Genesis 17-18.

8 Jul

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 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[b]; your name will be Abraham,[c] 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. 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 now reside as a foreigner, 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.”
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!”
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.[d] 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 very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, “If I have found favour in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant. “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him “There, in the tent,” he said.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”
But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

Chapter 17 starts with Abram aged 99 Sarai 90. The chapter ends with Abraham and Sarah with a promise of a male child to be called Isaac.

1. 1. Read Genesis 17:1-16. Compare this with the covenant in Chapter 15:9-19.

For both covenants there is an oath with dramatic, symbolic action (15:17; 17:23) which involves flesh cutting with a knife and blood (in one case, passing between the pieces of dead animals; in the other case, circumcision). The Chpt 17 Covenant is really confirmation of the Chpt 15 Covenant (17:2).
For both God initiates the covenant (15:9-11; 17:10-11) and promise that Abraham will multiply into a nation and will live possess in Canaan (15:18-21; 17:8).

A covenant relationship is a relationship between two parties that mixes intimacy (“I will . . . be your God,” v. 7) and legal, binding commitment. God is committed to bless Abram. However, the covenant is not complete. Abram also has to take an oath. Abram did not have to do so in the original ceremony because God’s covenant with Abram is a covenant of grace. If Abram fails to honour his side of the covenant, God will graciously provide a substitute [Christ Jesus].

2. Why are they given new names in Gen. 17:3-6, 15-16 - Abraham and Sarah?

Abram meant “exalted (or honoured) father,” whilst Abraham means “father of many nations.”
God changes Sarai’s name to Sarah 17:15-16 but both names mean “princess.” To change her name signifies ownership. You name someone you have brought into being or acquired. Abram was giving himself and his family to God(see 2 Kings 24:17). He was promising obedience. “I am yours” and God gives him a new name. Further, to change someone’s name means a change of identity. A covenant relationship with God is the dominant force in a person’s life, and no one can enter into such a relationship without personal transformation. “The covenant changes [Abram’s] status, a fact which requires a new name that will point to the promise, just as the Christian name, given in baptism, indicates a person’s standing in Christ.”

3. In the covenant, God says ‘As for me.’ (a) Verses 4-8, 15-16. What does God promise? (b) In Gen 17:1-2, 9-14: What is required of Abram (as for you)?

(1) God gives a new name (v4-5) and promises to make Abraham not one nation but many (v6).
(2) God extends the covenant to Abraham’s descendants as well, in an everlasting covenant (v. 7).
(3) He promises to be ‘your God’ (v. 7). A personal relationship with the God of the universe.
(4) He promises Canaan to Abraham’s descendants (v8).
(5) The “son of promise” will come from Abraham’s and Sarah (v15). Abraham fell down and laughed (v. 17)!

What is Abram required to do?

(1) Ab must “walk before” God. Meaning (a) obedience. “Walking with” implies the same path. It is a metaphor of Pilgrimage. It means to do as God does: to live in righteousness, faithfulness etc. (b) it means in His presence in relationship, listening to him - in prayer and worship and holy communion.
(2) Abram must be “blameless” (v. 1). Meaning is “whole” not perfection but wholehearted dedication and devotion. It is calling for a completely undivided heart.
(3) Abram is to be circumcised with all males. This is the physical symbol of the spiritual commitments.

The covenant was “You will be my people, and I will be your God.” The essence of the promise is a personal relationship with God, given by grace, given with the whole heart. You may think, “I can't do it! I can never be totally wholehearted in my obedience to God,” but you are forgetting the covenant of chapter 15. We live like this because God has committed himself to us.

Footnote: Read Colossians 2:11-12. How does this rite shed light on what Jesus did for us on the cross? Why was circumcision chosen? Circumcision was already practised in many cultures at the time, but God now adopts it as the oath-sign of his covenant and gives it new meaning. In other cultures, circumcision was a coming-of-age ceremony administered at puberty. Under God, “its new meaning [was] to mark the threshold not of manhood . . . but of the covenant.” Kidner p 130

4. 4. Read Genesis 18:1-8. (a) Contrast this communication from God with previous ones. (b) Why the difference?

In chapter 15, God takes a visible form, but overwhelming and frightening (15:12). In chapter 18 He comes in human form (18:2) and who ate and rested. Notice the verbs used to describe Abraham’s actions when he sees the three men (e.g., ran, bowed, hastened, quick). What does this tell us about his character and his attitude toward hospitality?
In Genesis 18 his response to grace is total commitment to the Lordship of God in every area of life.

