A COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 17 DEALING WITH GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM TO MAKE HIM THE FATHER OF MANY NATIONS.

1. Genesis 17
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD
appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty [1] ; walk
before me and be blameless.
1. "Thirteen years had passed and Abram felt he was living with a fulfilled promise because he had a
son for those 13 years, for Ishmael was now 13. He was no longer praying for his wife to bear a child
for him, for she was old, and it was laughable to expect her to get pregnant now. He was 75 when he
left Haran and is 99 here, and so about 25 years have passed since he was first promised a child. God
had spoken to him three times over the years. It was not a lot, but in comparison to others his life was
lived with great revelation, but still mostly without any divine appearance." At this point he thought
Ishmael was the child he had always waited for, and so he was not praying anymore for the promised
baby. It seemed that he had his prayers answered. The 13 years of silence from God did not bother
him, for he considered God's promise had been achieved. Calvin writes, "Abram being contented
with his only son, ceased to desire any other seed. The want of offspring had previously excited him to
constant prayers and sighings; for the promise of God was so fixed in his mind, that he was ardently
carried forward to seek its fulfillment. And now, falsely supposing that he had obtained his wish, he is
led away by the presence of his son according to the flesh, from the expectation of a spiritual seed."
2. God for the first time reveals his name as El-shaddai, which means the Almighty God. Abraham
needed to hear this for God is going to promise again that he will have a child, and 99 year old man
with a 90 year old wife needs to know God is almighty, for no one other than one who is all powerful
could make this promise come true. In other word, we are dealing with the impossible that demands a
miracle for fulfillment. God is assuring him that he is the God who is sufficient for the fulfillment of
the promise. He is the God who is enough and more than enough to get the job done, for he is the all-
sufficient one. Herbert Lockyer calls this name "one of the most potent and precious among divine
names." The name "El-Shaddai" occurs 8 times in the Old Testament. The name "El" means "the
Strong One," and sets forth God's almightiness. "Shaddai" means, "to be strong" and sets forth
exhaustless bounty of His strength. Together they speak of One that is all-powerful and is able to do
anything. Theologians have a term for God's power and it is omnipotent, meaning that there is
nothing God can't do. He is the Almighty God. I think of the little song:
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable,
Got any mountains you cannot tunnel through;
God specializes in things thought impossible,
And He can do what no other power can do.
Because He is the Almighty God there is no person He can't save, no problem He can't solve, and no
prayer He can't answer. He is a God with undeniable, unlimited and unmatched power.

2. A children's song puts it like this:
You gotta believe God can do anything,
Anything He wants to do.
He can paint the sky a bright, bright green
And turn all the trees to blue.
You gotta believe God can do anything,
For everything is in His hands.
Anything? Anything!!
For everything is in His hands.
Now did you know, once God made the world?
He formed it with His hands.
He breathed into a lump of clay,
And the clay became a man!
He made every single animal.
(Those yukky bugs and all!)
He made the mountains, the oceans, the Grand Canyon
And even Niagara Falls!
We have a mighty great God. Now, we gotta believe He can do anything, anything He wants to do.
3. Derek Kidner says: "In Genesis this name for God tends to be matched to situations where God’s
servants are hard-pressed and are needing assurance. That’s exactly where Abram is and the Lord
comes to him and He says Abram, I am El Shaddai. Jim Boice tells of the letterhead of the Chinese
evangelist Leland Wong. He had three Scripture verses on his letterhead in order to bear testimony to
what he thought of his God. Let me read those Scripture verses to you. The first scripture verse says:
"The sun stood still." Joshua 10:13. The second scripture verse was, "The iron did swim." 2 Kings
6:6. The third Scripture verse is Psalm 48:14: "This God is our God." Now Boice says, "By the
juxtaposition of these verses, Leland Wong affirms that his God does the impossible." "The sun stood
still." "The iron did swim." "This God is our God." That was his God. And that is precisely what
God is saying to Abram. Abram, I can do anything."
4. Donald Aellen writes, "God’s special appearance, and his 5 speeches are an indication that the time
is right for things to move along more quickly now. What’s the name of the California wine makers
who claim that they will not sell a wine before its time? God’s like that. He will not begin to fulfill the
promise until the time is right. In this revelation, God’s ready. In anticipation of it, God reveals
another of his names: Vs.1 translated as ‘God Almighty’. We have never heard God talk about
himself that way before in the Bible. This new name of God prepares us for the about-to-unfold-
future. Actually God is on a real re-naming kick today. In order to prepare Abram and Sarai for the
about-to-unfold-future he gives them new names too. Abram will be changed to Abraham. The new
name means: father of a multitude of nations. The name embodies the promise. Sarai’s name will be
changed to Sarah. Sarah means ‘princess’. The name embodies the promise, for God says she will be
the mother of kings."
5. Pink point out an interesting parallel in the way God uses this new name of his. He writes, ""The
second time that the Lord revealed Himself as El Shaddai was under circumstances very similar to
those found in Genesis 17:1 and context. "And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of

3. Padam aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be
called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; and He called his name Israel. And God said
unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of
thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins" (Gen. 35:9-11). It will be noted that when God revealed
Himself as the Almighty to Abram, He changed his name from Abram to Abraham; so here, He
changes the name of his grandson from Jacob to Israel. To Abram God said, "And I will make My
covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. . . . and thou shalt be a father of
many nations" (Gen. 17:2, 4); to Jacob He said, "Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of
nations shall be of thee" (Gen. 35:11). Again, we are told that God "appeared" to Abram (Gen. 17:1),
literally "was seen to Abram," and here in Genesis 35:9 the same word is used—this is the more
striking for, excepting Genesis 12:7, these are the only occasions in Genesis where we read of God
"appearing" to the patriarchs, as though to emphasize the importance of this Divine title. Finally, in
noting the parallelisms between Genesis 17 and 35, we may observe that at the close of this Divine
interview we read "And He left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham" (Gen. 17:22)
and in Genesis 35:13 we are told, "And God went up from him in the place where He talked with
him."
6. It was a wise man who wrote, "You know we should never enter into the study of the Bible without
going to the Bible with the express purpose of asking what does this teach me about my God? Jim
Packer says that’s the secret of sole-fatting Bible study, but it’s more than that. If we don’t go to the
Scriptures looking to see what they teach us first and foremost about our God, not whether they are
relevant to us. Of course, they are relevant to us. Saying that the Scriptures are relevant to us is not
saying too much, it’s saying too little. Saying that the Scriptures are relevant to us is like saying that
gasoline is relevant to the running of a car. If I were to stand up here and give you a lecture about the
relevancy of gas to the running of a car, you wouldn’t say how profound. You would ask if I were
mentally retarded. Of course, it’s relevant to running a car. It can’t run without it. Of course the
Bible is relevant to believers but more than simply looking to see how the scriptures apply to us in our
particular situation, we ought first to go asking what do the scriptures teach me about my God?
Because that, seeing the sight of our God and the covenant that He has made with us, is what
strengthens our faith for the walk that God has called us to. God revives our faith by revealing
Himself to us in His word. That’s the first thing that we see in this great passage."
7. There is another insight into the meaning of El-shaddai: ""This name is from the Hebrew name
"El-Shaddai". It carries the idea of "Nourisher; Strengthener; Satisfier." It identifies God as being
the "All-sufficient One". There is a tenderness in this name because the word "Shaddai" comes from
the Hebrew word for "breast". Just as a baby receives strength and nourishment from its mother's
breast, so the children of God receive all they need from the hand of the "Almighty God".
8. God is perfectly able to perform what he promises, but he also expects Abram to also be perfect in
his obedience. He expect a lot when he asks that Abram walk before him and be blameless. Why not
just ask him to fly and be able to leap over tall buildings? It seems like God is requiring Abram to be
a superman. The first demand of walking before him is possible, for it means to live your life in the
awareness of God's presence. It makes a world of difference how you live if you are conscious that you
are in the presence of God. You know how you check your speed quickly when you see the presence of
a patrol car. It makes you want to obey the law for there are consequences you want to avoid. So
when we sense God's presence we will not be tempted to obey the voices that call us to do what he
forbids. We will walk in a way that pleases our heavenly Father when we sense that he is watching us.

