GOD’S COVENANT part 1

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Here was a man who was a father before he had any children. Abraham was Abraham, father of a multitude, by faith at that time. But four thousand years later, where you and I sit, we can say that God sure made this good.

The name stuck, if you please, and he is still Abraham, the father of a multitude. One of the most influential names in human history is that of Abraham—a man whom Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all claim as a patriarch.

However, to this point in the Bible, that name has not been used. This important historical figure is still carrying his original name of Abram. Here, at last, God will change Abram’s name to Abraham, while establishing a symbol of their covenant: circumcision.

Genesis 17 describes God’s appearance to Abram, who is now 99 years old. Twenty-three years have passed since God first promised to make Abram a great nation and to give to him and to his descendants the land of Canaan.

During that time, Abram and his large company have lived in different parts of the region. He has grown quite wealthy, and God has appeared to him several more times to restate and expand on the initial covenant promises.

Still, Abram has only one son. Ishmael, born to him by his wife’s servant Hagar, is now 13.

Abram and his wife Sarai, who has been barren for their entire marriage, seem to have resisted attempting to have children through other women before the events of Genesis chapter 16.

At this point, they likely assumed that God’s promises and blessing to Abram would pass through Ishmael. After all, at 99 and 89 respectively, they were well past the window for conceiving or bearing children.

That’s when God appears to Abram again. This meeting is different than those earlier encounters, however. This time, in addition to the familiar and seemingly impossible promises, God also has requirements for Abram.

God commands Abram to walk with Him and to be blameless. Abram would, indeed, be the father of nations. Kings would come from him. To confirm that fact, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham.

While Abram means “exalted father,” the name Abraham sounds like the Hebrew phrase for “father of a multitude.” The land of Canaan would belong to Abraham and his descendants forever.

As a sign of keeping this covenant, God had a new requirement for Abraham. He and every male of his household, born or bought, and every male in every generation to come, must be circumcised.

This is the ritual removal of the foreskin. Those who were not circumcised would not be included in this covenant between God and Abraham’s people.

 

Genesis 17:6-14 KJV

[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.

[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.

[9] 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.

[12] 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.

 

Genesis 17:6

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

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Abraham has one son at this point: Ishmael, whose mother is Hagar. God promises a greater fruitfulness to come. It will be seen in the birth of Isaac and, later, in the birth of six sons to Keturah (Genesis 25:1, 2).

However, the key to the covenant promise is Isaac, so the fruitfulness God promises is Abraham’s through his descendants. Grandson Jacob will have 12 sons and a daughter.

The nation of Israel will come from these sons, with many kings born to them. These kings will make their entrance some 900 years later with Saul. He will be a descendant of Abraham’s great-grandson Benjamin.

Greater far than the kings of Israel will be the King of kings and Lord of lords: Jesus (see Matthew 1:1–16). God continues to reveal His covenant promise to make Abram, now renamed Abraham, into a father of multiple nations.

God insists that He will make Abram fruitful, causing many offspring to come from him. Earlier in Genesis, God commanded men like Adam and Noah to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 9:1).

Now God tells Abraham that He will make him fruitful and cause him to multiply. Unlike those earlier encounters, God has now taken on Himself the responsibility to create nations out of a single patriarch.

Finally, God reveals that kings will come from Abraham, which makes sense if Abraham is to father nations. Still, God means for Abraham to understand that he will be the patriarch of multiple royal lines.

At this point in the conversation, Abraham most likely still believes that Ishmael, his only son through his servant girl Hagar, is meant to be the fulfillment of these promises (Genesis 16:2, 16).

It won’t be until later, when God renames Abraham’s wife as Sarah, and declares that she will be the mother of many nations, that Abraham realizes that God is predicting a newborn baby for a 99-year-old man and an 89-year-old woman (Genesis 17:16–17).

 

Genesis 17:7

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.

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The language of everlasting covenant is the same as that used in Genesis 9:16 (see lesson 1) and Exodus 31:16 (see lesson 3). Insofar as it finds its fulfillment in Christ, it is an enduring covenant in the fullest sense of the term everlasting.

