BWV #37 A NEW NAME AND A BIG GOD

INTRODUCTION Genesis 17:1-14.

The story of Abram is really the story of what YHWH can do in a man.

Consider the name, Abram which means “father of many”

We talked previously about Sarai’s embarrassment, but what about Abram?

Have you ever asked yourself, how did Abram continue to amass so much wealth?

Yeah some of it came from his brief stay in Egypt.

But his wealth continue to grow, so much so that he refused the spoils of war.

If there had been a need, his attitude may well have been different.

Much of his wealth came as a result of his location.

That land was in ancient times a crossroads.

Traders going in every direction passed through the lands Abram inhabited.

Abram controlled the water.

Abram controlled the local resources.

Abram controlled the flocks.

All of which traders needed in order to keep on the move.

It was common for the servants of the one who controlled the water to serve the travelers that pass through.

So it was a very lucrative location for Abram.

But what we fail to note is the oriental mindset which was in those days.

Orientals are very nosy and want to know everything about you.

What is your name would be a good place to start.

My name is father of many, that is what Abram means.

Oh, father of many, and how many children do you have?

Gulp, gulp again.

For all of his adult life up unto 86 the answer was none.

Abram is now 99 and the answer is 1.

What an embarrassment.

Imagine the chuckles around the tent when guests heard that the father of many had only 1 child.

Then to top it all off, now he is 99, that ship has sailed.

Chapter 16 did prove one thing to us, Abram wasn’t the problem Sarai was.

At least now Abram can hold his head high, there is nothing wrong with him, he sired a son.

Additionally Abram loved the boy Ishmael, who is now about 13 years old.

True to form, in steps YHWH, to of all things, remind Abram of the covenant, and to change his name.

A NEW NAME and A BIG GOD

Abram has basically embraced his situation, he has made peace with it.

In verse 18 we see the attitude of Abram, Ishnael is my heir, it is enough.

I mean, cmon, after all, Sarai is obviously infertile, not to mention she is well past child bearing age.

And there would be some question as to whether Abram could still father a child.

So, Ishmael will do.

Abram loved Ishmael.

I imagine Ishmael was a hard pill for Sarai to swallow.

Now, I know that we don’t learn some of this until verse 18.

But for Abram to say it there, it is already in his mind, and YHWH is well aware.

So here we go, YHWH has something to say to Abram.

I am God Almighty!

Abram, I know you are 99, I know Sarai is barren, but I also know that I am the Almighty.

That is YHWH’s opening line.

Abram, I have the power to fulfill My promise, even though you do not.

Remember, I told you the covenant was a unilateral covenant, which is satisfied by only one party, in this case God.

Are light bulbs starting to go off?

Have you ever asked why did God wait so long?

Why did God give Hagar a child by Abram?

Why are they now so old and beyond child bearing?

The answer is the same for each question, so that God can show Himself strong.

Remember we read of Ishmael, he was a son of the flesh.

In other words, Ishmael was born of the power of Abram and Hagar, they produced the child.

Yeah I know God created Ishmael.

But parents play a part.

Not so when it comes to Isaac.

God is about to do the impossible.

God is about to give us the first miraculous birth.

Not through a virgin, but through a couple who is powerless to produce a child.

YHWH then calls upon Abram to walk with Him and be blameless.

This is a call to holiness.

All those who walk with God are called to be Holy and He is holy.

Don’t mistake the language here to be saying if you do this then I will do that.

That is not the case.

Walk before Me and be blameless is a declaration of God’s work in Abram.

And it confirms that God is doing a work in Abram.

As Abram grows in holiness, it affirms that God is keeping His covenant.

Because honestly folks, we can’t be holy apart from His work in us.

But then YHWH adds, that I may multiply you.

The call to be blameless is also a call to trust Me.

Keep trusting Me.

You believed Me and I declared you righteous, nothing has changed.

Well one thing has changed, it is crystal clear in the eyes of all, Abram and Sarai are powerless to produce a child.

And that is exactly the point.

Abram has grown tremendously over the years, and he fell on his face in worship, in humble surrender.

Next, YHWH makes another declaration, you will be the father of a multitude of nations.

Not a father of many, but of multitudes.

And to prove His point, YHWH changes Abram’s name.

No longer to be called Abram, you are Abraham, a father of multitudes.