4. R.S. Candlish says: "To walk before God, is to walk or live as if in His sight, and under His special
inspection; to realize, at all times, that His presence and His providence are there; to feel His open
and unslumbering eye ever upon us. To walk thus before God is impossible if there be not redeeming
love on his part, apprehended by faith on our part; to be perfect, guileless, and upright, is thus
walking before God, it is the great duty of the believer and only the believer can discharge that duty."
Spurgeon wrote, "Walk before me," by which I understand an habitual sense of the presence of God,
or doing the right thing and shunning the wrong, out of respect to the will of God; a consideration of
God in all actions, public and private. Brethren, I deeply regret when I see Christian men, even in
religious societies, in their calculations leaving out the greatest item in the whole calculation—namely,
the divine element, the divine power and faithfulness. Of the most of mankind I may say, without
being censorious, that if there were no God their course of action would not be different from what it
is, for they do not feel themselves either restrained or constrained by any sense of the divine presence.
"The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes."
But this is the mark of the truly sanctified man of God, that he lives in every place as standing in the
presence chamber of the divine Majesty; he acts as knowing that the eye which never sleeps is always
fixed on him."
9. Enoch walked with God and so pleased God that he took him to heaven without dying. It is possible
to walk with God, or walk before him, as he here demands. It is that second command to be blameless
that bothers us, for it is asking for perfection, and we are fully convinced that God is setting the bar
way too high for those of us who live in this fallen world. Maybe God just missed a page and he was
reading from his requirements for the Cherubim and Seraphim. They would not shudder at this for
they lived in the very presence of God and had no temptation to ever disobey him. They would expect
no less than perfection being required by their perfect God. We, on the other hand, could use a little
slack here and get some sort of discount that fit our circumstances in a fallen world. Many try to give
us this discount by saying the word here only means to be sincere, or some other watered down word
that makes it possible to achieve it.
Pink makes it clear that there is no basis for any watering down of this word. He writes, ""Be thou
perfect." The careful reader will notice that the words "upright" and "sincere" are supplied in the
margin as alternatives for "perfect," but it seems to us there is no need for this, that the word in the
text is a legitimate rendering of the Hebrew "tamin." The same word occurs in Psalm 19:7: "The Law
(Word) of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." It is the same word that is translated forty-four
times "without blemish." Then, did God really say to Abram, "Be thou perfect?’ He certainly did.
And how could He say anything less? What lower standard than that of perfection can the Perfect
One set before His creatures? Only too often men whittle down the Word to make it square with their
own conceptions. All through the Scriptures, the standard of perfection is set before us. The law
required that Israel should love the Lord their God with all their hearts. The Lord Jesus bade His
disciples, "Be ye therefore perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). And
the teaching of the Epistles is all summed up in that Word, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example, that ye should follow His steps" (1 Pet. 2:21). Is not that the standard of perfection?
Brethren, such is the standard set before us. This is that which we are constantly to strive after. With
nothing short may we be satisfied. It is because such is the standard that none in the flesh have ever
realized it, that each and all must say with the apostle, "Not as though I had already attained, either
were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I
do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I

5. press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12-14). Yet,
nevertheless, the Word to us today is the same as that to Abram of old: "Be thou perfect." Does some
one murmur, "An impossible standard!" Then remember that it was El Shaddai who gave it. Who
dares to talk of "impossibilities" when the Almighty is our God? Has He not said, "My grace is
sufficient for thee"? Then, do not charge Him with setting before us an unattainable standard: rather
let us charge ourselves with failure to rest upon His Almighty arm, and confess with shame that the
blame is ours through not appropriating His all-sufficient grace."
10. When we come to the New Testament we see again that the standard is not lowered at all, and the
requirement is still perfection. Christ commanded: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is
perfect" (Matt. 5:48). Pastor Adrian Dieleman points out that the world has this same standard in the
world of sports. If you expect the highest medal you have to be perfect and not just good. He
illustrates with this story: "In the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, a Japanese gymnast, Shun Fujimoto,
was competing in the team competition. Somehow, during the floor exercises, he broke his right knee.
It was obvious to all reasonable observers that he would be forced to withdraw from competition. But
they did not reckon with the determination of a true competitor. On the following day, Fujimoto
competed in his strongest event, the rings. His routine was excellent, but the critical point lay ahead -
the dismount. Without hesitation, Fujimoto ended with a twisting, triple somersault. There was a
moment of intense quiet as he landed with tremendous impact on his wounded knee. Imagine the
commitment and the dedication this took – to do a twisting, triple somersault landing that would
scrape bone against bone with the resulting pain exploding like a grenade in the skull. By the way, the
routine with its landing did earn him an Olympic gold medal. Do you have this kind of commitment to
God and His kingdom? Are you so consecrated to the Lord that you would be willing to endure this
kind of pain?" Guzik says, "The word blameless literally means "whole." God wanted all of Abram,
wanting a total commitment."
He gives another illustration of the commitment to perfection: "It is estimated that there are some
sixty thousand serious mountain climbers in the United States. But in the upper echelon of serious
climbers is a small elite group known as "hard men." For them climbing mountains and scaling sheer
rock faces is a way of life. In many cases, climbing is a part of their whole commitment to life. And
their ultimate experience is called free soloing: climbing with no equipment and no safety ropes. John
Baker is considered by many to be the best of the hard men. He has free-soloed some of the most
difficult rock faces in the United States with no safety rope and no climbing equipment of any kind.
His skill has not come easily. It has been acquired through commitment, dedication and training. His
wife says she can't believe his dedication. When John isn't climbing, he's often to be found in his
California home hanging by his fingertips to strengthen his arms and hands. Where are the hard men
and women for Jesus? Where are those who will bring all their energies to bear for the sake of Christ
and the Gospel? Where are those who will consecrate themselves totally to the Lord? That's the kind
of people God is looking for in His church and kingdom."
11. Even the world requires perfection, for anything short of it means disaster. John Maxwell shares
these startling statistics from some of his research: "If 99.9 percent is good enough, then two million
documents will be lost by the IRS this year; twenty-two thousand checks will be deducted from wrong
bank accounts in the next sixty minutes; 1,314 telephone calls will be misplaced by
Telecommunications Services every minute; twelve babies will be given to the wrong parents each
day; 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions will be written in the next twelve months, all if 99.9 percent
is good enough." Someone else said, "The model, the example, that our heavenly Father has given us

6. is the perfect image of Christ. Perfection is what we are to wish for, pant after, and shall at last obtain
in glory. We do not and we can not and we must not have the Law and standards of God toned down
because of our weakness." Another wrote, "The Lord teaches us through the apostle Paul in PHI
3:13-14: "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." What is the prize? What is the mark
toward which he was pressing? It was perfection. Does that mean we can attain it and walk in a
presumptuous way in this life? No. We strive for perfection. We do not slight the least of His
commandments because that slights the Lawgiver and the authority by which that commandment was
given."
The fact is, most can never be perfect in any sport, and that is why most never get the highest medals,
but they are never going to lower the standard so that more can win. When you see contests of all
kinds you do not see the judges lowering the standards and rules of the contest so that weaker
performers can still win. Perfection will always be demanded of winners. Why should God settle for
less and lower his standard and say just be good most of the time and keep at least 8 of my ten
commandments on a consistent basis? That is not going to happen. Perfection may be impossible for
most people, but that is still the goal. Thank God that he is a forgiving father when we fail to reach
that level, but we should never think he would lower his demand. But he is able to help us live on this
level of perfection, for he is almighty. He enabled Abram and Sarai to have a child when it was
humanly impossible, and the point is, he is able to help us live on the highest level of which we are
capable. People who win gold medals are only the best of their time, but the next time someone will
break their record and show they were not perfect. Nobody is perfect in any ultimate sense. That
distinction belongs to Jesus Christ alone. Each of us can be perfect according to the gifts and abilities
that we now possess. As we grow we will be perfect on a higher level, and all of us will be perfect on
different levels. Each of us can be the best of who we are right now, however, and even God does not
demand of us more than the best of what we are now. He does demand that we grow and become
more and more of what we can be, but all he demands now is that we live the best that we know now
according to our knowledge of his will. Because God is able, it makes it possible for us to walk before
him and be blameless. It means that all of us can live without knowingly defying God's will as we
know it. We still have many imperfections, but we can be blameless as far as living in willful
disobedience to God's revealed will. This is not sinless perfection, for we all sin in many ways of which
we are unaware. We have the sins of omission of which we don't even realize we are guilty. We are far
from the finished product that God has in mind for eternity, but we can live in full obedience to all we
know of God's will. This is the commitment of the unknown author who wrote the following
paragraph.
"I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast.
I've stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won't look back, let
up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is
secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless
dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals! I no longer need
preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first,
tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, live by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot
be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in