Paul makes clear that Christ is the fulfillment; see Galatians 3:16, where the apostle distinguishes between the singular seed as opposed to the plural seeds. This indicates the fulfillment is in the one person, Jesus Christ.

Even so, there appears to be a dual fulfillment, as it is to thy seed after thee in their generations. So the fulfillment is in the generations of Abraham’s seed until the ultimate fulfillment is seen in Christ himself.

God continues to describe His covenant promises to the newly renamed Abraham, formerly known as Abram. Already, God has revealed that Abraham will be the father of multiple nations; kings will come from him.

Now God makes it clear that these covenant promises will extend to Abraham’s offspring throughout all their generations. In fact, God describes this covenant as everlasting.

God will be Abraham’s God and the God of Abraham’s offspring forever. This covenant relationship will never end. God will keep these promises into eternity.

In establishing this forever covenant between Abraham’s offspring and Himself, God is making for Himself a people of His own, a people set apart as His people. These people will eventually become the nation of Israel.

And yet, despite what Abraham may think, the son who will fulfill these promises has not yet been born. Ishmael, Abraham’s son through his servant Hagar (Genesis 16:2; 16:16), was never meant to be the promised son.

He will be blessed, and prosperous, as God has promised his mother (Genesis 16:10–12). Instead, God intends to allow this elderly couple to conceive a son, who will be named Isaac (Genesis 17:19).

 

Genesis 17:8

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.

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Abraham has been in Canaan for more than two decades at this point, and still he owns none of it. Further, God has already said his descendants will be oppressed in a foreign land for 400 years (Genesis 15:13).

Even so, God assures Abraham that his descendants will indeed be given all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. Even more important than the land promise is the relationship promise we see here.

This promise is repeated in texts such as Exodus 29:45 and is included in the new covenant that is promised in Jeremiah 31:33. Humans have sought deities for centuries. When the search is insincere, the result is invented, fictitious gods.

But when one seeks God wholeheartedly, He’s not hard to find because He reveals himself (Psalm 19:1; Jeremiah 29:13; Acts 17:27). The God of Abraham’s descendants is the living God.

In the previous verse, God revealed to Abraham that the covenant He is describing would extend to Abraham’s offspring through all the generations to follow. Now God makes clear that includes the promise of “all” the land of Canaan.

Abraham’s descendants would possess it forever. It is this covenant promise from God, sometimes called the Abrahamic Covenant, by which Israel would claim and later conquer and possess the land of Canaan.

God concludes by saying, “I will be their God.” Throughout the rest of Genesis and the rest of the Bible, God will claim His right to be Israel’s God both in blessing and judgment.

Much of Israel’s suffering in the Old Testament occurs when they fail to honor God, either in their worship or their actions (Jeremiah 7:13; Malachi 1:6–7).

And yet, despite those failings, and despite God’s correction, He will maintain His promises. The descendants of Abraham, through Isaac and his son Jacob, will be the nation of Israel: God’s chosen people—forever (Malachi 3:6).

 

Genesis 17:9

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

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In exchange for the blessings to be accorded, Abraham and his descendants are to keep God’s covenant. This means to submit to Him as their God and obey His commandments.

One of the first items requiring obedience is set forth in the next two verses.

God has made significant covenant promises to Abraham and Abraham’s offspring through every generation. Abraham will become the father of multiple nations.

Kings will come from him. His offspring will possess all the land of Canaan and God Almighty will be their God forever.

This is a promise God will keep, regardless of how faithless Abraham’s offspring may be in the future. God may judge them, and punish them, but He will never violate His promises.

Now, God reveals to Abraham another act of faith he must take in order to keep this covenant. In fact, every generation of Abraham’s offspring will need to do what God requires in the following verses in order to keep the covenant.

The requirement will be personal, painful, and intimate. It will also be symbolic, suggesting God’s influence in every generation and the unending nature of the covenant agreement.

This requirement is circumcision: the removal of the foreskin from the penis. For newborn boys, this ritual will happen within days of birth (Genesis 17:12).

 

Genesis 17:10

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.

