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Genesis 17
"Circumcise" • 3.4.10 • Thursday Night Bible Study
Intro
- Just one week has passed for us between chapters 16 and 17 of Genesis. For Abram and company, 13 years have passed. No interaction. No special revelation from the Lord. Silence.
- Earlier in my walk with the Lord, I interpreted God's silence as a punitive measure. Today, I hold a different view. Walking by faith does not require amazing events or exciting affirmation.
- Sometimes, a walk by faith in Christ requires simple steps of obedience to what is known.
- That is what Abram and Sarai have been doing: Simply walking with the Lord.
- That being the case, I do find it interesting that God is about to break His silence in the 13th year of Ishmael's life. For any parent who has had a teenager, this is no surprise!
- No doubt, but that Abram is now calling out to God, pleading for His help!
- Kidding aside, the 13th year might have been about the time that Abram would begin to give Ishmael the charge of family leadership, something that God did not endorse.
- It's at this pivotal moment that God drops in and meets with Abram again.
- The chapter breaks up fairly simply into 5 parts, all concerned with the covenant that God is affirming in this chapter.
I. Regarding God (v.1-8)
II. Regarding Abram (v.9-14)
III. Regarding Sarai (v.15-18)
IV. Regarding Ishmael & Isaac (v.19-22)
V. Regarding Obedience (v.23,24)
Text
I. Regarding God (v.1-8)
• Genesis 17:1,2 : "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.'" : The first words that God speaks to Abram bring Him back to the main information that is needed about God: He is Almighty!
- El Shaddai. Most powerful. All sufficient One. When I think of God, these words need to be synonymous additions. Perhaps it might even be good just to tell yourself that this is who you serve.
- Most powerful God. Think of those words for just a second. What does He want from Abram and indeed, from us? To walk before Him and be blameless.
- Literally, we are to walk before His face, or in the presence of. Simply, He is the audience. He is the one that we are to live consciously to please.
- When He looks, what is it that He desires to see? That we are complete. Blameless can be translated "perfect." The word means "whole."
- It refers to a life based in belief, proven by behavior. My heart and my life are in agreement, in unison. I am wholly His!
- God goes from His character, to His covenant. His character is the basis of His covenant. Only an all powerful God, can carry out the promise that He has made to Abram.
- His covenant is the basis of the relationship that Abram now enjoys with Him. God repeats over and over again that this multiplicity of descendants will be the case.
- This is a major point that God is hammering out. It has been in almost every chapter of Abram's life. Here, God affirms this with Him after Abram had failed in faith again.
- That's the beauty of the Lord: When we fail, He still succeeds. When we are faithless, He remains faithful. Don't think for a second that He will ever give up on you.
• Genesis 17:3-8 : "Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.'" : Abram fell on his face, a sign of adoration and submission. Whether it's a place with an altar or a posture, Abram is a serious worshipper.
- In these 5 verses, God changes Abram's name, affirms that his would be a royal line, assures Abram of the land that would belong to his descendants and that He would be their God.
- What a powerful set of promises! The name "Abraham" would serve as a reminder that this was done in the mind of God.
- Abram's name meant "Father" and now would mean "Exalted Father." All this with only one child! His name would be a constant reminder that God's promise was as sure as his name.
- When Abraham met anyone and they asked his name, he would surely have to explain.
- It's interesting to me that God gives him this name before He brings it to pass. In God's economy, the work is done, because He has decreed it so.
- This powerful God would also be the God of His descendants. Throughout time, He would be their shield and their reward, just as He was to Abraham.
- This is God's side of the covenant relationship. He can bring about descendants from a dead womb. He can promote and raise up authority from nomadic people.
- He can deed land to the homeless. He can make you feel at home, even though you were a stranger. He can work from everlasting to everlasting because He is God.
- His covenant will be in effect as long as He is alive to keep it!
- In the next section, He outlines Abraham's response.
II. Regarding Abram (v.9-14)
• Genesis 17:9-14 : "And God said to Abraham: 'As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.'" : God marks out the terms of this covenant that Abraham will keep.
- Chapter 15 was God's promise that this covenant would be in effect and fully dependant upon Him to succeed. Chapter 17 is a picture of His people entering into that covenant by faith.
- Please observe with me. This is for Abraham's male descendants. It would be a "sign" of the covenant. Other translations have the word "token" or "mark." The idea is one of branding or authenticating covenant faithfulness.
- The actual act of circumcision is difficult to think about but simple to explain.
- There is a flesh cover that is over the penis at birth. God says that at the 8th day, that cover is to be removed.
- Circumcision was not a new concept when God brought this up with Abraham. It was already being practiced in the ancient world, Egypt and Canaan included.
- It was no coincidence that God chose the 8th day to mandate this procedure.
- It turns out that this is the one day in the life of a male where vitamin K and prothrombin, agents of coagulation, are present and in fact, at peak levels of production.[i]
- God picked the perfect day for male surgery!
- This covered people who were born naturally, as well as those who were brought in to one's home through servitude. Each male would have to be circumcised in perpetuity.
- This was to be an everlasting covenant between God and the Jewish people.
- Circumcision was for Abraham's males, as a sign or token of faithfulness and it was the point at which one could be excluded from fellowship.
