The Signs of Belonging - Genesis 17

©Copyright April 28, 2019 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

Tattoos are in vogue. Some people cover their bodies in tattoos (something I have never understood). Almost always these tattoos are meant to tell a story. There is special love (for a spouse, children, or one who has died), there are special moments commemorated or just a desire to express oneself personally. These things are literal markers designed to evoke a memory.

I always thought if I ever got a tattoo it would be the Greek word that meant “It is Finished.” It would serve as a reminder to me that what was necessary for salvation was accomplished on the cross. The work is finished!

This morning we look at a text that for most of us is at best uncomfortable and at worst leaves us completely disinterested. Hang with me and I think you will see how this all ties together and you will see the significance of the events in this chapter.

A New Name

Let’s look at the first part of the chapter,

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

3At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4“This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

7“I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

When you named your children (or even your pet) you likely gave some thought to the name given. In recent years it has been a practice to look at a baby name book to see the meaning of various names. We want a name that denotes quality characteristics. By the same token, we avoid names that have negative connotations. You might have said, “No, we can’t name them that because someone by that name stole my lunch when I was in Kindergarten.” This is why we don’t name our children, Judas, Adolf, or Lucifer.

When Grace was born her name was picked because the concept of grace was so near to Rick’s heart. However, my mother’s name was also Grace. So, we talked about it and when Rick talked to my mom, he told her that the new grandchild’s name was Grace. He said, “We didn’t necessarily name her for you, but the good news is that we didn’t NOT name her Grace because of you.”

This is why name changes in the Scripture are significant. Even the different names of God are all given to us so we can learn something new about God’s character. The name El-Shaddai most likely means “God Almighty.” It was a reminder to Abraham that the God who was making the promises to Abraham is the God who is all-powerful.

God reiterated His promise to Abraham that he would have countless descendants and would have what we know as the land of Israel (and a little beyond) forever. God then changed Abram’s name (exalted father) to Abraham which sounds like a Hebrew term translated “father of many.”

The late Donald Gray Barnhouse imagined Abraham had been embarrassed by his name for years. People would know "Abram" meant "exalted father". Imagine how may times he was asked, "So how many children do you have?" He may have been the brunt of jokes. Now it was only going to get worse with a name that meant "Father of a multitude." I am sure Abraham was tired of the whispers, and only envisioned them getting worse with his new name.

But maybe that was the point. Maybe God wanted Abraham to stop looking at the limitations of circumstances and look instead at the power and resourcefulness of God. Maybe God wanted Abraham to draw his identity from the Lord and not from his peers. Maybe He wants us to learn the same thing!

On the positive side, every time Abraham thought about his new name, he would be reminded of this moment, and God’s rich promises and God’s instruction to serve him faithfully and live a blameless life. Imagine, every time you signed your name, every time someone called out to you, every time you saw your name written somewhere it reminded you of God’s incredible promise.

The change later of Sari to Sarah is a little bit more difficult to discern. It is possible that Sari meant “striver” (as seen most clearly in the way she handled Hagar). “Sarah” means princess. God proceeded to tell Abraham that she would be the mother of many nations.

As a result, every time Abraham called his wife Sarah he would again be reminded of this promise. He would also be reminded that he laughed when God said he was going to be a Father at 100 and Sarah would a mother at 90. Every time her name was spoken, the clear promise would be brought to mind. In fact, the name “Isaac” means “he laughs”.

The Testimony of Circumcision

9Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

People scratch their head over God's requirements for Jewish males. There are two questions. First, was circumcision a requirement of salvation for the Jews? In other words, will God renege on his promise if Abraham and family are not circumcised? The answer to that question is "no."

God's faithfulness is not contingent on our faithfulness.

The Lord made a promise to Abraham and swore by His own character that He would fulfil it. Nothing will change that because God is true to His Word. There will be consequences for failing to do what God has specifically commanded them to do, but it would not negate God’s promise to Abraham and through him, to Israel.

The same is true for God's promises to us. God promises to forgive and also tells us to live a holy life. God will not change His mind if we stumble and fall. In fact, He knows that we WILL stumble and fall. However, the goal, the standard, what we are to be striving for, is holiness. He gave us this command because He loves us. He does not want to simply save us, He also wants to transform us and lead us to be all that He created us to be. To help us, He gives us His Holy Spirit.

There is a second question raised by the text that is more basic: Why did God pick this sign as the one he would require of his people? Why not wear a uniform, or get a certain mark (like a tattoo)? I believe God's idea was so every time a man and a woman would come together with the possibility of having children there would be a reminder that God was the One who made all this possible. It was a way of testifying to the fact that the descendants are ALL the products of God's grace and faithfulness. The seed of man was, in a sense, consecrated to the Lord. God wants us to remember His grace at all times.

Circumcision set the Jews apart from their neighbors. It reminded them that they were unique, a chosen people, people set apart for a divine purpose.

What Are We Supposed to Learn from a Passage Such as this?

Let's be honest, there are some passages in the Bible that we read and walk away scratching our heads as to the practical relevance of anything we just read. I have come to believe this is not one of those passages. I have some suggestions on what we can take away from this text.

First, we learn God is not like us, He does not forget His promises. God is faithful to His Word. His timing is often (usually?) different from our timing, but He does not forget His promises. We have a hard time believing this because we are surrounded by people who forget their promises when it is convenient for them to do so.

The promise to tell the truth the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The promise to love in sickness and in health, till death do us part.