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The token of the covenant is the circumcision of each male. This token (symbol) is so important that it is spoken of as if it were the covenant in and of itself: this is my covenant. Circumcision will be the mark of God’s people for generations.

When Jesus inaugurates the new covenant, physical circumcision will no longer play a part (1 Corinthians 7:19). But circumcision will still be of significant figurative importance.

Circumcision​—​cutting off a small piece of flesh​—​becomes a symbol of putting off the sins of the flesh in the new covenant (Colossians 2:11–13). This circumcision is not done with hands; thus it is a spiritual event.

Colossians 2:12 connects it with baptism, a physical act and yet one in which God is working spiritually as well: “wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God.”

After declaring the covenant He is making with Abraham and all of Abraham’s descendants, God now describes what He requires from Abraham and his offspring to keep this covenant: Every male will have to be circumcised.

The following verses get more specific in describing why, how, and when the practice should be kept.

Abraham was not the first person on earth to practice circumcision, but the way God implements this ritual is unique. Circumcision involves the removal of the foreskin, a circular flap of skin covering the end of the penis.

The symbolism of this act relates to crucial aspects of Jewish and Christian theology. The foreskin is a natural-born part of the person, but needs to be deliberately shed (under circumcision) in order for the people of Israel to honor God.

This is symbolic of the need to set aside sin and other in-born urges in favor of God’s will. The removal involves a circular shape: circles are frequently used as symbols of permanence and eternity, and this covenant is said to be everlasting.

Also, the means of human reproduction, male sperm, would literally pass “through” this circle, symbolizing the influence of God on the very existence of His people.

 

Genesis 17:11

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

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Circumcision, in a sense, is a Type of the Cross; blood is shed and separation is made. God has made sweeping covenant promises to Abraham and to every generation of Abraham’s descendants.

Now God describes one thing He will require from Abraham and his offspring as a symbol of this covenant: circumcision. Every male, including Abraham, will need to be circumcised by cutting off the foreskin.

This was to be a sign of the covenant God was making between Himself and Abraham. Circumcision may already have been practiced in the world at this time by specific tribes and nations, but it was far from universal.

Abraham had never been circumcised, so it is likely it was not practiced by his family or the people of Mesopotamia.

In this instance, the ritual of circumcision presents several important symbols of our relationship to God. The process involves a circle, a common symbol of eternity and continuity.

Through this circle, the next generation would pass via reproduction. It involves the “setting aside” or removal of a naturally-born part of the person.

It creates a permanent change in the person making that commitment. It’s an outward, visible representation of a spiritual covenant.

No matter who else in the world did or did not practice circumcision at that time, God made abundantly clear to Abraham that circumcision would become a sign of this covenant between God and Abraham.

It would also be a sign for all those who would come from him. The following verses reveal that God’s requirements about the practice would be very specific.

 

Genesis 17:12

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.

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Circumcision is to be done on the eighth day after a male child is born in the covenant family (compare Leviticus 12:3; Philippians 3:5). This will become part of a ceremony that includes bestowing a name on the child (compare Luke 1:59; 2:21).

The law applies both to natural-born sons and sons not of thy seed (see also Genesis 17:27; Exodus 12:48).

God has just revealed to Abraham that He will require that he and every male member of his household be circumcised. In this way, God’s people, born through Abraham, will be set apart for Him.

This will be a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, starting right now. Circumcision involves the removal of the foreskin from the penis.

This symbolizes the imperfection of our “natural” state, the eternal promise of God, and the influence of God in the very existence of future generations.

Verse 12 gets more specific about how God expects Abraham and his family to apply this practice. The ritual of circumcision is to be performed on every male baby at eight days old.

This applies to absolutely everyone who is part of the household; even male slaves, not related to Abraham by blood or marriage, must be circumcised.

This requirement from God is given to Abraham centuries before the Law of Moses. Covenant circumcision is one of the foundational aspects of God’s relationship with Israel.

Later verses will also specify that those who refuse this sign are to be “cut off” from the people—they cannot claim to be part of the chosen nation of God if they refuse to take on this covenant sign (Genesis 17:14).