7. the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder
at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let go, or
slow up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I
am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He
stops. And when He comes to get His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be
clear."
12. Pink has an interesting study on the various uses of the word walk. He writes, "And when Abram
was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty
God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect" (Gen. 17:1). We would call attention to four passages that
refer to the walk of the Lord’s people in which a different preposition is used. Here in Genesis 17:1
Abram is bidden to "walk before" Almighty God. The children of Israel were exhorted to "walk
after" the Lord: "Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His
commandments" (Deut. 13:4). Of Enoch and Noah it is witnessed that they "walked with God" (Gen.
5:24; 6:9). But of those who are members of the Body of Christ the word is, "As ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him" (Col. 2:6). To walk before is suggestive of a child
running ahead and playing in the presence of his father, conscious of his perfect security because he is
just behind. To walk after becomes a servant following his master. To walk with indicates fellowship
and friendship. To walk in denotes union. As to how we are to walk in Christ, the Holy Spirit tells us
in the words which immediately follow the exhortation: "Rooted and built up in Him" (Col. 2:7). We
might summarize these varied aspects of the believer’s walk as intimated by the four different
prepositions thus: we walk "before" God as children; we walk "after" Him as servants; we walk
"with" Him as His friends; we walk "in" Him as members of His body."
13. I have no idea who put this study together, but it is an excellent study on the key people who
literally walked with God.
"He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and
to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" Micah 6:8.
God's desire is that we might "walk with Him". Many times people think that to be a Christian means
that "God walks with me" - in other words, wherever I go, God goes. But we are called to align our
lives to the life of God, not the other way around. We walk with God (Amos 3:3).
Three Examples
The Bible provides many examples of those who walked with God (read 1 Cor.10:11; Heb.11). We
study their lives, not just as history lessons, but also to understand the secret of their walk with God
(Hebrew 6:12). Three men in the Bible are actually identified as specifically having "walked with
God": Enoch, Noah and Abraham.
Enoch's Walk
"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the
father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no
more, because God took him away" Gen. 5:21-24.
Something happened to Enoch when Methuselah was born. Up until that time, Enoch had probably

8. believed in God, but had not walked with God. What happened to change all this?
Methuselah became the oldest man to ever live (969 years) and the year he died God sent the Flood in
judgment against a wicked world. It seems that God had revealed to Enoch that his son was the
"time-clock" for God's judgment. In fact, Enoch saw beyond even the Flood to the Second Coming of
Christ.
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with
thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the
ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have
spoken against him" Jude 14-15.
This revelation of judgment launched Enoch into a close walk with God. Enoch's fellowship with God
was so close that God caught him straight up to heaven to be with Him, without Enoch having to taste
of death first (Genesis 5:24). This is a picture of what it will be like for Christians alive when Jesus
returns (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
"By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found,
because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased
God" Hebrews 11:5.
Noah's Walk
Noah was one of a handful of men that impressed the heart of God (Ezekiel 14:12-20). Like Enoch, he
is described as a man who "walked with God".
"Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God" Genesis
6:9 (see also 7:1).
In the midst of this corrupt generation, Noah was special, because of his attitude (read Genesis 6:5-12,
22; 7:1). He was blameless in his generation.
Noah saw things unseen
"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family."
Hebrews 11:7.
The Bible talks about two "worlds" - the seen world and the unseen world (2 Cor.4:18; Heb.11:1).
Noah's eyes were fixed on the unseen world and this affected his walk on the earth.
Noah condemned his generation
"...By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith"
Hebrews 11:7.
Noah was a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5), but it wasn't his words that condemned the
world, but his life. Through his life, Noah proved that it was possible not to walk a way of violence
and depravity, thus leaving his generation with no excuse for their condition (Romans 1:18-20).
Saved from a corrupt generation

9. In Matt.24:37-39, Jesus said that the generation alive at the time of His return would be just like that
of Noah's generation. Noah's generation was judged because of its violence and corruption, not
because they were "eating and drinking.". Their daily lives numbed them to the reality of their evil
condition. Our generation is no different.
"With many other words he warned them; and pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt
generation'" Acts 2:40.
Our salvation does not just mean we are rescued from an eternity in hell (the future). Our salvation
extends into the here and now.
Abraham's Walk
"...the Lord appeared to [Abram] and said, 'I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless'"
Genesis 17:1.
Like Enoch and Noah, Abraham walked with God (Genesis 24:40). But the New Testament describes
the walk of Abraham in a way different from Enoch and Noah.
"...'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's
friend " James 2:23.
Abraham's fellowship with the Lord was so great that he was called the "friend" of God (2
Chronicles 20:7). This did not just mean that God was Abraham's friend. Even more than that,
Abraham was God's friend. God felt He could share the depths of His heart with Abraham, just as
two friends might do. God is looking for the same kind of deep friendship with you (John 15:13-15;
Proverbs 17:17).
Like Enoch, Noah and Abraham, each of us has a choice between two walks - between walking with
the world or walking with God (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16), between the seen world and the unseen
world of God's promises (2 Corinthians 5:7). The choice we make will determine how we live - our
outlook, our values, our lifestyle (Hebrews 11:32-12:2).
2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will
greatly increase your numbers."
1.It has been 13 years of silence and anybody would be wondering about the promise at this point.
God knew that and so he appeared to confirm what he had said earlier and give Abram some peace of
mind and assurance that everything was still on track. There is no way to know why God would be
delaying progress on his promise, and so he comes to give Abram a booster shot of hope and
confidence that he has not been forgotten. Gill writes, "Abram's seed by Sarai is intended, which
should be exceeding exceedingly, or in great abundance multiplied; and especially as this may include
both his natural seed by her, and his spiritual seed among all nations, who are of the same faith with
him...."

10. 3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
1. This is the falling chapter for Abram, for he falls twice. He falls here and again in verse 17. There
are strong emotions affecting him as God confronts him in person. Falling is quite common for people
who meet God. In fact, falling down with one's face to the ground, or falling on one's knees is one of
the most common experiences in the Bible for those who sense the presence of God. The fact that we
seldom to never fall down would indicate that we also seldom experience a close encounter with God. I
have collected the places where people in the Old Testament did this, and where those experiencing
the presence of Christ did it, plus those in heaven before the throne of God. It is an impressive list that
makes it clear that the fall of man is not always a bad thing, for all of this falling is an expression of
reverence and honor to God. Here is a whole new slant on the fall of man, for it can be an act of
worship.
Leviticus 9:24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and
the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
Numbers 14:5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered
there.
Numbers 16:4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
Numbers 16:22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all
mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"
Numbers 16:45 "Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell
facedown.
Numbers 20:6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and
fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them.
Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in
the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
Joshua 5:14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come."
Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord
[ Or lord ] have for his servant?"
Joshua 7:6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD,
remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.

11. Judges 13:20 As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended
in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.
1 Kings 18:39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The
LORD -he is God!"
1 Chronicles 21:16 David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and
earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed
in sackcloth, fell facedown.
2 Chronicles 20:18 Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and
Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.
Ezra 9:5 Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn,
and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God
Job 1:20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in
worship
Ezekiel 1:28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance
around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell
facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Ezekiel 3:23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was standing there,
like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.
Ezekiel 9:8 While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, "Ah, Sovereign
LORD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on
Jerusalem?"
Ezekiel 11:13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried
out in a loud voice, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?"
Ezekiel 43:3 The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he [ Some Hebrew manuscripts and
Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts ] came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the
Kebar River, and I fell facedown.
Ezekiel 44:4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked
and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown.
Matt. 17:4-7 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three
shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." 5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud
enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased. Listen to him!" 6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.
7But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8When they looked up,

12. they saw no one except Jesus.
Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it
is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Mark 5:6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.
Mark 5:22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his
feet
Mark 5:33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and,
trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.
Mark 7:25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by
an evil [ Greek unclean] spirit came and fell at his feet.
Mark 10:17 [ The Rich Young Man ] As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his
knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Mark 14:35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might
pass from him.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am
a sinful man!"
Luke 5:12 [ The Man With Leprosy ] While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was
covered with leprosy. [ The Greek word was used for various diseases affecting the skin—not
necessarily leprosy.] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if
you are willing, you can make me clean."
Luke 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What
do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!"
Luke 8:41 Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading
with him to come to his house
Luke 8:47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his
feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been
instantly healed.
John 11:32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said,
"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

13. John 18:6 "I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus
said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 5:14 The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Revelation 11:16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on
their faces and worshiped God,
Revelation 16:21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And
they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
Revelation 19:4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God,
who was seated on the throne. And they cried: "Amen, Hallelujah!"
Revelation 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a
fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Revelation 22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen
them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.
Revelation 7:11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four
living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
2. This falling on his face by Abram is the first recorded instance of someone falling like this before
God. Falling on one's face is a posture of adoration. There are a number of texts where this same
posture is taken in the presence of a king or some other person to be greatly honored and respected. It
expresses both humility and reverence. Gill writes, "And Abram fell on his face,.... At the sight of so
glorious a Person that appeared to him, and in reverence of his majesty, and as sensible of his
unworthiness of such a visit, and of having such favors bestowed upon him; and not because he was
not as yet circumcised, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it; and so other Jewish writers observe,
that before he was circumcised he fell, when God spoke to him, but afterwards he sat and stood, Gen_
18:1; but it may be observed, that not only uncircumcised persons, as Balaam, Num_22:31, in whom
Jarchi instances, but circumcised ones, as Ezekiel, Eze_1:28, Joshua, Jos_5:14, and others, have fallen
on their faces at a divine appearance:"

