01-53 Ponder Anew What the Almighty Can Do
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Genesis 17:1-8
Genesis 17:1-8
In 1820, the 3rd president of the US (out of office for a little more than a decade) produced a book that he entitled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. This was actually the 2nd edition (1st: The Philosophy of Jesus)—Which he explained to John Adams that he extracted, reduced, and cut down the gospel until the only thing left was “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals that has ever been offered to man.”
The 2nd edition (about 2x the length) has come to be known as the Jefferson Bible. Using the 4 gospels, he took a sharp knife, cutting and pasting the parts of the Bible he was having problems with—all references to the miraculous and supernatural. Jefferson describes this process himself, writing to a pastor:
Probably you have heard me say I had taken the four Evangelists, had cut out from them every text they had recorded of the moral precepts of Jesus, and arranged them in a certain order; and although they appeared but as fragments, yet fragments of the most sublime edifice of morality which had ever been exhibited to man.
What was left was a reflection of what he rejected of orthodox Xty: references to angels, genealogy, miracles, the Trinity, deity of JC, His resurrection. And what was left was described in a book by Peter Manseau (curator of American religious history at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History) as a Jesus who didn’t do anything:
Jefferson’s is a hard gospel. The blind do not see; the lame do not walk; the multitudes will remain hungry if loaves and fishes must be multiplied to feed them. Even those who look to Jesus for forgiveness of sins are left wanting.
Reject and deny the Scriptures and you’re left with a God who is nothing and can do nothing. This is not what the Bible teaches.
There was a Chinese evangelist by the name of Leland Wong. He had 3 Bible verses at the top of his letterhead:
Joshua 10:13 (NASB95)
13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.
2 Kings 6:6 (NASB95)
6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron [did] float.
Psalm 48:14 (NIV)
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.
Wong used these verses to explain that the God of the Bible is a powerful and mighty God, who really does miracles: the sun really did stand still, the axe head really did float...
These were the miracles that Thomas Jefferson rejected (and many more)—and yet it is the testimony of God’s Word that He is (and does) all that is revealed of Him. While many people today reject miracles and the God who powerfully demonstrates His authority over His creation, what we encounter in Gen 17 is an affirmation that God supernaturally intervenes within human history in order to accomplish His divine will (always good and perfect).
Gen 17 is all about God—though Abram is prominent in the narrative, it is truly all about God (notice the number of times “I will/I am/I have” appear in our vv alone). vv 1-8 identifies 6 features of God’s interaction with Abram—as He reaffirms His covenant promise to Abram—I trust that as we walk thru them your faith will be strengthened, and your desire to worship will greatly increase.
1. God’s Delay
1. God’s Delay
vs 1a. There’s a gap of 13 years between the birth of Ishmael in ch 16 and the beginning of ch 17. Abram had been in the land of Canaan for 24 years (12:4). Abram has endured a great deal of difficulty during those years, not the least of which was a very tense home-life since Sarai’s scheme to involve Hagar in giving Abram a son. Nothing is mentioned about these years. We can surmise that there was a great deal of friction b/t these women and Abram was lit. stuck in the middle (but not without blame).
The fulfillment of God’s promise was not to be found in Ishmael (as we find out later in the ch) but God was delaying the fulfillment according to His perfect timing. We often wonder why God doesn’t act more quickly. Why He doesn’t answer our prayers immediately. We’re prone to misunderstand God’s delaying as disinterest. God is not disinterested in you, in your circumstances, in the difficulties you face, in the direction you need for making decisions—He does want you to learn to trust Him in the moments when He delays. And what supports that trust, really, is your theology. Can God really do whatever He has determined to do?
This was true for Abram and Sarai. They needed to trust the Lord that God would fulfill the promise in His timing.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Paul speaks of Abram’s faith in Rom:
19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;
In Abram’s case, God was waiting for him to be “as good as dead” before the promised son would be given in order to show that in every way, the fulfillment would be all of God…to illustrate the principle that what is impossible with man is possible with God (Mt 19:26; Lk 18:27). In this way, when God delays—all the glory belongs to Him alone.
2. God’s Divinity
2. God’s Divinity
vs 2b
There are dozens of names for God revealed in the Bible: El, Elohim, YHWH, Adonai, El Elyon. But one of the most potent and precious (Lockyer) is the name God reveals for the 1st time to Abram: El Shaddai (God Almighty). The etymology of the term “shaddai” is mostly uncertain. Some have said it is a reference to “power” and that God is revealing Himself as the one who is omnipotent. That is true.
11 Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God;
Psalm 18:13–15 (NASB95) God’s power defending David from his enemies
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. 14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them. 15 Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
Spurgeon:
God’s power is like Himself, self-existent, self-sustained. The mightiest of men cannot add so much as a shadow of increased power to the Omnipotent One. He sits on no buttressed throne and leans on no assisting arm. His court is not maintained by His courtiers, nor does it borrow its splendor from His creatures. He is Himself the great central source and Originator of all power.