This applies to the nation of Israel, not to all Christian believers, as the New Testament will make clear.

 

Genesis 17:13

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.

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The sign of the covenant is on the physical bodies of the covenant people, specifically on the sex organ of the males. One might wonder how a mark in a part of the body that is kept covered (1 Corinthians 12:23) can be a symbol of anything.

Symbols are meant to be seen. In this case, the symbol of the covenant is not to be seen by others, but is a reminder to the covenant-keeper himself. As he dedicates the most personal part of his body to the Lord, so also he dedicates his whole life.

And through marriage and marital relations, the wife of the covenant keeper is included in this sacred covenant. This verse repeats the requirements detailed in verse 12.

Every male of Abraham’s household, both now and for all generations, is to be circumcised. Male children born into this extended family, including those not related by birth or marriage, are to be circumcised at eight days old.

Newly acquired male slaves are also to be circumcised. God spells out His intention that His covenant with Abraham and with the generations to follow would be “in your flesh.”

They would carry this reminder of their covenant relationship with God with them on the most intimate part of their bodies, one generation after another, forever.

The following verse will help to explain how important this sign is meant to be. Those who refuse to take on this sign—men who will not take this covenant step—are to be “cut off,” or separated, from God’s chosen people.

Those who refuse to identify with God through circumcision will not be allowed to partake in His covenant blessings.

This, however, is a requirement specific to this covenant, and for this covenant people. Circumcision is not a requirement for those who are not part of the nation of Israel.

In fact, in the New Testament, references to circumcision will become shorthand for those who attempt to earn salvation by good works, rather than by faith (Acts 11:2; Galatians 6:12).

 

Genesis 17:14

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.

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Disobedience to the covenant leads to exclusion from the covenant community. There is a play on words here.

To circumcise someone is to cut off a small piece of flesh; refusal to submit to the procedure results in the man’s being cut off from his people.

It is not clear what that penalty involves, whether capital punishment or banishment, or whether it is done by God or by a human agent.

When Moses started toward Egypt in obedience to God’s call, “the Lord met him, and sought to kill him”; Moses’ wife quickly circumcised their son, and the Lord “let him go” (Exodus 4:24–26).

This may suggest that it is God who cuts off the one who fails to keep the covenant. However, no deaths are noted when the entire nation of Israel later fails to circumcise the next generation until after crossing the Jordan (Joshua 5:2–8).

Apparently the cutting off of the covenant breaker is to be a human responsibility.

In the previous verses, God revealed a requirement of His covenant relationship with Abraham and with all the promised generations to follow. Every male, related in any way to Abraham, even every male servant, must be circumcised.

New male children must be circumcised at eight days old. Now God emphasizes that this sign of the covenant between God and His people through Abraham is absolutely necessary. Any uncircumcised male is out of the covenant.

Period. If he will not be cut in the foreskin of his flesh, he will be cut off from his people. God’s people through Abraham must be circumcised or they will not be God’s people.

Though circumcision has now become a routine practice in many parts of the world for completely non-religious reasons, it’s important to note that this requirement of circumcision is not given in the New Testament to those who come into God’s family through faith in Christ.

It is not specifically forbidden, but Paul emphasized that salvation under the new covenant was through faith in Christ and not through covenant circumcision (Galatians 5:1–6).

Instead, Paul wrote in Romans 2:29 of the need for a “circumcision of the heart” by the Holy Spirit, to be set apart for God inwardly and not merely outwardly.

Having said that, circumcision was absolutely required by God as an act of faith and obedience for His people through Abraham.

 

GOD’S COVENANT part 2

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In the previous lesson we learned, as a sign of keeping this covenant, God had a new requirement for Abraham. He and every male of his household, born or bought, and every male in every generation to come, must be circumcised.

This is the ritual removal of the foreskin. Those who were not circumcised would not be included in this covenant between God and Abraham’s people.

That’s already a lot of change for one meeting, but God is not done yet. He truly surprises Abraham, telling him that Sarai’s name must also be changed.

