It had been 13 years since Abram had heard from God. Abram knew he had messed up. He was probably saying, “Will God forgive me? Has He forgotten me or His covenant?”. But he was wrong, God didn’t forget anything. God appeared to Abram when he was 99 years old. This was another appearance of God in the person of Jesus. “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.” – Gen 17:1-2. Abram was so overjoyed to hear from God that he fell facedown before Him. What a moment of grace! He truly sensed God’s presence and a profound reverence.
When Abram fell on his face, he showed the attitude of his heart. Throughout the Bible we see falling before God and kneeling when praying. Paul, Daniel, John and even Jesus knelt when praying. The body’s posture can influence the mind.
What did God mean when He said to be blameless? Blameless doesn’t mean that you will never sin. It means that you will walk with God and follow His ways rather than the ways of the world. It means that you trust God completely and you will try living a life that pleases God. Then when you do slip up and sin, you will repent and be refreshed in the Lord.
Do you think God will consider you blameless?
Principle: God wants our total commitment.
This covenant is still in place today. God doesn’t go back on His Word. God gave them a new beginning by giving them new names. Abram’s name became Abraham and Sarai’s name became Sarah.
Why was their names changed? I had to consult commentaries to find out. Abram means “exalted father”. A father has children, but he had no children. So his name was changed to Abraham meaning “father of a many”, because he would have sons and become the father of nations. Sarai means “princess”, but since she will be the mother of nations, God changed her name to “Sarah” which means “princess of many”.
The confirmed covenant was: God will make Abraham very fruitful; Abraham will be the father of many nations; God will make nations of him and kings will come to him; God will make an everlasting covenant with him and his descendants; God will be his God and the God of his descendant; God will give Abraham and his descendants the whole land of Canaan forever.
God told Abraham that he and his descendants must keep His covenant. He told Abraham to circumcise every male and that any uncircumcised male would not be part of the covenant. God also told Abraham that Sarah would have a son and to call him Isaac. God would also bless Ishmael (Abraham’s son with Hagar) and make him fruitful as well as Isaac. Abraham obeyed God.
Abram was righteous before he was circumcised. Circumcision was just a reminder and a physical sign that set apart Abraham and his descendants from those who did not know God. Circumcision is also a spiritual sign that sin is not a part of our lives and enables us to live a life of purity.
“The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” – Deu. 30:6.
“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly. Nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.” – Rom. 30:28-29.
Jews through the centuries began to trust more in the sign of the covenant (circumcision) than the God of the covenant. Some believe that the circumcision was sufficient and necessary to save. Christians today are free to circumcise or not. It doesn’t get us closer to God. Believers receive circumcision of the heart when they accept Jesus by faith - that He died for our sins and when He died, our sins were buried with Him and we are raised with Him anew through our faith.
Principle: True circumcision is not the outward appearance, but circumcision of the heart.
Genesis 18:1-15 – The Lord Visits Abraham
In the heat of the day three men appeared to Abraham. Two of the men were angels and the other was the Lord. The Lord did not reveal himself right away. We can assume this was the Lord again in the Person of Jesus Christ, because John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”
Why did Jesus come to visit Abraham? Perhaps it was a test of his heart. Abraham passed the test. He demonstrated hospitality and love for the human needs of those around him. The main purpose of the Lord’s visit was to confirm to Sarah that she and Abraham would have a son. This is the sixth time that we see the revelation about the promised son.
Sarah overheard the Lord tell Abraham that she would have a son this time next year. Sarah laughed to herself in disbelief and said to herself that she was too old and worn out to have a son. The Lord asked, “Why did Sarah laugh….” – Gen. 18:13. This shows us that the Lord knows our innermost thoughts and what we do in secret. There is nothing hidden from Him. Then He said, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” – Gen. 18:14. Nothing is impossible for God. After all He is the Creator. Abraham and Sarah both believed in God, but now she’s faced her unbelief in a promised son. Now she believed the truth. Perhaps if she had believed sooner, it would not have taken her so long to conceive.
Principle: God knows our innermost thoughts and challenges us to believe the impossible.
Join me here next week for the next study of Genesis. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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