God is power(ful)! El means supreme power, strength and might and by itself asserts the fullness of God’s power.
There is another suggestion of what shaddai (48x in OT; 31x in Job) means: “Self-Sufficient.” This means that God is all that He is in Himself. Nothing is added to His divine nature in all that He has created. We have a hard time with this especially in our modern culture. We have been trained by everything around us to have high opinions of ourselves and we tend to think about God along that line. We think we are necessary to God. But God is Shaddai, Self-sufficient and the truth is that God is not any greater b/c we exist and He would not be any less if we didn’t. The fact that we do exist only relates to God’s free determination to create.
Since He is All-sufficient, He is also the God of perfect supply and comfort for all who know Him.
G. Campbell Morgan:
The name or title El Shaddai is peculiarly suggestive, meaning quite literally, “the mighty one of resource or sufficiency.” We miss much of the beauty by our rendering “God Almighty.” The idea of almightiness is present, but it is not fully expressed in the word El. The word Shaddai goes further, and suggests perfect supply and comfort. We should reach the idea better by rendering, “God All-bountiful,” or “God All-sufficient.” To gather sustenance and consolation from the bosom of God is to be made strong for all the pilgrimage.
This term underscores the truth that God sustains His people. How important this is to Abram. Ronald Youngblood says this is the God who makes things happen. And what He does for His people is the immense blessings that He showers upon them:
25 From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
God is assuring Abram that He is able to fulfill all the hopes that He has set before Abram and before all of Abram’s descendants. There’s no need to doubt, no need to try and take matters into your own hands. Everything that God has promised lies in this “I Am El Shaddai.” This is not different for any of us. What God has promised, He has sufficiency to bring it about. Is God any less able to do for you…the impossible of what He did for Abram? How our faith should increase b/c of His Divinity.
3. God’s Demand
3. God’s Demand
vs 1c
God issues 2 demands of Abram at this point. “Walk before me...”
Now, I’ve been stressing the point that God’s covenant with Abram is without any conditions upon Abram. And this is certainly true. The only conditions for the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram (The Abrahamic Covenant) are place on Himself. This was the whole imagery of God appearing as a smoking oven and flaming torch—passing thru the divided animals as the covenant was “cut” (15:17). There were no conditions put on Abram—that he had to uphold in order for the covenant to remain in effect.
Now, what we also see is that with the covenant came certain responsibilities (not conditions). God puts 2 responsibilities on Abram b/c of his relationship with God.
Walk Before Me
Walk Before Me
The idea was to serve and to be a devoted servant to a king. Enoch and Noah walked with God (5:22; 6:8-9). God is calling Abram to walk “before” (lit in front of) Him—to live with the understanding that the eyes of God were always upon Him.
21 For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He watches all his paths.
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
That is humbling isn’t it? There is nothing you can do, think, say without the Lord knowing. And we will give an account for every thought, every careless word we will give an account for. God called Abram and in the same way, calls each of us here to live before Him:
10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Be Blameless
Be Blameless
A 2nd obligation God puts on Abram is blamelessness. This is often misunderstood as perfection or sinlessness. This is not what God is requiring for 1 Kg 8:46 reminds us there is no one who does not sin (1Jn 2:1). The term refers to that which is whole, complete, intact and refers to being single-hearted, without blame, sincere, wholly devoted to the Lord (Wiersbe).
It was used in Ex 12:5—for integrity of the sacrifice
5 ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
God did not want half-hearted devotion from Abram. This is how Noah lived and God wanted the same from Abram and wants the same from you. The NT counterpart:
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,
What’s the secret to living blameless before the Lord? 1-word: Worship (notice Abram’s response vs 3). Every believer must fall before the Lord and yield/submit to God’s will in everything. In this way, you express worship, devotion, love, adoration to the one who is El Shaddai.
4. God’s Declaration
4. God’s Declaration
vv 4-6
You should be able to see the irony in Abram’s name. His name means “exalted father” or “father of many.” The Heb “exalted” refers to an abundance. The problem of course, is that he was the father of none. No doubt that would have been awkward when introducing himself “Hi I’m a father of many” How many children do you have? none.
Donald Grey Barnhouse told how he once knew a man by the name Wrench. He said he divided his acquaintances into 2 groups: those who made wisecracks about his name and those who didn’t. He heard all the jokes: Are you related to the monkey wrench? Are you a lefthanded wrench?
For 99 years Abram was a father of none. That’s about to change and illustrated with God’s declaration. “No longer…shall be Abraham.” Abraham means “father of many nations.” Now, God explains why this would be his name (shows absolute sovereign authority): “for I have made...” Again, the reiteration of the intent of God’s promise as though it is already realized.
Now, every time they would call out his name, “Abraham” would be the exaltation of God, with whom alone this would even be possible—and that he would be fruitful (vs 6).
Another feature of God’s name change was the revelation that “kings will come forth...” Although it would be nearly 1000 years later, the line of kings that began in the Davidic dynasty (leading ultimately to the LJC another 1000 years after that) would see this promise fulfilled.