14. 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the
father of many nations.
1. Each of his sons became separate nations and that would make 8 nations. Ishmael had 12 sons and
that then comes to 20, and then add the 12 sons of Jacob and you have 32. Then add his sons by
Keturah and you are up into the 40's. And beyond this we have no record, but what we have recorded
alone equals what we can rightly call many nations. There is no other man who has had so many
nations claiming him as their father. Three times a day the traditional liturgy of the Jews ends with,
""Sovereign who helps, saves and protects--Blessed are you Lord God, the Shield of Abraham." No
other person, not even Moses, plays such an honored role in traditional Judaism. God's promise and
covenant with Abraham has been more than fulfilled in that all three of the great monotheistic
religions of the world claim him as their father. No person can ever surpass Abraham as the father of
many nations.
2. John Piper writes, " Who are the heirs of the promises made to Abraham and to his seed? Who are
the beneficiaries of the blessing of Abraham? In Genesis 17:4 God says, "Behold, my covenant is with
you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations." This seems to say that the seed of Abraham
will not be restricted to the Jewish nation. He will father descendants who belong to many nations (cf.
Rom 4:17). This is probably the way Genesis 12:3 will be fulfilled: "In you all the families of the earth
will be blessed" (cf. Gal. 3:8). In other words, it is the seed of Abraham that will inherit his blessing
(Gen. 17:7); the seed will include many nations (Gen. 17:4); and therefore, many nations or families
will be blessed through Abraham (Gen. 12:3); many nations will be the heirs of his promises.
When we turn to the New Testament things that were only hinted at in the Old Testament became
very clear. Paul is confronted with the agonizing situation that many of his Jewish kinsmen have
rejected Christ and are accursed under God's condemnation for unbelief. Yet these are the seed, the
physical descendants, of Abraham. How can this be? Has the word of promise to Israel fallen? He
gives his answer in Romans 9:6-8: "It is not as though the word of God has fallen. For not all who are
descended from Israel belong to Israel; and not all are children of Abraham just because they are his
descendants; but through Isaac shall your descendants be named.' This means that it is not the
children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as
descendants. Paul's answer is that God's promises to the descendants of Abraham have not failed,
even though many Jews are unbelieving and therefore accursed, because the promises were never
made to every physical descendant of Abraham. Just as Isaac, not Ishmael, was the child of promise,
and Jacob, not Esau, was the child of promise, so also throughout Israel's history there has been a
true remnant within Israel who are the heirs of the full covenant blessings. The rest are not the seed of
Abraham because, even though they trace their physical descent to him, they do not share his faith
and obedience. That is why John the Baptist said to the unrepentant Jews, "Do not say, 'We have
Abraham as our father!' (Matt. 3:9), and Jesus said to the Jews who rejected him, "If you were
Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did" (John 8:39). In other words, many Israelites
(most Israelites) are not the seed of Abraham, which will inherit the promises.
That did not make Paul happy. He loved his kinsmen, as we should. But Paul saw God's hand in it all:
the unbelief of Israel meant the gateway into the covenant blessings was swung wide to the nations
(Rom. 11:12). And God granted to Paul to understand and make explicit what was hinted at in those
chapters in Genesis. This is what Paul taught in Galatians 3:

15. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand
to Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all the nations be blessed!' So then, those who have faith are blessed
with faithful Abraham. (vv. 8-9) … In Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham comes upon the gentiles
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (v.14) … There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring (seed), heirs according to the promise
(vv.28,29).
Who then are the heirs of the precious and very great promises made to Abraham and to his seed?
You are. To whom can it be said: Your sins are forgiven; God is for you, with all his power, goodness
and mercy will pursue you all your life and you will rise from the dead; your name will be great; your
assembly as the stars of the heavens; you will possess the gates of your enemies, and the land of Israel
and all the earth will be your inheritance; and you will fill the new world with the knowledge of the
glory of the Lord? To whom can all this be said? To you, the children of Abraham through faith in
Christ. "For all things are yours … whether the world or life or death or the present or the future, all
(the promises!) are yours, for you are Christ's and Christ (the seed of Abraham) is God's (1 Cor. 3:21-
23). Amen."
5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be
Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
1. What a burden it had to be to Abram to have a name that meant exalted father and for years not to
have any children at all in a culture where most people were popping out a baby every year. It must
have been a laughing matter to neighbors to call Abram big daddy when he was childless. Now he is
to be called Abraham, which expands his fatherhood image to multitudes and even nations, and he
still has only one child. The world was full of people who had five, ten and even 12 kids in the family,
and God chooses a man like Abraham to populate a great nation. God just does not conform to our
idea of the logical way of doing things. God wants to bless the whole world through this man, and he
does it, but most of us would have chosen a more fertile couple with a good start on a large family
already. We need to accept the fact that God does not always do things the way we would. In fact, it is
likely that God will do things in the way that we wouldn't. It should never surprise us when God
makes choices that would never get the popular vote. We do not see much difference between Abram
and Abraham. It is really only one letter added, but this one letter adds a multitude to the meaning.
Clark writes, "Hottinger, in his Smegma Orientale, supposes the word to be derived from the Arabic
root [Arabic] rahama, which signifies to be very numerous. Hence [Arabic] ab raham would signify a
copious father or father of a multitude. This makes a very good sense, and agrees well with the
context. Either this etymology or that which supposes the inserted he to be an abbreviation of the
word hamon, multitude, is the most likely to be the true one." He also adds this note on the name
change of Sarai: "Now as the only change in each name is made by the insertion of a single letter, and
that letter the same in both names, I cannot help concluding that some mystery was designed by its
insertion; and therefore the opinion of Clarius and some others is not to be disregarded, which
supposes that God shows he had conferred a peculiar dignity on both, by adding to their names one of
the letters of his own: a name by which his eternal power and Godhead are peculiarly pointed out."
2. Someone wrote, "Think of the irony in these new names. Two old people, childless and beyond

16. their childbearing years, will now call each other by names that indicate they are the parents of a host
of heirs. How do you think Hagar and Ishmael and the other servants reacted when they heard Sarai
call her husband Abraham, and when they heard him call her Sarah? I am sure they were snickering
and smiling and laughing behind their backs! I am sure they thought Abraham and Sarah were old
fools in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's." We see God's sense of humor in the way he goes about
this whole plan of blessing the world through this one in a billion couple. Any committee in the world
would have started this process with a vibrant young couple in their sexual prime, but not El-shaddai.
Because he is all-powerful he starts with an aged couple whose clock is not ticking, but has long
stopped. He does it this way because he can, and thereby demonstrates his sovereignty. Dr. Revis
writes, "It must have been a strange experience for Abram to start sporting this new name, "Super-
Dad, Father of a Zillion Kids" with only one son to his credit, and that with Hagar, the slave woman
who isn't his wife. Don't you know people could barely hold back the chuckles when they heard his
name! Of course, Abraham, before his life is over, will have the last laugh! Maclaren writes about this
new name, "How often Canaanites and his own household would smile as they used it! What a piece
of senile presumption it would seem to them! How often Abram himself would be tempted to think his
new name a farce rather than a sign! But he took it humbly from God, and he wore it, whether it
brought ridicule from others or assurance in his own heart. It takes some courage for any of us to call
ourselves by names that rest on God's promise and seem to have little vindication in present facts. The
world is fond of laughing at saints, but Christians should familiarize themselves with the lofty
designations which God gives His children, and see in them not only a summons to life corresponding,
but a pledge and prophecy of the final possession of all which these imply. God calls things that are
not, as though they were; and it is wisdom, faith, and humility not presumption which accepts the
names as omens of what shall one day be."
3. Leslie Flynn wrote, "Living on the caravan route that carried much of the commerce of the ancient
world between Egypt and the north and east, Abram met many merchants. When a trader introduced
himself, Abram was compelled to give his name, which means high father, or father of many. Dr.
Barnhouse suggests, it must have happened a hundred times, and each time more galling than the
time before. Oh, Father of many! Congratulations! And how many sons do you have? And the answer
was so humiliating to Abram: None. And many a time there must have been the half-concealed snort
of humor at the incongruity of the name and the fact that there were no children to back up such a
name. Some time after Ishmael was born, God changed his name to Abraham, which means father of
a multitude (Genesis 17:5). Dr. Barnhouse comments: There are some things in the Bible that cause
me to chuckle and there is a thought in connection with this verse that always has had that effect on
me. I cannot help but think of what must have happened when Abraham broke the news to his family
and servants that he was now changing his name . . . Were there some who said to themselves with a
laugh, The old man couldn't take it. It got under his skin after all these years. After all, to be father of
nobody for eighty-six years and then to be the father of only one, with a name like he has . . . must
have its rough moments. So he is going to change his name. I wonder what it will be. And then the old
man spoke. I am to be known as Abraham father of a multitude. We can almost hear the silence of
the stunned moment as the truth breaks upon them. Father of a multitude. Then the laughter broke
forth behind the scenes. Father of a multitude! Was there anything more ridiculous for a man of his
age?"
4. When God changes a persons name it means there are going to be some radical changes in the
direction of their life. The long time of waiting for Abram and Sarai is coming to an end, and the
miracle child is on the horizon. The real beginning of the people of God is about to begin, and it is to