In the ancient Near East, hospitality was a sacred duty. Abraham goes above and beyond the duty. We are called to "radical hospitality" in our modern, often isolated culture.

This story told in refreshing detail, is a fulfilment of God’s promise to have a personal relationship with Abraham. Now that the covenant has been made and ratified (Gen. 15, 17). God comes close, face to face with Abraham and Sarah with assurances about their promised son.

5. Read Genesis 18:9-19. Who has the main dialogue with God at Abraham’s tent? Why does God have this conversation—what is his purpose? How does God help Sarah’s progress in faith?

God had spoken audibly to Abraham several times and had once appeared visibly, but this is the first time he has made direct contact with Sarah. She had heard God’s promise of a son through Abraham.

Derek Kidner writes, “Christian commentators have been tempted to discern 3 Persons of the Trinity here; but the passage differentiates clearly between the Lord and his two companions (18:22, 19:1).” 1

The three strangers come to Abraham’s tent. It is not clear who they are until they ask in 18:9, “Where is your wife Sarah?” They knew her name. Sarah is listening in, and we know that the speaker is “the LORD.” God speaks to Sarah, 18:10ff. God addressing Sarah, teaches us that all must have a personal encounter with God. It is not enough to know about God, or even to believe in God generally. It has to be personal, you and God.
First, he talks about Isaac, the promised son. “This time next year … Sarah …will have a son” (v10). Second, God responds to her self-hating, and doubt with assurance and challenge. Sarah doubting “laughed to herself” (v. 12). She is “worn out” (v12), with a word that means “useless”. God deals with her laughter and self-hatred the same way he deals with everything in our lives. First he convicts her of her unbelief which she tried to hide (she had only laughed to herself) telling her, “You laughed at me!” (18:13). She denied it but God said, “Yes, you did” (v15). NB Even when he convicts her of sin, he is gentle and invites her to wonder at his grace. He asks, “Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?” This firmness and loving assurance is the essence of parenting and spiritual shepherding - “I can do more than you can even imagine. I will fill your life with wonder.”

Then God instructs Abraham to teach and bring up his household in “the way of the LORD” (v19).
This is the beginning of Abraham’s responsibility to create a counter-culture, a God-honouring, God trusting, God-fearing nation. Our covenant relationship with God is both personal and corporate as a people. Though we are saved individually, we are saved into a community of other believers. We, like Abraham, are called to live in and shape this alternate humanity, new creation community.

Two characteristics of the “way of the LORD”: “righteousness” and “justice” (v19). These two words are about personal godliness and socially just and generous too. God is Lord of every area of our lives. God does not choose Abraham because he does what is right and just. Abraham does what is right and just because he is chosen. We are saved by grace alone, but saving grace leads to obedience to our Lord and to bring about his loving purposes in the world and in our lives.

6. Read Genesis 18:17-19. Intercessory prayer is initiated by God - discuss.

Notice that God’s thoughts are what lead Abraham into passionate prayer. Prayer is not just asking God by petition. Prayer is our response to God’s prompts and promises in his Word. God is a prayer-hearing God. We pray best when we respond to God speaking to us (challenging, assuring, comforting, warning) by the Holy Spirit through his Word. In short, our prayers really are dependent on God drawing us out through his Word and Spirit.

Second, Abraham’s prayer is persistent and specific. He simply will not give up. The Bible calls us to prevailing prayer that is continual and relentless. In our intercessions, we get a sense of our helplessness and weakness so that we pray fervently, knowing you cannot bring this about by yourself.

Third, Abraham’s prayer is personal and bold.
Fourth, Abraham’s prayer is passionate yet humble. He is filled with fear and trembling, . He calls himself “dust and ashes” (v27). God has every right to be angry with him (v30-32). Either Abraham is desperately concerned for those he is praying for, very, very confident in God’s grace and mercy, or both. But his assertiveness is not based on any belief in his own worthiness.

Fifth, Abraham’s prayer is not answered in an all-or-nothing way. In one sense God turns him down. He does not “spare…the place” (v24). And yet, God initiates repeated interventions to spare Lot, and the reason given is that God had listened to Abraham (19:29). This prayer shows that God has truly made Abraham his friend.

Bible StudyGenesisGenesis 14Genesis 15

Kelvin Burke