5. God’s Determination
5. God’s Determination
vs 7
I want to point each time God says He is, does or will do something in our vv:
vs 1: I am God Almighty
vs 2: I will establish; I will multiply you
vs 5: I have made you
vs 6: I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations
vs 7: I will establish My covenant
vs 8: I will give to you and…; I will be their God
Truly this passage is about God. And we should take note of His determination in all this—God says “I will accomplish all my good pleasure” (Is 46:10).
“I will establish My covenant...” establish is a legal term that has the connotation of the validity of one’s testimony in a trial. In Gen 23:17 it will be used to show the validity of the transfer of property. God announces the covenant to man and then stresses that He will make sure it is accomplished. This is the divine guarantee of His determination to bless Abraham—for no other reason than this is His divine choice and good pleasure.
His desire is to give all the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants as “an everlasting possession.” This land is a battleground today—it has been for a very long time and will be until the Lord returns to reign. B/c of God’s covenant with Abraham the land belongs to Israel. Wiersbe notes:
Be Obedient Chapter Six: What’s in a Name? (Genesis 17)
The Jews’ ownership of the land depends solely on God’s gracious covenant with Abraham: God gave them the land. But their possession and enjoyment of the land depends on their faithfulness to obey the Lord. This was the theme of Moses’ messages in Deuteronomy. More than sixty times in that book, Moses told the people they would inherit or possess the land; and at least twenty-five times, Moses reminded them that the land was a gift from the Lord. God’s name was there (Deut. 12:5, 11, 21), and He would watch over the land to bless it, if His people walked in His ways.
Be Obedient Chapter Six: What’s in a Name? (Genesis 17)
Joshua led them into their land where they conquered the inhabitants and claimed their inheritance. But the people did not stay true to the covenant, so God had to discipline them in the land (Jud. 2:10–23). He raised up enemy nations to defeat Israel and put her in bondage. Israel was in the land, but she did not control it or enjoy it (Deut. 28:15ff).
During the reigns of David and Solomon, the people enjoyed their inheritance and served the Lord faithfully. But after the kingdom divided, Israel and Judah both decayed spiritually (except for occasional interludes of revival) and ended up in bondage: Assyria defeated Israel, and Babylon conquered Judah. It was then that God disciplined His people outside their land. It was as though He were saying, “You have polluted My land with your idols, so I will put you in a land that is addicted to idols. Get your fill of it! After you have been away from your land for seventy years, maybe you will learn to appreciate what I gave you.”
God permitted a remnant to return to the land, rebuild the city and the temple, and restore the nation; but it never became a great power again. However, whether Israel is faithful or faithless, the land belongs to her; and one day she will inherit it and enjoy it to the glory of God. Israel’s title deed to the land is a vital part of God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham.
6. God’s Delight
6. God’s Delight
vs 8b “I will be their God” vs 7 “to be God to you...”
This really is the covenant—from the spiritual perspective, it outweighs the physical promise of innumerable descendants, nations, kings, and possession of land.
This theme is developed thru the OT narrative with its ultimate expression in the NT.
In His unconditional sovereignty, God chose to extend His favor upon one man—Abram (from among all other pagans). He explains He chose them and why He would redeem them from Egypt.
7 ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
45 “I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God.
37 “Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today.
2 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
18 “The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments;
10 “You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God: your chiefs, your tribes, your elders and your officers, even all the men of Israel,
13 in order that He may establish you today as His people and that He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The responsibilities that God placed before Abraham and before all Israel—they were disobedient and disciplined by the Lord God. He promised to be faithful to restore that nation that was His “treasured possession.”
7 ‘I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.
33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
That was the promise of a New Covenant: the delight of God is evidenced in the great length He went to in order to bring His people back—He sent His Son—LJC to redeem His chosen people. God deeply desires to be God to His people…to be the One in whom all needs would be met. In being their God, He would be to them wisdom (to guide and counsel), power (to protect and support), goodness (to supply and comfort).
Now, on the one hand—it is the revealed purpose of God to restore the nation of Israel—that He would be God to them. This has not yet happened (Rom 11). On the other hand, it is also the purpose of God to include Gentiles (non Jews) in the offer of salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal life—thru the same gift of LJC.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
God intends to be your God. The demonstration of this is ultimately in the life, death and resurrection of JC (gave Himself for us)—redeeming us from every sin. This is His provision for you. If you have believed on the LJC then God is your God—and with that comes responsibility (to deny ungodliness…). As God told Abraham—walk before me and be blameless.
If God is not your God (never put faith in Jesus)—He is calling you to faith. He is calling you to turn from sin in repentance and trust the work of JC alone which is sufficient to save you. How magnificent then is the work of JC? The bottom line for us is worship: like the song says “ponder anew what the almighty can do” for nothing He purposes to do is impossible to Him. And He purposes to be God to His own and they are His own b/c He gave His Son...
12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”