17. be a people with a spiritual heritage that will be a blessing to all mankind. Abraham had eight
children before he died and each of them went on to become nations in that part of the world, and so
the plural of nations fits the future of his children. The primary focus, however, is the nation of Israel
through whom the messiah will come who will be the Savior, not just of the Jews, but of the entire
Gentile world as well. There have been many blessings to the world that came through his other
children who formed the Arab world of nations, but the greatest blessing of all came through his son
Isaac and grandson Jacob.
5. People change there names yet today, but sometimes they are not an improvement. A man came
before the judge to get his name changed and the judge said, "I can understand why you want to
change your name Joe Stinks. What do you want to change it too?" Joe said, "I want to change it to
Bill Stinks. I am so sick of people saying hello Joe what do you know." Some see it as funny here too
that God would change the name of the first Jew to end in ham, and then forbid pork to be eaten.
6. Sometimes people get a change of name because of some dramatic event in their lives that puts a
label on them as a nickname. For example: "At the first battle of Bull Run in 1861, a fierce Union
charge caused confusion in the Confederate ranks. Confederate General Barnard Bee rode up to
General Thomas Jackson and reported, "General, they are beating us back." Jackson shouted, "Give
them the bayonet.” General Bee galloped back to his men and yelled, "There is Jackson standing like
a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!" The Confederates rallied and that day a new name was
born for General Thomas Jackson. He would henceforth be known as General "Stonewall" Jackson."
However, in the case of Abram and Sarai it is totally the sovereign choice of God to change their
names, for they have done nothing to make a difference, and no special event has taken place to
warrant a name change.
7.Who is the seed and who are these many nations? The following paragraphs by an unknown author
give us the New Testament answers.
"First, if you would turn with me Galatians, chapter 3. When we read in Genesis 17:7 that the
covenant was with Abraham and with his seed, we naturally think of all those who follow in the faith
of Abraham. And we’re not incorrect to do that, but the apostle Paul draws us to very sharp,
theological point that he wants to drive home in Galatians, chapter 3 and especially verse 16. Look at
it here. Galatians 3, verse 16: "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to His seed. He does
not say ‘and to seeds’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘and to your seed,’ that is, Christ. Do
you realize what Paul is telling you there? That all the promises that God made to Abraham and to
his seed are found and summed up and possessed by and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He alone is the
inheritor of the promises of Abraham. And so, if I can say this reverently, if you want a piece of that
pie, you must be in Christ. You must be united with Him, you must be identified with Him, you must
have trusted in Him and rested in Him alone because all of these promises that we have just
enumerated belong to Christ, and they are only enjoyed by those who trust in Him. That’s the first
glorious theological point that Paul draws from Genesis 17.
There’s another one if you turn back to Romans, chapter 4. We ask the question, who is Abram’s
seed? And Paul tells us unequivocally Christ. That is Abram’s seed. And so we ask another question
as we look at Genesis 17. We ask, well, who are the nations? Who are these nations that God has
promised Abram to be a father of? Paul gives us an answer in Romans, chapter 4, beginning in verse
14. He’s talking about those who are heirs of the promises, and he says in Romans 4, verse 14: "If

18. those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings
about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason, it is by faith that it
might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the descendants,
not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the
father of us all, (as it is written, ‘A Father of many nations I have made you’) in the sight of Him
whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according
to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’"
And so in this passage God renames Abram. He calls him Abraham, which means the father of many
nations. I wonder what Abraham looked forward to when he was given that title the father of many
nations? The New Testament tells us that, too. Turn with me to the book of Revelation, chapter 7.
Revelation 7 and verse 9. "And after these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no
one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands."
Can you imagine Abram walking back to the tents that night? For seventy some odd years he had
borne the name and reproach of Abram, exalted father. For thirteen years he had found some relief
that he had one son. Now he goes back to his tent to announce to his servants and to his family,
friends, family, God has changed my name. I mean you can imagine the reaction of the family. They
would be thinking well perhaps the Lord gave him a little more appropriate name. I mean one son,
after all. He said, yeah, the name that he has given to me is the father of many nations."
6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you,
and kings will come from you.
1. God cannot say it in enough ways that Abraham will become legendary due to the number of
people that will live in the future because of his fathering a child from Sarah. Not only will there be
masses of people, but there will be kings as well. He will not just have a multitude of common people,
but also a host of royal highnesses who rule over the masses. In other word, whole nations with their
population and their rulers will come from his loins. "You are going to be famous Abraham," is the
bottom line of what God is communicating. "Common shepherds will sit around the campfire at night
and tell stories about you Abraham, and kings from their thrones will rehearse the same stories to
their royal families, and the dukes and princes of their kingdoms. You will be, not just the talk of the
town, but the talk of the world." This promise has been fully fulfilled, for Abraham is actually one of,
if not the most, famous persons in the world. He is the only person in history who most highly
honored in all three of the great monotheistic religions of the world, which are Judaism, Christianity
and Islam. The whole history of kings in Israel came from his seed, and all the kings of Ishmael's
tribes were from his seed. It is harder to trace any kings in Christian history to Abraham, but those
who were Christian kings are considered a part of the seed of Abraham. All of Abraham's eight
children became heads of nations, and their large families multiplied so that even before he died there
were a great many people in the world because of him. Some of the nations with kings were Israel,
Judah, Midianites, Edomites, Arabs, Saracens and Turks.

19. 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.
1. God is making a commitment here that has some amazing implications. He is saying that he will be
the God of Abraham's descendants. Now if this refers only to the descendants who became the Jewish
nation, then he is the God of Israel only, and all the other 7 kids whom he fathered are not included
and have to find their own God. That could be argued because only those in the line of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob were in the line of those who were under the covenant. On the other hand, his other
children were already taught to worship the God of Abraham would not just to off and forget all that
they learned while growing up with Abraham. So the issue here is God saying that he will be the God
of all Abraham's descendants, or just the line through Isaac? This is not an easy question to answer,
but we will try to gather evidence for one way or the other as we continue to study this everlasting
covenant. If you take it as literal and at face value, it is saying that all who come from Abraham are
included, and God promises to be their God forever.
2. Henry writes, "Here is the continuance of the covenant, intimated in three things:-- 1. It is
established; not to be altered nor revoked. It is fixed, it is ratified, it is made as firm as the divine
power and truth can make it. 2. It is entailed; it is a covenant, not with Abraham only (then it would
die with him), but with his seed after him, not only his seed after the flesh, but his spiritual seed. 3. It
is everlasting in the evangelical sense and meaning of it. The covenant of grace is everlasting. It is
from everlasting in the counsels of it, and to everlasting in the consequences of it; and the external
administration of it is transmitted with the seal of it to the seed of believers, and the internal
administration of it by the Spirit of Christ's seed in every age."
3. Pink writes, "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure
to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham;
who is the father of us all" (Rom. 4:16). How is Abraham the "father" of us all? In what sense is he
such? Not, of course, literally, by procreation, but figuratively, by typification. Just as naturally the
son inherits certain traits from his father, just as there is a resemblance between them, just as Adam
"begat a son in his own likeness, after his image" (Gen. 5:3), so there is a resemblance and likeness
between Abraham and those who are "Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise" (Gal.
3:29). In a word, Abraham is to be regarded as a sample believer. Thus there will be a close
correspondence, in the broad outline, between Abraham’s history and ours."
Pink goes on to show the faith and unbelief of Abraham and illustrates how it is all of faith and God's
grace and not works or the greatness of the individual.
"Probably it is no exaggeration to say that Abraham’s faith was tried more severely, more repeatedly,
and more varisomely than that of any other human being. First, he was called upon to leave the land