- Abraham was circumcised, not to make a covenant with God, but because he was in covenant with the Lord. The sign pointed to the reality in Abraham's life.
- Verse 14 is a strange play on words, in that the one who is not cut, will be cut off from his people. That person has broken God's covenant, literally, he has voided it.
- That person would forfeit the promises and the benefits of God's presence with them.
- They would live outside of that realm of promises.
- That is the essence of the act. What was it to mean to Abraham? God has already counted Him as though He were righteous, back in Genesis 15, 15 years prior to this chapter.
- Physically, circumcision is a cutting away of the flesh. Spiritually, this is the case as well. It's a sign that the flesh will no longer dominate our life.
- Turn with me to Romans 2. Paul is saying that physical circumcision meant nothing if the rest of your life was lived apart from God's law.
• Romans 2:28,29 : "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."
- Turn over to Romans 4. Paul explains further that a circumcision of the heart was meant to be foundational to the outward sign.
• Romans 4:11,12 : "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised."
- The sign was an external signal of an internal belief. That belief is meant to express that there is no confidence or trust in the flesh. Our confidence is in the power of Almighty God.
III. Regarding Sarai (v.15-18)
• Genesis 17:15,16 : "Then God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.'" : God has changed Abraham's name. Sarai would also be included in that. Sarai, Princess, is promoted to Sarah, noblewoman.
- God saw the stigma that lay upon her and gives her a name that fits with the destiny that awaits her. Her noble name would reflect what the world would say of her in just a short time.
- In this verse, God specifically promises that she will have a son. The son will specifically come by her, through her own body. She will be a mother of nations and kings.
- How did this come to pass, as she would only have one son?
- We'll see that God is faithful to His word here when we come to some chapters down the line.
• Genesis 17:17,18 : "Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, 'Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?' And Abraham said to God, 'Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!'" : This is the second time that Abraham has fallen on his face. The first time was in awe and submission. This second time is in incredulity!
- He fell to the ground laughing like you and I laugh first. We can't believe it. Later, when we think about it and process the truth of things, we laugh because we can't believe how good God is!
- Abraham spells out the issue: It's his old age. At this point he is actually 99, but like any good math student, rounds up to the nearest 100.
- Prior to the flood, this would not be an issue. People were having kids well into their hundreds. The strength of men to reproduce well into their latter years has changed significantly.
- The biological clock is ticking very loudly and Abraham understands that there may not be another coming. With resignation and a wishful thought, he pours out the thought of Ishmael.
- Just listen to the plaintive voice of Abraham: "Oh that Ishmael might live before you." I like the way the NLT translates this verse.
• Genesis 17:18 (NLT) : "And Abraham said to God, 'Yes, may Ishmael enjoy your special blessing!'"
- Ishmael was created through Sarah's suggestion, by Abraham's strength, through worldly means, without God's endorsement. Ishmael was a prized product of Abraham's flesh.
- He loved his son and wanted God to bless him. There is nothing wrong with that, but what Abraham is asking is out of place.
- He asks God to endorse something that He had nothing to do with. It's akin to making a huge decision without consulting God and THEN asking God to bless it!
- I have just bought this home and didn't consult the Lord. Could you please bless this mess!?
- I have married without God's permission. Can you now make it right!?
IV. Regarding Ishmael & Isaac (v.19-22)
• Genesis 17:19-22 : "Then God said: 'No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.' Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham." : I wish that we can all hear this. The answer to the question, "Will you bless my fleshly efforts?" is a simple, direct "no."
- He will bless Ishmael, but He will not make him the promised One!
- God won't bless the works of our flesh, but He will bring new life. He can be faithful to His promise. From the noblewoman, He'll bring "laughter." That's what the name "Isaac" means.
- I love this about God: Abram blew it! He was faithless, but God was faithful.
- I love this about God: Abram blew it! He was faithless, but God was faithful.
- The life, the promise, the wisdom, the answer that God wants to bring into your life is worth the wait, because that will always result in laughter, joy, excitement, blessing!
- With Isaac, God will establish His covenant. That's the line that we'll begin to follow in a few chapters, the line that will bring Jesus the Messiah into the world.
- God promises a blessing for Ishmael because of Abraham's plea. He'll be a mighty man, multiplied into 12 nations, but the joy would be coming soon to Abraham and Sarah.
V. Regarding Obedience (v.23-26)
• Genesis 17:23-26 : "So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him." : Abraham wasted no time. He got right down to business.
- I don't know how he proposed this to them, as this was certainly not the easiest sell, but that day, at 99 years of age, he had that entire group of men circumcised.
- Instant obedience. That's the lesson here. It was painful and there would be days of difficulty as the fever lasts around 3 days, but the weakening affects could last months!
- Later in Genesis, we'll see that circumcision will keep the men of Shechem from defending themselves and are shamefully massacred.
- This decision was likely not popular, as pain in any area is rarely elected. But it was powerful to show the obedience.
- Maybe there's a fleshly relationship that you need to cut off tonight. Perhaps a fleshly scheme that is brewing in your mind. Let's put that away quickly.
Conclusion
- Tonight, let's be reminded that God is All-Sufficient. He's working on something and does not need our help.
- All we need to do is enter into His rest and wait. Let's be about that.
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