Genesis 17A (2011) Today, for the fourth time, God will appear to Abram. But today, God is ready to bring Abram the full revelation of His covenant

Transcription

1 Genesis 17A (2011) Tday, fr the furth time, Gd will appear t Abram And the ccasin fr the visitatin is similar t the previus three visits: Gd s cvenant with Abram But tday, Gd is ready t bring Abram the full revelatin f His cvenant Including a sign, that Abram will carry in his bdy t shw that Gd has made this prmise t him and his family Gen. 17:1 Nw when Abram was ninety-nine years ld, the LORD appeared t Abram and said t him, ı I am Gd Almighty; Walk befre Me, and be blameless. Abram is nw 99 years ld By that cunt, it has nw been 24 years since Gd first appeared t Abram in Ur and called him t mve t Canaan And it s been 13 years since his sn Ishmael has been brn t Hagar It turns ut that Ishmael s age cmes t explain Gd s timing fr His furth appearance, as we will see later in this chapter This chapter is 27 verses lng, and all but 8 verses are the Lrd speaking This is the lngest speech by Gd in Genesis It s the zenith f Gd s revelatin t Abram Fr nw, let s lk at what Gd says t Abram as He appears this furth time He begins by identifying Himself as El Shaddai This is the first time this term is used in Scripture Eventually, we ll see it used 48 times In Hebrew, it cmes frm a rt meaning strength r pwer 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 17A 2 But the wrd shaddai riginated in an Akkadian wrd, shaddu The Akkadian meaning was literally breast Taken tgether, El Shaddai means the Gd Wh prvides strength t His children Since this appearance cmes thirteen years after Abram and Sarai turned t Haggar, it seems that Gd has chsen this name t emphasize tw things First, Gd will prvide strength t His children in keeping with His prmises But secndly, Gd seems t be chastising Abram fr his misguided attempt t find strength in his wn bdy (thrugh Hagar) Next, Gd tells Abram t walk befre me and be blameless Gd tells Abram walk befre me But in Hebrew the wrds are mre persnal They mean cme befre My face In Gd s case, we knw this isn t mean in a literal sense, since Abram culd nt see Gd s face and live Rather, it means present yurself befre Me, as a servant presents himself befre his master Then Gd says be blameless This is the same wrd Mses uses t describe Nah in Gen 6: a man wh fund favr and was blameless In Gen 6, we said that favr meant grace in Hebrew, and s blamelessness was a reflectin f Nah s righteusness befre Gd in faith Here as well, Gd tells Abram, be blameless We need t remember this is the first time Gd has spken t Abram since he married Hagar, Gd s wrds are pwerful in their effect 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 17A 3 In thse intervening 13 years, what must Abram have wndered when his thughts turned t his decisin t marry Hagar? Did he feel guilt? Did he wnder if Gd was upset? Did he wrry that Gd s silence ver the past 13 years was a sign He was displeased? And what must Abram have felt when he heard Gd declare that he cntinued t serve his Master And that Master was still calling Abram blameless befre Him Nt perfect, nt sinless, but blameless We serve this same Master by the terms f the same cvenant We knw Gd s prmises t prvide fr us and never leave us nr frsake us Yet still we g ff and make pr decisins and leave Him behind in ur actins And we may g weeks r mnths r even years withut a sense that Gd is speaking t us And in thse dark seasns, we might be led t questin whether Gd is still with us Still pleased with us, still willing t accept us We wnder what He will say when He appears Then we read these lines, and we are reminded that Gd is faithful t His prmises He still calls us blameless because Smene else tk ur blame We are nt sinless, but we d nt carry the blame, the judgment Frm that perspective, Gd gives Abram a new prmise 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 17A 4 Gen. 17:2 I will establish My cvenant between Me and yu, ı And I will multiply yu exceedingly. Gen. 17:3 Abram fell n his face, and Gd talked with him, saying, Gen. 17:4 As fr Me, behld, My cvenant is with yu, And yu will be the father f a multitude f natins. Gd tells Abram He will establish between Gd and Abram a cvenant and multiply him exceedingly At first glance we assume this is the same cvenant Gd has made frm the beginning The ne annunced in chapter 12 and cnfirmed in chapter 15 with the cvenant ritual The ne that prmises t multiply Abram s descendants But this language speaks f a different cvenant First, the language is in the future tense Gd says this is a cvenant that will be established Secndly, this cvenant is between Me and yu This term implies bth parties have a rle in keeping the cvenant S Gd is prmising a new cvenant, ne that has yet t be established a tw-way cvenant requiring cmmitments frm bth parties This secnd cvenant is related t the first cvenant One will be the basis fr being cunted a part f the ther At Gd s appearing, Abram respnds