She will now be known as Sarah, and she and Abraham would have a son after all. In reverence, or gratitude, or pure surprise, or perhaps all three, Abraham falls facedown and laughs. He’s shocked at the mere suggestion of Sarah conceiving and bearing a child.

Then Abraham has another thought: What about Ishmael?

God has already given a promise of blessing on Ishmael, spoken to his mother Hagar (Genesis 16:10–12). Here, though God will again promise to bless Ishmael abundantly, the covenant promises between God and Abraham will not pass through Ishmael.

Instead, they will pass to Isaac, Abraham’s yet-to-be conceived son with Sarah. That son will have been born by this time the following year.

With that, God concludes His revelations and “leaves,” at least symbolically giving Abraham an opportunity to make a decision. Abraham’s head must have been spinning, but he did not hesitate to begin to obey God.

That very day, he went home and circumcised himself, Ishmael, and the hundreds of other males in his large company. Abraham’s immediate obedience is further evidence that he was choosing to trust the Lord and to take Him at His word.

 

Genesis 17:15-19 KJV

[15] 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.

[17] 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!

[19] 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.

 

 

Genesis 17:15

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

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Abraham’s wife, Sarai, has not been mentioned in any previous communications from God regarding Abraham’s having a son, so this section of Scripture is a first in that regard (see v. 16, next).

Just before that happens, she is mentioned as another person whose name is being changed. This time, however, there is no difference in meaning: both Sarah and Sarai mean “princess.”

An example of this meaning is found in 1 Kings 11: 3, where it is given in the plural form as “princesses.” Some suggest that the minor change in the name may be a difference in dialect.

The unchanged meaning fits Sarah’s forthcoming status, as verse 16 reveals. In verse 5 of this chapter, God signaled a new stage in His relationship with Abram by changing his name to Abraham.

This name is very similar to the Hebrew phrase meaning “father of a multitude,” emphasizing that Abraham will be the father of nations and that kings would come from him.

Now God tells Abraham that his wife Sarai’s name is to be changed to Sarah. Both names apparently mean princess, though in the following verse God will call her the “mother of nations.”

While this seems like a slight change, it marks a significant new season in God’s work in and through Sarah as well. This change will be especially amazing to Abraham, who will laugh out loud at the suggestion of Sarah giving birth (Genesis 17:17).

Later, during a significant encounter, God would change the name of Abraham and Sarah’s grandson through Isaac. He will be renamed from Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:28).

 

Genesis 17:16

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.

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Sarah is to be the mother of the special son promised to Abraham. For this to happen at her advanced age (see v. 17, next), she will need a blessing from the Lord, and that is what He provides.

The blessing for Abraham and Sarah reaches into the future and includes kings and royalty among their descendants. Thus it is quite appropriate for Sarah’s changed name still to mean “princess.”

The fulfillment for this aspect of the promise begins when Saul becomes Israel’s first genuine king more than 1,000 years later. The final king in the long line is Jesus Christ, the “King of kings” (Revelation 17: 14).

In the previous verse, God told Abraham that He was changing Sarai’s name to Sarah. Earlier, God had renamed Abram as Abraham, indicating that Abraham would become the father of nations.

Now God reveals that Sarah’s name change is related to her own destiny as the “mother of nations.” From her, as well, will come future kings.

This is the first time the text reveals that Sarah is the one through whom God will keep His covenant promise to make Abraham into a great nation.

In chapter 16, Sarah and Abraham seem to have decided that the opportunity for her to birth children to him had passed. Instead, she would have a child with him through her slave Hagar. That boy, Ishmael, is now 13 years old.

God reveals that Sarah will, in fact, give birth to a son of her own with Abraham, a notion Abraham and Sarah had completely abandoned.

This assumption was so strong in Abraham’s mind that he will literally fall down laughing at the suggestion that Sarah will be known as the mother of nations, as seen in the next verse.

 

Genesis 17:17

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?

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Abraham’s reaction is to fall to the ground in laughter. Some have said that this reflects skepticism, similar to Sarah’s in Genesis 18. This negative view doesn’t fit the man who looked at the stars of the heavens and believed God (Genesis 15: 6).

