Genesis 17:1-8
How Abram
became Abraham
The
Promise to Abram from God
-
- 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD
appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ;
walk before me and be blameless.
-
- 2 I will confirm my
covenant between me and you and will greatly
increase your numbers."
-
- 3 Abram fell face
down, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is
my covenant with you: You will be the father of
many nations.
-
- 5 No longer will you
be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for
I have made you a father of many nations.
-
- 6 I will make you very
fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings
will come from you.
-
- 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.
-
- 8 The whole land of
Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give
as an everlasting possession to you and your
descendants after you; and I will be their
God."
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way that we think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
How Abram became
Abraham
God is restating His covenant
with Abram in this passage. The covenant mentioned
here is more like the terms of a
contract.
We enter into contracts every
day; when we take out a loan or a mortgage on our
homes; when we enter into an agreement with a
partner; when we take the vows of marriage;
etc.
But, most contracts we enter
are not as simple as the one made with God. His
contract with Abram had two sides just as most
contracts do today.
Abram's part of the
agreement: Obey God and be blameless
God's part of the
agreement:
a) Abram would have many
children (remember that Abram was 99 years
old)
b) Abram's descendants would
produce a multitude of nations
c) The covenant God made with
Abram would also be offered to Abram's
descendants
d) The land of Canaan would
be given to the descendants of Abram
Seems a little one-sided,
doesn't it?
Abram performs only two
duties which are to obey God and circumcise the
males in his household.
In turn God would give him
land, children, riches and power.
Many of the contracts we
enter into are for the most part, an even
trade.
The contract is much
different when we become children of God because we
receive a tremendous amount of blessings for the
little that we give. And remember, what we give to
God, He already owns.
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Verses and study of Genesis about how
Abraham came from Abram are from Life
Application Study Bible: New International
Version
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
|