as all men wuld: he falls n his face And Gd cntinued t talk with Abram explaining this is a new cvenant, yet nt ne that replaces the first Ntice Gd says as fr Me He means fr my part, here s what I am prmising Then Gd reminds Abram that the first cvenant is already with Abram 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 17A 5 T be sure Abram understands, Gd repeats the entire revelatin f the Abrahamic Cvenant He will be a father f a multitude f natins Of Israel and many Gentile natins And t testify t this ne prmise, Gd says He is changing Abram s name Abram means exalted father And Abraham means father f a multitude Changing names was a cmmn feature f cvenants Tw peple wh entered int a cvenant might take parts f each ther s name and add it t their wn name We still fllw this same practice tday in the way a wman takes the man s last name It was a way f saying I am in cvenant with yu and we are made ne by that cvenant In this case, Abram receives a part f Gd s name In the middle f Abram s name, Gd inserts the breath sund in the prnunciatin f His name in Hebrew Yahweh is prnunced with a distinctive breath sund at the end The name Abram is cut pen and that breath sund is inserted in the middle: Abraham Abram is nw a man wh carries a part f Gd s name Gd cntinues t tell Abraham all that He is bund t d by His wrd Gen. 17:6 I will make yu exceedingly fruitful, and I will make natins f yu, and kings will cme frth frm yu. Gen. 17:7 I will establish My cvenant between Me and yu and yur descendants after yu thrughut their generatins fr an everlasting cvenant, t be Gd t yu and t yur descendants after yu. Gen. 17:8 I will give t yu and t yur descendants after yu, the land f yur sjurnings, all the land f Canaan, fr an everlasting pssessin; and I will be their Gd Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 17A 6 As Gd has said befre, I will make yu fruitful and and yu will prduce kings and natins And in v.8 Gd repeats that He will give Abraham and his descendants the land in which Abraham has been wandering Specifically the land that Gd utlined in chapter 15, frm the Euphrates t the brk f Egypt We remember these prmises as part f the Abrahamic cvenant But in v.7 we find anther reference t a future cvenant that will between Gd and Abraham and his descendants A cvenant that is nt here yet but is cming And ne that isn t ne-way like the Abrahamic cvenant But is between Abraham and Gd, thus requiring bth parties keep its terms faithfully But we als ntice that Gd is weaving these tw cvenants tgether almst as if they were inseparable This is exactly right, but we need t study this next sectin carefully if we are t understand this relatinship prperly Gen. 17:9 Gd said further t Abraham, Nw as fr yu, yu shall keep My cvenant, yu and yur descendants after yu thrughut their generatins. Gen. 17:10 This is My cvenant, which yu shall keep, between Me and yu and yur descendants after yu: every male amng yu shall be circumcised. Gen. 17:11 And yu shall be circumcised in the flesh f yur freskin, and it shall be the sign f the cvenant between Me and yu. Gen. 17:12 And every male amng yu wh is eight days ld shall be circumcised thrughut yur generatins, a servant wh is brn in the huse r wh is bught with mney frm any freigner, wh is nt f yur descendants. Gen. 17:13 A servant wh is brn in yur huse r wh is bught with yur mney shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My cvenant be in yur flesh fr an everlasting cvenant. Gen. 17:14 But an uncircumcised male wh is nt circumcised in the flesh f his freskin, that persn shall be cut ff frm his peple; he has brken My cvenant. We nticed earlier that Gd intrduced His bligatins with the phrase As fr Me Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 17A 7 Nw we see Gd telling Abraham what his bligatins are But wait...we said befre Abraham had n bligatins under the Abrahamic Cvenant And he desn t, which tells us that this must be the new cvenant Gd is making with Abram And since it has terms fr bth parties, it is a different kind f cvenant Abraham will have a chice as t whether he participates in this cvenant First, Gd says that bth Abraham and his descendants must participate in this cvenant by agreeing t be circumcised Trusting that everyne understands what circumcisin means, I wn t give any details nw I can say that this nt the mment that circumcisin was invented r established The practice has been fund in ancient cultures apart frm Israel Gd simply tk this practice and gave it meaning fr Abraham and his descendants The practice wuld be required f Abraham and his descendants and t thse servants brught int the husehld And the event must take place n the eighth day as an infant We can see Gd s handiwrk in Creatin in this directin The bdy needs a particular vitamin, K, t allw fr prper bld cltting At birth, a baby has vitamin K frm the mther but it takes time fr the baby t prduce its wn K After a few days, vitamin K prductin kicks in By the eighth day, the levels f vitamin K peak at abnrmally