We conclude that Abraham combines an attitude of worship with laughter that results from an inner joy (compare Romans 4: 19– 21).

When Abraham looks ahead, he realizes that at the time of the birth he will be 100 years old and Sarah will be 90 (compare Genesis 17: 1, 24). These facts cause him to ask himself the two questions we see here.

The implications are staggering, and Abraham knows that the promised outcome is beyond what is considered normal. Genesis 17: 19 (not in today’s text) should also be mentioned, for there God informs Abraham that the name of the son is to be Isaac.

The name means “he laughs,” and it points to the laughter here and to what occurs in the next section of our study.

Compared to modern times, it seems the people of Abraham’s era lived slightly longer lives. But even then, 100-year-old men did not have babies with 90-year-old women. The very idea of it was laughable.

So Abraham fell facedown before God and laughed to himself. It’s notable that Abraham’s disbelieving comment is directed to himself. Abraham is, very directly, expressing doubt that God can or will follow through on this particular declaration.

It’s not that Abraham had stopped believing that God would keep His promise to give him countless offspring. He just didn’t expect those offspring to come through Sarah.

They waited a full decade between receiving the promise and deciding that God must mean for a child to come through another woman (Genesis 16:1–2). That had worked, according to Abraham and his wife.

Hagar birthed Ishmael, now 13 years old (Genesis 16:16). God told Hagar that Ishmael’s offspring would be so numerous as to be uncountable (Genesis 16:10–12).

Apparently, Abraham seems to have decided that Ishmael’s birth was God’s plan to fulfill His promise. It was not. God said Sarah would become the mother of nations.

Abraham laughed and then, in the following verse, protested. This, in part, explains the specific name God chooses for this son of promise: Isaac, which means “he laughs.”

 

Genesis 17:18

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

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Abraham asked the Lord that Ishmael might have some place, and not be completely left out. Abraham found God’s promise in the previous verse inconceivable. In fact, he literally found it fall-down-laughing funny.

It was beyond imagining that a 100-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman could have a baby. In Abraham’s mind, it was also unnecessary. He had a son, though not through Sarah.

Ishmael was a young man of 13. His birth mother Hagar had received a promise from God that Ishmael’s descendants would be exceedingly numerous, just as God had promised Abraham.

Abraham could picture it all. He could see Ishmael, his son, becoming the nations God had promised, receiving God’s blessing, fulfilling God’s plan. “If only,” Abraham said to God.

“If only Ishmael could live under your blessing!” In the next verse God will respond to Abraham. In a gracious example of gentle correction, God will not reply with “no,” but with a “yes, but…”

God’s response is gentle, but it is not without some level of irony. In it, God will declare a name for this soon-to-be-son, one which will forever remind Abraham of his reaction. The boy is to be named Isaac, which literally means “he laughs.”

 

Genesis 17:19

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.

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The name Isaac means “laughter”. The Covenant is to be established with Isaac and not Ishmael. This completely shoots down the contention of the Muslims that Ishmael was the chosen one, unless you don’t believe the Bible.

Through Isaac the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, would ultimately come.

The previous verse showed 99-year-old Abraham’s reaction to God’s revelation: that his barren, 89-year-old wife, Sarah, would bear him a son after all. Abraham’s immediate response was disbelieving laughter (Genesis 17:17).

Beyond laughter, Abraham’s first coherent thought was for his 13-year-old son, born through his servant Hagar: “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Now God responds with a “yes but.”

God will reveal in the following verses that He will bless Ishmael. However, Ishmael will not be the child of the covenant promises God has given to Abraham.

Instead, that fulfillment would come through Sarah and their previously inconceivable son, who God commands to be named Isaac. It was with Isaac and his offspring that God would establish His everlasting covenant.

This name is not without a purpose. Isaac means “he laughs.” Abraham’s first response to the idea of having a son with his 90-year-old wife was to laugh. Sarah, too, will laugh at the idea (Genesis 18:12).

Their son’s name will serve as a permanent reminder of how God can fulfill promises which our limited experience says are impossible (Mark 10:27).

 

 

I hope that you have really enjoyed this post,

 

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