20. of his birth, to separate himself from home and kindred, and to set out on a long journey unto a land
which God promised to "show" him, and, we are told, "he went out not knowing whither he went."
After his arrival in the new land he did not enter into occupation of it, but instead, sojourned there as
a stranger and pilgrim. All that he ever owned in it was a burying-place. Dwelling in tents with Isaac
and Jacob, he remained there well nigh a century. Again, his faith was tested in connection with
God’s promise to give him a son by Sarah. His own body "dead," and his wife long past the age of
child-bearing, nevertheless "he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong
in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also
to perform"(Rom. 4:20, 21). Finally, the supreme test came when he was bidden to offer up his son
Isaac, but, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the
promises offered up his only begotten son. . . . accounting that God was able to raise him up, even
from the dead" (Heb. 11:17, 19).
But did Abraham’s faith never waiver? Alas, it did. He was a man of like passions to ourselves, and in
him, too, there was an evil heart of unbelief. The Spirit of God has faithfully portrayed the dark as
well as the fair side, and were it not that we are painfully conscious of the tragic history of our own
spiritual lives, we might well marvel at the strange mingling of faith and unbelief, obedience and
disobedience. By faith Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave Chaldea; yes, but by unbelief
he disobeyed in that his father and nephew accompanied him in direct contravention of Jehovah’s
express command. By faith he left Chaldea, but by unbelief he stopped short at Haran (Gen. 11:31).
By faith he entered the land of promise, but as soon as a famine arose he forsook it and went down to
Egypt (Gen. 12:10). By faith he returned and sojourned in the land of promise, but by unbelief he
took to himself the maid Hagar rather than wait for God to put forth His power and give him a son by
Sarah. By faith he went forth against Chedorlaomer and his armies to rescue Lot, but later, by
unbelief he lied to Abimelech about his wife (Gen. 20:21). What a sad exemplification is all this of the
two natures in the believer!
How terribly inconsistent are the lives of God’s saints! By faith Israel crossed the Red Sea, but a little
later, in unbelief, they feared they had been brought into the wilderness to perish from hunger. With
heart stayed upon the Lord, David feared not to engage the mighty Goliath, yet the time came when
he fled from Saul. Filled with confidence in Jehovah, Elijah, single-handed, faced the four hundred
prophets of Baal, but within a few hours he ran in terror from an angry woman. Peter was not afraid
to step out on to the sea, nor was he intimated in the presence of the Roman soldiers, but drew his
sword and smote off the ear of the high priest’s servant; yet, the same night, he trembled before a
maid and dared not to confess his Lord. Oh! the God dishonoring ways of unbelief! Unbelief! Surely
this is the sin, which doth so easily beset us.
Do not the above histories and their sequels bring out the marvelous and gracious long-suffering of
Him with whom we have to do? How patiently God deals with His people! Israel did not perish with
hunger in the wilderness, even though they murmured against God; instead, they were fed with
"angel’s food" (Ps. 78:25)! David was not slain by Saul, even though he did flee from him; instead, he
was afterwards exalted to the throne of Israel! Elijah did not fall a victim to the wrath of Jezebel,
though his faith did fail him; instead, he was afterwards taken to heaven without seeing death at all!
Peter was not disowned because he denied his Lord, nay, after his restoration, he had the signal honor
of opening the door of the kingdom both to the Jews and to the Gentiles! So it was with Abraham.
God did not abandon him when his faith faltered, but dealt gently and patiently with him, leading
him on step by step, disciplining him in the school of experience, until by wondrous grace He enabled

21. him to do by faith on Mount Moriah that which was a type of Calvary itself!
The divine dealings with Abraham wonderfully demonstrated God’s Sovereignty. A unique honor was
conferred upon our patriarch, for he was chosen by God to be the father of the chosen nation, that
nation from which, according to the flesh, Christ was to come. And mark how God’s Sovereignty was
displayed in the character of the one selected by Him. There was nothing in Abraham by nature to
commend him to Jehovah. By descent he belonged to a family of idolaters. Ere he left Chaldea, in
response to God’s call, he entered into an evil compact with his wife (Gen. 12:7). As though to give
special emphasis to their unworthiness, God said to Israel, "Look unto Abraham, your father, and
unto Sarah that bore you: for I called him alone—look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the
hole of the pit whence ye are digged" (Isa. 51:2,1). And Abraham, the father of us all, was a pattern or
sample case. God’s choice before the foundation of the world was not determined by any good or
merit foreseen in us. Election itself is of "grace" (Rom. 11:5). It is all of grace from beginning to end,
sovereign grace, gratuitous grace, matchless grace."
4. Donald Aellen wrote, "This is the primary way God relates with his people. God covenants with his
people. A covenant is very one-sided. God is the one who initiates it. God is the one who invests his all
into it. But God is not the one who benefits from it. It’s all giving for God. How much it costs God to
be in relationship with his people is realized by looking at the Son of God sacrificed on the cross
bearing the sins of the people with whom God wants to be in relationship. Listen when we pray the
prayer of Thanksgiving where Jesus talks about the new covenant he establishes with his people, all at
his expense. And it’s all getting for the people with whom God covenants. Neither is this a temporary
covenant, one based on our good behavior or our moral worthiness. Repeated in these speeches of
God is the phrase ‘everlasting covenant’. Forever is forever. God will always be committed to his
people, devoted to fulfilling his promises of giving them a place, an importance, creating a people who
are one family bound up in their unity to God whatever language they speak, in whatever historical
period they live.
One of the signs by which Abraham will know that God is with him is the reiterated promise of
descendants. The language trips over itself in this passage. Repetition upon repetition of the words
‘offspring, nations, generations, multitudes’. And these are not offspring who are shoved into the
back drawer of history, an unwashed rabble. These descendants will be kings and princes, people
with sovereignty, who will take part in the international scene, who hold immense dignity. And in this
passage we hear the means by which Abraham will have descendants. God gets really clear that it is
Sarah who will bear a son for Abraham. No other child will do. The people of God are to know and
see that that they are really people of God. Its not like Abraham is some Middle Eastern sheik whose
virility is legendary, and who thinks himself God-like because of all the kids he could sire. How God
will fulfill his promise of descendants is beyond human logic and human telling or human ingenuity.
It’s beyond biology. It can only be God that does this. God is making a very special people.
Miraculous birth is a theme of the scripture from here on in. It culminates in Jesus. Only God could
have pulled that pregnancy off. And because of Jesus, we are made a special people, God’s own
people."
8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I

22. will give as an everlasting possession to you and your
descendants after you; and I will be their God."
1. This promise of land to be the home of God's people has been an issue of controversy from the
beginning. Just what was the whole land of Canaan is the first question of dispute, and second is the
concept of the everlasting possession. Does this mean that Canaan will be a part of the eternal
kingdom we call heaven? Does this mean there will be a new Jerusalem in heaven and the old
Jerusalem on earth for all eternity? And if so, who gets to live where, and based on what? Does this
land promise apply only to the line of Isaac, of is there a place for any of the other kids in this land?
You can see that there is much to wrestle with in this promise of God to Abraham.
2.This land was first called just "this land" in 12:7; then later God said, "..all the land which you
see." in 13:15; and still later it gets more specific with borders, "from the river of Egypt as far as the
great river, the river Euphrates." in 15:18."
3. The promise has no condition to it, but the fact is, when the people became disobedient to the law of
God they were taken captive out of the land and did not any longer possess it. It was a conditional
promise and the Jews failed to keep the condition. In the next verses God says one of the conditions
they have to fulfill is circumcision. It is not this condition and any failure to keep it, however, which
led to them losing the land. The word “perpetual” does not mean they would never be removed from
the land. There was a 70-year exile when the Jews were taken away to Mesopotamia. And also the
1900-year exile from the fall of Jerusalem (AD 70) to their return in 1948.
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.
1. In verse 4 God says, "As for me," and now he says, "As for you." God has a part in the covenant
and that is to make and keep his promise. But it is two sided, and man has a part to do and keep as
well. God will only keep his part of the covenant if Abraham and his descendants will keep their part,
and the sign that they are keeping their part is circumcision. You cannot have a one sided
relationship, for both partners need to have some responsibility in maintaining the relationship. God
is responsible to keep his promise, but people are responsible to do the things that motivate God to do
so. If they fail, and instead of pleasing God become rebels who refuse to do what pleases him, then he
has no obligation to keep his side of the bargain. It can be assumed that Abraham taught this to all of
his family and made it clear that this was to be an obligation for all time for all of his descendants.
2. Derek Kidner writes: "The striking feature of the stipulations in this passage is their lack of detail.
To be committed was everything. Circumcision was God’s brand; the moral implications could be left