The promise to support a church with their attendance, talents, and finances.

The promise to pay back the money they borrowed.

The promise to complete a certain job by a certain date.

The promise to pay all the taxes that are due.

The promise to take care of the family pet.

It goes on and on. We have come to accept this to a certain extent. However, God IS NOT LIKE THIS. His "yes" means "yes" and His "no" means "no"! God is faithful to His promises.

Second, Faith means trusting what we know of God's character more than what we see with our eyes. This is where we often get into trouble. We judge most things by what we can see. In fact, we say, "Seeing is believing." I think Biblically we could say that is not true. Remembering the character of God is believing; seeing is sometimes only a distortion of what is true or only the preliminary scene to what is yet to come.

Have you ever had someone misjudge what you were doing? Have they ever drawn the wrong conclusion because they did not know the whole story? It happens all the time. This is the danger of drawing a conclusion before the conclusion. We can convince ourselves that something is true because we want it to be true or because we do not want to admit that we were wrong.

Think about how often we do this,

Things don't start well on vacation, so we conclude the vacation is ruined. But you don't know that . . . all you know is things did not begin the way you thought they were going to begin. This "adventure" at the start of your trip may end up being a favorite memory you laugh about for years. Give God a chance to redeem the situation.

You lose your job and conclude you are going to "lose everything." It is just as possible you will find a better job and discover a happiness you didn't know existed.

A relationship ends and you think “my life is over.” In truth, your life is just different. God has an uncanny way of taking the broken pieces of our lives and turning them into unexpected works of art.

The doctor comes back, and it is not good news. You can despair or you can look to see what doors God may open in the situation. What people will you encounter? Will these be people who are now your mission field? How will your illness positively impact those around you? What invaluable lessons will you learn?

I hope you get the idea: God is able to “use all things for His good in the lives of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 paraphrase) Resist the urge to draw quick conclusions. And, by all means, don’t get impatient.

Third, God gives us a new name when we become His children through faith in Christ. When we come to Christ as Savior and Lord and ask Him to apply His sacrifice to our sin, we are given several new names. We move from being slaves of sin to sons of righteousness. We change from being enemies of God to children of God. We move from being those who are condemned and instead are considered to be righteous. In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter says,

for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Imagine that! Instead of being spiritual paupers we are now royal priests. We become part of God’s family and are considered holy in His sight. Jesus said to His disciples,

You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

Our status completely changes when we become a follower of Christ! Just as Saul, the persecutor of the church was renamed Paul when he was converted, so you and I are renamed to denote our new status in Christ. You may have always felt like a person who had little to no worth, that all changes when you realize the Son of God came to die for you! People may have called you all kind of demeaning names as you were growing up but when you come to Christ you become His beloved. And I’ve said it before and will say it again, “The truest thing about you is what GOD says about you.” He calls you His treasure and the apple of his eye. He feels you are worth sending His own Son to die in your place so you can be part of His family. Let that sink in. You are not what the world says you are . . . you are part of God’s family and that makes you special, unique, and treasured.

Fourth, we need all the reminders we can get of who we are in Christ. Christians are not required to get circumcised. Most people do this now because of custom or for matters of hygiene. It has lost its symbol as something that set apart God’s people.

In Romans 2:29 Paul wrote,

a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Christian circumcision is much different and deeper than what God required of Abraham. Circumcision is not just a male thing. God calls every believer to be circumcised in their heart. What God desires from us is a change in our hearts; the depth of who we are. He wants us to be fully devoted and unique in this world because of our heart, not because of symbols on our body. God knows this not something we can do on our own, so He has given us His Holy Spirit. This is why we are told we are "new creatures in Christ".

There is a sense in which if people looked at our heart (or our character) they should be able to see that we belonged to Jesus; that we are one of His chosen people. So you see, circumcision is actually VERY relevant.

God also gave us additional signs. The first is baptism. In baptism we make a public declaration of our allegiance to Christ. This is probably truer of Eastern countries than it is in the United States. When you get baptized in a country that is hostile to Christianity you are taking a bold stand and declaring loudly that you are a follower of Christ. There are some people who get baptized here because it is what “good people” do. This is not the right reason to get baptized! Baptism is a sign of the faith we have in Christ. Baptism, when done for the right reasons, becomes a marker, a point of identification that will forever stand pointing to the fact that a decision for Christ has been made.

The other sign is communion. Paul said, “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” Every time we take communion we are, in a sense, brought back to the cross of Jesus to remind us of how we became children of God. It is meant to keep us grounded. These signs are a defense to correct us when we think we are God’s people because we have done the right things. These signs bring us back to the cross to remember we are made right with God because He sent His son to die in our place. And truly by his stripes, we have been made well.

So, here are some questions:

Is your heart circumcised? Do people see Christ in your character and the way you conduct your life?

Have you been baptized to testify of your faith? If you have a picture or a certificate, display it a constant reminder of the faith your professed.

Do you approach communion with the right attitude? Do you reflect on the cross and the nature of your salvation?

God gave us these signs to help us in our walk with Christ.

I hope you see, the focus of this passage is not circumcision, or the name change of Abram and Sari. The focus of this passage is the faithfulness and grace of God. And this is the application we must take away from this text. God is faithful. He promises us forgiveness and new life if we will receive the gift He has provided for us. He will not go back on His promise . . . ever. If we trust Him, He will begin to change us from the inside out.