Now observe the tense of the next line, I have made you, really, yep, I have made you a father of multitudes.

At this point, I have to chuckle.

This passage has always demonstrated to me, YHWH has a sense of humor.

YHWH changed his name, now Abram has to start telling people.

Stop, my name is not father of many, I am now father of multitudes.

I am no longer Abram, call me Abraham.

If being named Abram and having only one child was hard, he hasn’t seen anything yet.

Imagine the looks, the giggles, the rolling eyes when Abram announced, excuse me, I have an announcement to make, my name is now Abraham.

But what people don’t understand is this, the power of God is behind that man and that name.

Which brings us to a deeper affirmation by God.

Remember, I will make your name great, and in verse 6 we see how.

Abram is going to be exceedingly fruitful.

Nations shall spring forth from him.

Kings will go forth from Abraham.

All of which has come true.

Just for starters…

Isaac became the nation Israel.

Ishmael became the Arab nations

Esau became the Edomites.

Through his second wife Keturah, came the Midianites.

Then there are the Kings.

All the kings of Israel and Judah, both the legitimate and illegitimate, are from the loins of Abram.

The point of this is very clear, Abram can’t but YHWH can.

Abram is powerless to do anything to help this covenant move forward.

If it is going to happen, God is going to have to do it.

We often wonder why YHWH does things the way He does.

In this case why the delay?

So that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, God did this, not Abram.

AN EVERLASTING COVENANT

At this point in the story, we are introduced to a new thought that up until this time has only been implied.

The Covenant made with Abraham is an eternal covenant.

Again, this has been implied in the past.

But now, it is explicit.

Throughout their generations refers to the seed of Abraham.

In the oriental mind, and in a genetic sense, all the descendents of Abraham were in his loins.

This is why they are referred to as his seed.

The covenant now transcends Abraham, and is fully extended to all future descendents of the man.

This is not unlike the covenant YHWH made with Noah.

Remember, as long as the earth remains, the covenant will remain in place, no flood.

But this covenant stretches beyond the life of this planet out into eternity future.

There are 4 powerful aspects of this covenant.

First, Abraham was given assurance of the unbreakable bond of friendship that now exists between himself and YHWH.

At the core of this relationship is the promise of God abiding presence.

We see the relationship expresses in the words, between Me and you.

This is personal.

This is not a distant God and a faraway man.

This speaks of the intimate nature of God’s relationships.

God promises always to be a God unto Abram.

That may strike us as odd.

But as I pointed out in a previous study, the understanding the pagans had of their gods were just the opposite.

They were not trustworthy.

But YHWH, He can be trusted, and He is forever in your corner.

This is why I get so intense when I have to deal with the Covenant Theology crowd and lies.

When they claim that God is done with Israel they are implying that God is not faithful, that He is a poor communicator, and that His promise lacks merit.

The personal promise YHWH makes to Abraham says otherwise.

Second, Abraham is assured of a numerous progeny.

His seed was to be a blessed seed, a blessed people.

And in many ways we see just that.

The Jewish nation and people have always flourished financially.

This is in part why Europeans during the 1930’s were so easily swayed, there was much jealousy of the wealthy Jews.

The Jewish people have always excelled in science and education.

There have been more Nobel prize winners from the Hebrew people than from any other people, and yet the are a very small minority in the human population.

They are still here, miraculously, literally.

When you consider all the attempts genocide, it is a miracle that they still exist.

Third, we are introduced to the sign of circumcision.

The rite of circumcision was to be adopted as a sign and seal of all that God promised He was to Abraham and would to his seed.

This is another ratification ceremony of sorts.

The circumcision of a the male organ required the shedding of blood.

Thus the covenant is again affirmed by God and their faith is expressed through their obedience.

This is also seen as a cleansing rite, eliminating the filth that can infect the body.

It is a symbol of God’s providential act of cleansing the believer and the driving out of sin from out lives.

The Bible speaks of our circumcision being perform without hands.

Colossians 2:11–12 LSB

in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

The flesh represents those sinful desires and tendencies.

We are a new Creation, the old nature has been put to death, cut away, removed, so that we can live in the power of the Spirit for the glory of Christ.

Fourth, circumcision was to be performed on all members of the covenant community, a symbol of their identity and own personal relationship to YHWH.