high levels in the bldstream 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 17A 8 After the eighth day, the levels begin t decrease t a nrmal level S Gd had the bdy prepared t handle the surgery T understand what Gd is ding here, let s make sme bservatins First, we ntice that this is a cvenant that requires Abraham and his descendants t take actin, t bey Gd s cmmands This means we re lking at a different cvenant than the Abrahamic Cvenant Secndly, the timing f this actin is n the eighth day f life Clearly,this is a crss-generatinal cvenant It is nt a cvenant with a persn, but with a peple The peple f the prmise, the peple sn t be Israel N ne enters int this cvenant n their wn since they d s at an age t yung t participate willingly The decisin t bey r ignre this cvenant is made by a prir generatin n their behalf When the lder generatin beys, their children receive the benefits f the cvenant When they disbey, their children suffer Thirdly, the cnsequence f failing t keep the cvenant is t be cut ff frm his peple The term fr cut ff literally means t be destryed r killed S the penalty fr failing t bserve this cvenant is t cease being part f Israel and t cease t exist Finally, we ntice Gd says in v.10 that circumcisin is the cvenant but in the next verse, Gd says it will be a sign f the cvenant Hw can it be bth a cvenant and a sign f a cvenant? The answer is Gd is establishing a new cvenant which acts as a sign f the earlier cvenant 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 17A 9 What d all these details tell us? Remember since the fall in the Garden, we ve been fllwing the seed prmise, the prmise t bring a Messiah t rectify the sin f Adam The prmise has prgressed frm ne sn t anther t anther Finally, it landed n Abraham, sn f Terah And in Abraham, the prmise take frm There wuld be a peple, set in a land, which wuld bring frth the blessing f the prmise n behalf f the entire wrld All natins wuld be blessed thrugh this peple that cme frm Abraham First it will be bestwed n ne sn, Isaac, and later anther, Jacb But after Jacb, the prmise will be extended t 12 sns And frm thse twelve t cuntless mre While the prmise f the Messiah is carried frward thrugh nly the line f Judah, the prmises fr blessing and the land are extended t many decendants But what will determine wh may participate in these blessings? As Paul taught us: Rm. 9:6 But it is nt as thugh the wrd f Gd has failed. Fr they are nt all Israel wh are descended frm Israel; Rm. 9:7 nr are they all children because they are Abraham s descendants, but: THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED. Rm. 9:8 That is, it is nt the children f the flesh wh are children f Gd, but the children f the prmise are regarded as descendants. S wh will be cunted amng thse wh receive the prmises f the Abrahamic Cvenant? Gd says that the sign f that cvenant will be the cvenant f circumcisin 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis 17A 10 And thse wh descend frm Abraham and wh bey this cmmand f Gd will be cunted a part f the cvenant They will receive the prmises f blessing in the land and f many descendants But if the peple f Abraham cease in bserving this cvenant, then they are cut ff frm the peple f Israel and frm the prmises t Abraham Remember Mses experience in Exdus? Ex. 4:24 Nw it came abut at the ldging place n the way that the LORD met him and sught t put him t death. Ex. 4:25 Then Zipprah tk a flint and cut ff her sn s freskin and threw it at Mses feet, and she said, Yu are indeed a bridegrm f bld t me. Ex. 4:26 S He let him alne. At that time she said, Yu are a bridegrm f bld because f the circumcisin. Mses was headed back t Egypt t represent Gd s peple, yet his wn sn had never been circumcised His wn child was excluded frm the prmises f the cvenant S Gd was prepared t kill the child until they circumcised him Gd wants His cvenant with Abraham t be witnessed t the natins And He demands that Israel keep the cvenant f circumcisin in rder t be a party t the Abrahamic Cvenant T be clear, chapter 17 isn t teaching that bedience was required t keep the prmises f the Abrahamic Cvenant Thse prmises are assured n Gd s faithfulness alne But entry int that cvenant depended n bedience t the cvenant f circumcisin But then again, the bedience was natinal, nt persnal The fathers bedience determined the sn s participatin in the cvenant 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis 17A 11 Once a persn was a party t the Abrahamic Cvenant, then the blessing were assured based n Gd s faithfulness t His wrd alne Finally, persnal salvatin is nt the issue here Abraham was cunted righteus based n his faith in Gd s prmise under the first cvenant Had he refused t take circumcisin, his faith wuld still have made him blameless But he wuld have been cutff frm the earthly blessings Gd was hlding ut fr him S he is t bserve this secnd cvenant t ensure his family is included in the cvenant s blessings Mre t cme Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.