Verses 1-2 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. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
Thirteen years have passed since the birth of Ismael, Abram’s first son by Hagar. As far as Abram knew, he now had a son and an heir. Back in the day, a man’s wealth and possessions went to the firstborn son. This writer is not sure that Abram was aware that God intended his heir to come from Sarai. If he was not aware of this, then it would seem that God had honored His promise to provide a son to Abram from whom a great nation would be produced. If he was aware, then he was still patiently waiting on the LORD.
The Hebrew word “el” has been translated “Almighty God” in the verse above. It means “god-like one” or “mighty one” and references the power of the LORD.
Verses 3-7 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 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. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 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.
God’s previous promise to Abram was that he would be the father of a great nation. Now He was promising Abram that he would be the father of many nations. God makes another covenant or agreement with Abram, and changes his name to reflect that covenant. His new name means “father of a multitude” or “chief of multitude”. Remember that Abram meant “exalted father”. Furthermore, out of these nations would come kings. This covenant was fullfilled in the nations Israel and Judah and in the other nations that were produced such as the Edomites and the Ismaelites. But then God covenants an everlasting agreement between Abraham and his future descendants, and that covenant which was and is everlasting is not Earthly, but Heavenly. He will be a God to Abraham and his descendants forever. This covenant is still in effect today.
Application: It is going to be stated here that the only everlasting covenant given to Abraham was for the LORD to be a God to both Abraham and to his descendants. The covenants for the development of many nations and kings and for possessing land were all fulfilled in Old Testament days and were not everlasting covenants. Go back and study the covenants by yourself just in case this writer is wrong about this topic. However, if correct, then all the killing and warring over the land called Israel today which was always settled and owned by different people groups and nations down through the centuries is wrong. You research it and decide. James 4:1-3 states, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” Ask yourself if the present occupants of the land called Israel want the territory for the glory of God or for themselves?
Application: Many kings came out of Abraham, but the greatest king of all was/is the LORD Jesus Christ. He is King of Kings, and through Him, today’s believers live under a new covenant. The old has passed away. See Jeremiah 31:31 and Hebrews 8:8 and 13.
Application: Today’s Christian believers are not under the Old Covenant but under the New Covenant established by the LORD Jesus Christ. More on that later when studying the books of the New Testament. However, the everlasting covenant discussed above in that the LORD would be and is the God of Abraham’s descendants applies to all believers today. To explain this go to Galatians 3:6-9. “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.“ Then Galatians 3:26-29 says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Simply put, all believers by faith in the LORD are spiritually descended from Abraham, and therefore are Abraham’s children and are entitled to the promise given to him. This is what Paul told the Galatian church. Think about it.
Verse 8 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.
So now you may be asking how this writer could make the statement above that the possession of the land was not an everlasting covenant. Well, as stated before, the promise to give the land to Abraham’s descendants was fulfilled, specifically in King Solomon’s days, and then things began to decay as the Israelites forgot God and rejected Him. The nation split into two nations, Israel and Judah, and many people from other nations continued to intermarry with the Hebrew people contrary to God’s instructions and the genetics of the people were watered down so to speak over time. Then both nations went into captivity. Israel was taken to Assyria and Judah to Babylon. A remnant returned to Jerusalem and eventually the land was taken over by the Romans. So history shows that permanent possession of the land by the Hebrew people did not happen. When Jesus entered the history of man, He was the “seed” of Abraham and also God very God and so the rightful ownership of the land was His. He created the Earth and everything in it and He created Abraham and the Hebrew people and therefore had the right to decide the fate of the land that had seen so much war and bloodshed down through the centuries. Had the Jewish people of Jesus’ day accepted Him as their Messiah, they most likely would have retained ownership under His governance. But just as they had repeatedly rejected God in the past, they rejected their Messiah and had Him executed, and Jesus pronounced judgement on both the Jewish people and the land before His execution. Jesus stated in Luke 13:35, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” See Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. Verse 24 of Luke states, “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” The Roman general, Titus, fulfilled this prophecy in 70AD and the Gentiles or non Jews have lived there since. The Jewish people were scattered into all nations and live throughout the world today.
Verses 9-11 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 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. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
Here is recorded another covenant or agreement between Abraham and God. This one required a minor surgical procedure in which blood was shed. This shedding of blood and the pain and inconvenience associated with the procedure was to remind Abraham’s descendants of the agreements in place with the LORD. It was a permanent dis-figuration of the male body that would serve as a daily reminder to obey their God. It would also serve as a permanent sign that the men were of the Hebrew nation and not part of the heathen nations surrounding them. Should the Hebrew men choose to engage in sexual behavior that was less than appropriate, they would be known immediately as children of Abraham and their sin would be revealed. God’s people were to be marked.
Verses 12-14 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. 13 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. 14 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.
Notice that the practice of circumcision was for all males in the community and not just for the physical descendants of Abraham. It will be stated repeatedly that the Hebrew nation that developed from Abraham and Sarai was never genetically pure. Intermarriage occurred and the Hebrews were always a mixed race of people. So the covenants of God applied to all that were circumcised.
Why were baby boys circumcised on the eighth day? Because there is less bleeding as the newborn’s blood clotting mechanism is functioning well at this time and his immune system is stronger than at birth. God knew this and so established the eighth day to protect the new born baby from complications. Also, the number 8 represents resurrection and a new beginning. The baby boy through the shedding of his blood became a partaker of the covenants between God and the people, just as the shedding of Christ’s blood makes all believers partakers of the New Covenant in place today.
Verses 15-16 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 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.
The name Sarah means “noblewoman”.
Verses 17-18 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? 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
This promise from God seemed too fantastic to believe and caused Abraham to laugh. It seems that Abraham still thought that Ishmael was to be his heir.
Verses 19-22 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. 20 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. 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
God was not distressed at Abraham’s laughter and told him to call the son he was going to have with Sarah Isaac, which means “he laughs” or “laughter”. Every time Abraham or Sarah called for their son, they would be reminded of the fact that they laughed at the idea of them having a child in their old age. God has a great sense of humor!
Making Ishmael a great nation fulfilled the promise that Abraham would be the father of more than one nation.
Verses 23-27 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. 24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Application: When God instructed Abraham to do something, he did not wait but carried out the instructions immediately. How often has the LORD told the believer to do something and days or weeks or months go by before the instructions are carried out? Shouldn’t the believer be like Abraham and be obedient as soon as possible? Is it not the believer’s job to please the LORD and obey?