23. unwritten until Sinai, for Abraham was pledged to a Master, and only secondarily to a way of life."
God is calling on Abraham simply to be absolutely committed to Him in this relationship: ‘Abraham,
stick with Me, stay with Me, trust Me, Abraham, be committed, be loyal to Me.’ That’s the nature of
the covenant relationship, isn’t it? Loyalty, faith and commitment despite all evidence to the contrary
that the promises will be fulfilled. And so God calls Abram to keep the covenant and the joyful
response of the believer to that call of God’s grace is of course to continue in commitment and in
loyalty, in trust and in faith."
3. Steven R. Key writes, "IF YOU GO TO THE DICTIONARY TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE
WORD "COVENANT" YOU WILL FIND THAT A COVENANT IS DEFINED AS AN
AGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO OR MORE PERSONS TO DO SOMETHING SPECIFIED.
In that sense men often enter into covenants. A man and woman enter a covenant in marriage. An
employer and an employee make a covenant in which the employee agrees to give his services and
talents in return for a certain wage. A government forms covenants with its citizens, an agreement in
which the citizens receive certain privileges and services in return for obligations which they must
meet. And so examples could be multiplied of such agreements, although we are not so accustomed to
using the term "covenant" to describe them.
This view of earthly covenants has certainly played a large part in how God's covenant has been
defined and described in Reformed theology. The doctrine of the covenant has always had an
important place, and especially since the theological development of the 16th through the 18th
centuries, and then again in the past century. But although the doctrine of the covenant has an
extremely prominent place in Scripture and has had an important place in Reformed theology, there
is no unanimity of opinion regarding the question, what is the covenant?
There have been different ideas and views expressed concerning God's covenant, but at the heart of
most of them is this thought that it is an agreement, a contract between God and His people.
According to that contract or agreement, God agrees to save His people and to bestow upon them all
the blessings of grace and salvation; while, on the other hand, that promise of salvation must be
received by the people of God in faith. And that faith is a condition. God agrees to save you, only if
you fulfill your condition to that salvation, which is your act of believing.
There are also those who make the covenant a promise. According to them, the promise of God is the
essence and the idea of the covenant. According to this conception, the promise of God is for all who
are outwardly received in the church through baptism, without exception. So that when I baptize any
child, I say to that child, "John, Mary, God promises you that you shall be saved." But, you
understand, such an idea of God's covenant necessarily is conditional. So that the promise really is, "I
promise you salvation, if you believe." Such a concept of the covenant leaves salvation to that
individual child and to his own act of believing. Else it is a lie, of course. For it becomes obvious that
not every baptized child receives salvation, as is supposedly promised here. There are many other
erroneous views of the covenant, views that lead into other erroneous positions. But all these views
stumble over the truth of Scripture and fail to grasp the beauty of God's covenant.
10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after

24. you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you
shall be circumcised.
1. Here we have one of the mysteries of God's plan, for this sign of the covenant can only be obeyed by
males, and so the females of Abraham's descendants cannot in any way, form or fashion enter into
this covenant. God has discriminated against the female descendants by choosing a sign that only
males can participate in. Female circumcision is practiced in some cultures, but it is an anti-female
thing and has no connection with this sign of the covenant. This covenant is sealed with blood, but
only the blood of males, and so why did God choose a sign limited to one sex? Several suggestions are
that because the male is the head of the home, his circumcision includes the women in the home under
him. Another suggestion is that it looks forward to the shed blood of Jesus, which was male blood and
sufficient for the atonement of all people both males and females.
2. Before we try to grasp what circumcision is all about, it is of interest to quote a study of what it is
not about. I have found such a study by an author not known who wrote, "What is the sign not? This
sign of circumcision, by the way circumcision was commonly done in the near East. The Israelites
were not the only ones who circumcise. Many of the nations, including Egypt, circumcised. Did you
know that? The only nation in the near vicinity of Israel that didn’t circumcise was Philistia, and
hence when David is mocking Goliath, he calls him an uncircumcised Philistine: "You uncircumcised
Philistine." So all of the nations were accustomed to applying the sign of circumcision, but most of
them used it as either a mark of priesthood or of a sign of entrance into manhood. Here God takes a
common sign and He devotes it to a special use and that special use is to mark and to assure Abraham
of His promises. So the covenant sign is not a sign of entrance into manhood. In fact, it is explicitly
said to be given, it must be given to male children eight days old. So it’s not a mark of entrance into
manhood. The Jewish thought did not have some distinctive view of when you entered into manhood,
for example, eight days old. No, it’s not a sign of entrance into manhood.
It is not a sign of Jewish ethnicity. Here in Genesis 17:9-14, it is made clear that even if you were a
foreigner bought with money by the master of your house, you are to be circumcised. And that idea of
that ethic fluidity of Israel obtained throughout the history of Israel in the Old Testament. If you’ll
turn with me to Esther 8, I’ll prove that. In Esther 8, if you remember the context, the Jews have been
singled out for destruction. Haman has tried to get a decree passed that will allow people to basically
have free reign on the Jews and to wipe them out. Mordecai has spoiled that plot, and because the
king can’t revoke his previous ordinance to allow people to attack the Jews, what he has to do is to
enact a new ordinance that allows the Jews to defend themselves and to plunder anyone’s inheritance
that they defeat. So here’s the rule: ‘Okay, you can have a free day on the Jews. You can attack them.
But if you attack them and they defend themselves and they defeat you, they get to have your entire
family’s inheritance and they get to plunder you to their heart’s content.’ And so we read this in
Esther 8. "And in each and every province," verse 17, "and in each and every city wherever the
king’s commandment and his decree arrived there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a
holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen
on them." Oh, indeed, indeed. Many of the peoples of the land became Jews? Yes, they converted,
receiving the sign of circumcision and being drawn in. Because the sign of circumcision is not a sign of
Jewish ethnicity, it’s a sign of membership in the covenant."

25. 3. Brian Morgan writes, "The covenant sign was to be taken very seriously. When someone refuses to
wear their wedding ring in public, that small act reveals much about the fidelity of the heart. In the
same way, if a male in Israel would not submit to the wounds of the knife, God said he would be” cut
off" from the covenant family. The knife is inevitable. The only question is whether we submit to it
now or later. One operation is painful, the other unimaginable. It is like a doctor telling a woman with
breast cancer she must submit to the knife or she will die. In God's covenant, self-effort is a cancer
that must be rooted out in order to save our souls."
4. In a search for the meaning of this circumcision requirement there is much speculation. I have done
some myself and share my rambling. Why in the world would God link the organ of sex with the plan
of salvation? What is the connection of sex with salvation? The Savior who came through the line of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did come down through a long line of people who by having sex kept the
line going. In the end, however, the Savior was virgin born without sex. Could God be saying that I
am not limited by the sexuality of man. I use the sex organ of man often to accomplish my will in
history, but I want you to cut a part of it off as a reminder that I am not dependant upon it to achieve
my purpose. Abraham had sex with Hagar and tried to bring about my promise by the use of his sex
organ. He was being typical of man thinking that it is all up to him and his virility to get the will of
God accomplished. It is not so, and this cutting of part of the sex organ will remind you that your
trust is to be in me and not your sexuality. When the time comes I will fulfill all my promise to
Abraham to bless the whole world without the use of any male organ. I use them, but I don't need
them, and so live in humble dependence upon me and my promises, and lean not on your own
understanding and powers. Circumcision is God saying, "It is not about you, but about me." The
male organ will produce the seed that is a multitude of nations, but only my spirit will produce the
seed that blesses the whole world.
5. Guzik writes, "Why did God command the circumcision of children to take place on the eighth
day? Probably because this is the day when an infant's immune system is at the optimum level for
such a procedure. McMillen also notes newborn children have a peculiar susceptibility to bleeding
between the second and fifth days of life; it seems an important blood-clotting agent, vitamin K, is not
formed in the normal amount until the fifth to seventh day of life. Another blood clotting agent,
prothrombin, is at its highest levels in infants on precisely the eighth day of life, making the eighth
day the safest, earliest day to circumcise an infant."
6. "The rite means nothing in itself, unless the life behind the rite reflects the sign of circumcision,
that is, unless the life is lived in obedience to God. It is really circumcision of the heart (so to speak)
that is important to God, the inward manifestation of the outward sign of circumcision. God said in
the Law: "Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer" (Deut. 10:16);
and "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of
Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 4:4). Christians have been given a similar rite: baptism. Baptism symbolizes
the death of the old self and rebirth into the kingdom of God. As Paul says: "We were...buried with
[Christ] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the
glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Rom. 6:4)."
7. Donald Aellen writes, "Abraham’s speech has to do with circumcision. A huge chunk of the story is
devoted to this. God does all the giving in the covenant. But their needs to be a token giving on our
part. Being circumcised is a peculiar thing to do that marks Abraham’s people off from all the other
cultures. It is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual reality. It is a demonstration of

