence spoke to God, spreading out his needs, and stating his difficulties before God. When God personally visited Abraham, revealing who He was in Himself, Abraham fell on his face as a listener, and God spoke to him. He realized his own nothingness in the presence of God’s greatness, and at once took the lowly place on his face. The former communications led Abraham to think of himself and his need. This revelation led him to think of God, and formed in him a character that was consistent with the One that met his need: he walked before God.
How beautiful are these practical examples of the blessed intimacies between God and the believer! God so inspired Abraham with the confidence that He was for Him that Abraham could speak with God; then Abraham was brought into the lowly place before God so that God could speak with him.
In our present day we require, and have, these different revelations of God. We need to know all that God is for us in His grace and love; and such knowledge leads to sweet intimacy and communion with God by which we can pour out our needs concerning our difficulties and trials before Him. But we also have the revelation of all that God is in Himself as the Father. This revelation leads to a true sense of our nothingness before Him. At the same time, the heart delighting in its Object is formed into the likeness of the One upon whom we gaze. “We are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” Thus whether in Abraham’s day or in ours, the right appreciation of the revelation of all that the Lord is would lead to be like Him. In this sense, we should walk before the Lord and be perfect.
Receiving Communications From God (vv. 4-8)
We are permitted to hear the blessedness of these communications as God talks with Abraham. First, Abraham was told that the grace of God would flow out to the nations. If God is Almighty, He can overcome every barrier and bless the Gentiles.
Secondly, in connection with the revelation of God as the Almighty, Abraham’s name was changed from Abram to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude.” Thus God put honor upon His servant.
Thirdly, Abraham was told that he would be exceedingly fruitful. Not only through Abraham would nations be blessed, but through him there would be fruit for God on earth.
Fourthly, while the nations would be blessed, yet Abraham and his seed would be in the closest relationship with God. “I will establish My covenant,” said God, “between Me and thee and thy seed after thee.” And that covenant would be an everlasting covenant by which God covenanted to be the God of Abraham and his seed after him.
Fifthly, God not only made an everlasting covenant, but secured to Abraham and his seed, “an everlasting possession.”
Responsibility Towards God (vv. 9-13)
These, then, are some of the blessings of the everlasting covenant that God made with Abraham. The covenant presented God’s settled purpose to bless, for seven times in the course of this communication God said, “I will.” Abraham learned that God looks for an answer to His own grace in the believer’s life. Abraham was to walk before God and be perfect.
As Christians, we are not asked—even as Abraham was not asked—to walk well in order to obtain the blessing, but to walk in a way suited to God because we are blessed. To thus walk and be perfect before God calls for dependence on God and His almighty power. But this involves the entire refusal of the flesh. To this end circumcision was introduced, as a sign that the flesh is to be mortified if the walk is to be perfect before God. In chapter 15, death was brought in as the ground of justification; here the refusal of the flesh, by that which speaks of death to the flesh, is in order to enjoy holiness in our walk.
If God covenants to bless by His almighty power, there must on our side be no confidence in the flesh or allowance of its activity. For the believer today, circumcision is, “of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Rom. 2:2929But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:29)). The refusal of the flesh is not to be merely an outward neglecting of the body of which the world can take account. The refusal of the flesh in all its inward workings is needed. We must reject its self-confidence, self-righteousness, vanity and lusts as that which has been condemned in the cross (Col. 2:1111In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (Colossians 2:11)). There is also the solemn reminder that the allowance of the flesh in the believer will lead to governmental judgment, even to cutting off from God’s people.
Sarah was blessed with Abraham and was ennobled with a change of name. In the presence of these communications Abraham was filled with joy: for, doubtless, in this passage the laughter speaks of joy, not unbelief.
Pleading With God (vv. 18-21)
Abraham pled for Ishmael, and God heard his prayer. Nevertheless, twice over Abraham was reminded that the covenant was established in Abraham’s promised son who was to be called Isaac.
From Rom. 9:6-96Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 9For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. (Romans 9:6‑9), it would seem that Ishmael pictures the unbelieving mass of Israel. There we read, “They are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” The unbelieving mass of the nation are children of Abraham according to the flesh; but only the believing remnant are the true seed according to promise. Nevertheless, even the children according to the flesh would be great upon the earth.
Keeping the Covenant With God (vv. 22-27)
Having finished this great communication, God left off talking with Abraham. The same day Abraham entered into the good of the covenant through the rite of circumcision. He put into practice the word that he heard, and acted consistently with the revelation that God had made of Himself.
O endless joy! how shall my heart
Thy riches all unfold:
Or tell the grace that gave me part,
In bliss no tongue hath told?
Lord! Let me wait for Thee alone:
My life be only this
To serve Thee here on earth, unknown;
Then share Thy heavenly bliss.
Lord! be it soon! Thou know’st our heart,
In this sad world, no rest
Can find nor wish but where Thou art:
That rest itself possessed!
Soon shall we see Thee as Thou art:
O hope forever blessed!
Thou’lt call us, in our heavenly part
The Father’s house to rest.
O rest! ineffable, divine,
The rest of God above:
Where Thou forever shalt be mine;
My joy, eternal love!
His counsels, all fulfilled in Thee;
His work of love, complete:
And heavenly hosts shall rest, to see
Earth blest beneath Thy feet.
J. N. D.