Historical
Context: This portion of our
history, takes place at approximately 3'000 B.C.
Authorship: The
Torah books are all attributed to the authorship of Moses, which he most
probably wrote during Israel's forty-year period of wandering in the
desert. Some editorial remarks were
later added to these books by priests and other divinely inspired writers, such
as Joshua and Samuel.
Discussion
Points:
1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said,
"I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless.
What
does God command Abram to do? To walk
before Him and be blameless. To be in a
relationship with God and not to sin.
2 I
will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your
numbers."
Why does God need
to confirm the covenant? Because it's
been about fourteen years since God had appeared to Abram. Abram thought that he had solved the problem
by having Ishmael with Hagar, but now God needs to remind him that that was not
the deal. That was not the plan that God
had in mind.
3
Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
Why does Abram fall
facedown? Because God appeared to
him. Any time God talks to us or does
something for us, the appropriate response is to worship Him, which is what
Abram is doing.
4
"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many
nations. 5 No longer
will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a
father of many nations. 6
I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come
from you.
Did any kings ever
come out of Abraham's descendants? All
the Kings of Israel. Abraham had
Isaac. Isaac had Jacob. Jacob's descendants became the kings. Saul, David, Solomon, etc.
7 I
will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and
your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the
God of your descendants after you. 8
The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an
everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be
their God."
9
Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and
your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your
descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall
be circumcised. 11 You
are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me
and you. 12 For the
generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be
circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a
foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought
with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be
an everlasting covenant. 14
Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut
off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
What is Abram's
part of the covenant? To be
circumcised. That was the sign that
Abraham and his descendants were in a covenant, in a relationship, with
God. Do we have to be circumcised now to
be in covenant or in relationship with God?
Romans 2:28-29 - A man is not a Jew if he is only one
outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a 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.
This is telling us
that the sign of the covenant is not really whether you're circumcised or
not. You're relationship with God does
not depend on a physical marking. It
depends on whether or not God's Spirit has changed our heart. Physical circumcision is changing the outward
appearance of your body. Spiritual
circumcision is changing your heart.
15
God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to
call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.
I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples
will come from her."
17
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born
to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of
ninety?" 18 And
Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your
blessing!"
Why is Abraham
laughing? He thinks that it's impossible
for a man and a woman as old as Abraham and Sarah are to have children. Is anything impossible for God? Of course not. God is about to do a miracle for Abraham and
Sarah, but that's still hard for Abraham to believe.
19
Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will
call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting
covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely
bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He
will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will
establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."
22 When he had finished
speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23
On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his
household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and
circumcised them, as God told him. 24
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son
Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. 27 And every male in Abraham's household,
including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was
circumcised with him.
What is the
significance of telling us that "on that very day" Abraham
circumcised himself and his son and all his servants? This tells us that Abraham obeyed what God
told him to do immediately. He didn't
wait or try to put it off. Even though
it wasn't something painful and he probably didn't want to do it, he had enough
faith to obey God.
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