26. willingness to give something of oneself, something of pain, of blood, which shows that Abraham
accepts God’s claim on him. It’s a willingness to be seen as belonging to God, right down to the most
private of our parts. But note that that what God asks for is a body part that is expendable. Abraham
was not asked to castrate himself, or chop off a hand. Foreskin plays no critical biological or
reproductive role. Compared with what God asks of Himself, what he asks from his chosen people is
negligible. Nevertheless it is something. Jesus never asked us to be circumcised, as least on our
privates. St. Paul talks instead that we must ‘circumcise our hearts’ instead. It’s about giving
ourselves body, mind and heart to God, in response to what he does for us."
8. Spurgeon wrote, "It is often said that the ordinance of baptism is analogous to the ordinance of
circumcision. I will not controvert that point, although the statement may be questioned. But
supposing it to be, let me urge upon every believer here to see to it that in his own soul he realizes the
spiritual meaning both of circumcision and baptism, and then consider the outward rites; for the
thing signified is vastly more important than the sign. Baptism sets forth far more than circumcision.
Circumcision is putting away of the filth of the flesh, but baptism is the burial of the flesh altogether.
Baptism does not say, "Here is something to be taken away," but everything is dead, and must be
buried with Christ in his tomb, and the man must rise anew with Christ. Baptism teaches us that by
death we pass into the new life. As Noah's ark, passing through the death of the old world, emerged
into a new world, even so, by a like figure, baptism sets forth our salvation by the resurrection of
Christ: a baptism of which Peter says, it is "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the
answer of a good conscience toward God." In baptism, the man avows to himself and others that he
comes by death into newness of life, according to the words of the Holy Spirit, "Buried with him in
baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the dead." The most valuable point is the spiritual meaning, and on that we
experience what it is to be dead to the world, to be dead and buried with Christ, and then to be risen
with him. Still, brethren, Abraham was not allowed to say, "If I get the spiritual meaning, I can do
without the outward rite." He might have objected to that rite on a thousand grounds a great deal
more strong than any which the hesitating have urged against baptism, but he first accepted the rite,
as well as the thing which it intended, and straightway was circumcised; and so I exhort you, men and
brethren, to be obedient to the precept upon baptism, as well as attentive to the truth which it
signifies. If you be indeed buried with Christ, and risen with him, despise not the outward and
instructive sign by which this is set forth."
9. DR. Ray Pritchard wrote, " Why did God choose a sign that applied only to the men? I think the
answer is that God was reminding Abraham that he was the head of his own household, and as such
he had to answer to God for what happened in his own family. Circumcision meant accepting your
place God’s appointed spiritual leader in your own family. It’s like a father giving his daughter away
at a wedding. He stands and speaks on behalf of the whole family. The circumcised man was saying to
God, “I accept the covenant you have made.” In Joshua 24:15 we have this idea expressed in a very
similar fashion when Joshua exclaims, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
"As for why he chose this particular cultural symbol, we cannot say for sure, but it may be
that God chose a sign that involved the reproductive organs of the male because, at their very
core, the promises to God were about a promise of descendants and, ultimately, about a promised
seed who would eventually fulfill the words prophetically spoken to Eve in Genesis 3. And so
that idea may have been there, along with the idea of the taking away of flesh - which
represented the taking away of the fleshly - that is, the sinful, nature."

27. 10. "Though the incidence of male circumcision has decreased from 90% in 1979 to 60% in 1996, it is
still the most common surgical operation in the United States. Circumcision rates are much lower for
the rest of the industrialized world. In Britain, it is only done for religious practices or to correct a
specific medical condition of the penis. With these factors in mind, the American Academy of
Pediatrics has issued a policy statement that states though there is existing scientific evidence that
indicates the medical benefits of circumcision aren't strong enough to recommended circumcision as a
routine practice. Modern Jewish authors are also recommending that circumcision be no longer a
common practice for Jews."
11. There is a circumcision that is always of value, however, and Macintosh writes of it and says, "The
seal with which the believer is now sealed is not a mark in the flesh, but "that Holy Spirit of promise,
whereby he is sealed unto the day of redemption." This is founded upon his everlasting connection
with Christ, and his perfect identification with Him, in death and resurrection; as we read, in
Colossians 2:11f, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. In
whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of
the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ; buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are
risen with him, through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead. And
you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with
him, having forgiven you all trespasses." This is a most glorious passage, unfolding to us the true idea
of what circumcision was meant to typify. Every believer belongs to "the circumcision" in virtue of
his living association with Him who, by His cross, has forever abolished everything that stood in the
way of His Church's perfect justification. There was not a speck of sin on the conscience, nor a
principle of sin in the nature of His people, for which Christ was not judged on the cross; and they are
now looked upon as having died with Christ, lain in the grave with Christ, been raised with Christ,
perfectly accepted in Him — their sins, their iniquities, their transgressions, their enmity, their
uncircumcision, having been entirely put away by the cross. The sentence of death has been written
on the flesh; but the believer is in possession of a new life, in union with His risen Head in glory." "
For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision means anything, but a new creation. (Gal
6:15)"
12. Don Fortner has some strong opinions about the relationship of circumcision and baptism. He
writes, "The Old Testament rite of circumcision has absolutely nothing to do with the New Testament
ordinance of believer's baptism. There is not a single passage of Scripture in which the two are
connected. Circumcision, as it is explained in the New Testament, pointed to the work of God the Holy
Spirit in the hearts of chosen redeemed sinners. It was a picture of the new birth. As circumcision was
the seal of God's covenant with Abraham to his children, so the coming of the Holy Spirit in his
saving operations of grace is the seal of the new covenant to God's elect, Abraham's true children
(Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). Circumcision is a picture of regeneration. Believer's baptism is a picture of
redemption (Rom. 6:3-6). Circumcision in the flesh meant exactly the same thing to Abraham and his
descendants that the new birth means to us. It was a mark by which God's covenant was sealed to his
people (Eph. 1:14; 4:30). It was a mark distinguishing God's people from the rest of the world. It was
a painful mark. – The experience of grace is painful to the flesh. It was a purifying mark (Acts 15:9-
11; 1 John 3:3). It was a permanent mark. It could not be reversed (Rom. 11:29; Ecc. 3:14)."
13. God says he and his seed are to keep the covenant, and that means it is a conditional covenant.
John Piper has some interesting words on this matter that resolves the paradox of it being an eternal

28. covenant and yet conditional where it could end by not being kept. He writes, "What were the
conditions of the promises to Abraham? There is a good deal of confusion over this matter of whether
the Abrahamic covenant is conditional or not. But the confusion is not necessary and arises from a
false assumption, namely that if a covenant is conditional it cannot be certain of fulfillment. Or to put
it another way, if a person must meet certain conditions in order to benefit from God's promises, then
the fulfillment of those promises cannot be irrevocable and sure. But that is not true. It is a false
assumption based squarely on the conviction that man is autonomous and self-determining. But if, as
Ezekiel 36:27 says, God puts his Spirit in man and causes him to walk in his statutes (and thus fulfill
the conditions of the covenant), then a promise can be both conditional and certain of fulfillment. If
God commits himself to work so that Abraham fulfills the conditions of the covenant promises, then
there is no inconsistency in saying that the promises are sure, steadfast, irrevocable and conditional.
This is exactly what we find in Genesis. First, in Genesis 12:1-3 and 15:4,5 the promises are made
without any conditions being mentioned. They appear to be absolute and certain of fulfillment. But in
Genesis 22:16-18 we read that the fulfillment of the promises is conditional upon Abraham's
obedience. He has just obeyed God in offering Isaac to him on the altar. The angel of the Lord
stopped his hand and said, "'By myself I have sworn,' says the Lord, 'because you have done this and
have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your
descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants
shall possess the gate of their enemies and by your descendants shall all of the nations bless
themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." The promises will be fulfilled because Abraham
obeyed God. Therefore, the fulfillment of the promises was conditional upon Abraham's obedience.
Another crucial text in this regard is Genesis 18:19 where God says, " I have chosen Abraham that he
may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing
righteousness and justice so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him." If the
promises made to Abraham and his seed are to be fulfilled, then his household must keep the way of
the Lord. The promises are conditional. But they are not uncertain. They were stated absolutely in
Genesis 12:1-3 and 15:4,5. And here in Genesis 18:19 the point is that God chose Abraham to charge
his household in such a way that they will fulfill the conditions of the promises. The promises are both
conditional and sure.
And no one should jump to the conclusion that this makes the covenant of Abraham a covenant of
works. Works are deeds done in self-reliance to earn God's favor by showing oneself meritorious. But
the obedience which Abraham had (though not perfect) was the inevitable outcome of his faith in
God's gracious promise. He obeyed God and offered his only son Isaac on the altar not to earn God's
favor, but because he was so confident in God's promise to give him posterity through Isaac (Gen.
21:12; Heb. 11:17-19) in spite of everything. Obedience is the necessary outcome of truly trusting in
God's promises, and so obedience is made a condition of inheriting God's promises, which are granted
by grace and through faith. This means that the covenant of Abraham is just like the new covenant
under which we live. For it too is conditional -- not on works, but on the obedience of faith. John 3:36
says: "He who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him"; and
Hebrews 5:9, "Christ became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him." The Covenant of
Abraham and the New Covenant under which we live today are one covenant of grace, because in
both, gracious promises are made to sinners who receive them through faith -- a faith which banks so
completely on the wisdom and power and love of God that it inevitably obeys his commands.