RE-NAMING ABRAM

The re-naming of Abram to Abraham makes three lessons on the Covenant! Is it really that big of a deal? Absolutely! From Genesis 12 to Revelation 22 the entire rest of the story unpacks out of that Covenant. Remember the Old and New Covenants would more accurately name the two major parts of the Bible instead of the Old and New Testaments.

Genesis 12 tells of the call of Abram.
Genesis 15 tells of the ritual establishment of the Covenant.
Genesis 17 tells us the sign of the covenant, circumcision, and the new covenant names.
More about the last in a minute.

First let's look at Chapter 16, where Abram and Sarai become impatient and try to help God. The Lord has promised them at least one child in order to have descendants that number, but they are crowding 100! How can the Lord possibly fulfill his promise? After our second son required two transfusions as an infant, we wanted another child. Since at that time another child would have at least that many transfusions, we opted to adopt. Ancient Palestine had no adoption agencies, but surrogate parenthood was legal. Sarai suggested Abram have a child by one of her servants named Hagar, a much younger woman. He did and named the child Ismael and thereby created a multitude of problems.

Note this event, because it plays a big role later on. The couples' faith faltered here, and that failure led directly to what otherwise is a puzzling sacrifice of Isaac.

As in the Garden of Eden, God was again on the spot to tell the couple they were out of line. He repeated his intent that their own son would inherit.

Now let's look at today's scripture verses:

The Lord identifies Himself as El Shadai. “El” can mean God all by itself, perhaps short for Elohim, the word in Genesis 1:1. Shadai could mean several things, but the majority of scholars prefer “The Mountain One,” or the God of the Mountains. Remember, this is the God who later revealed Himself as law-giver at Mt Sinai.
The challenge came to live “before My face” or in My presence and be blameless. God reminds Abram He is watching the man and expecting transparency and integrity. How open do you want your life to be? Even though they asked for it, I sometimes feel sorry for the politicians running for office. Their opponents diligently research their lives to find and expose any hidden scandals, and if they don't find enough, many will make up some. How would you stand that scrutiny?

Verse 2 repeats the covenant the Lord has been promising, including the promise of a multitude of descendants.

In verse 5 The Lord seals the promise by changing his name to Abraham, which He interprets as “father of a multitude.”The Lord promises to continue to be the God of his descendants. Then note in verse 8 Yahweh promises his descendants will own the land where Abraham is not living – and all of Canaan. Here is the root of the claim of the nation of Israel in its fight against the Palestinians today – or at least the Bible believers among them.

The lesson skips, but read the next verses anyway. As a sign of the covenant, God requires all the men to be circumcised. At 8 days old, every boy would be circumcised, including any slaves born in their house.

Verse 17: Abraham fell to the ground and prostrated himself before the Lord. But he also giggled. The idea of that elderly couple having a child was ridiculous. So much so, that Abraham asked God whether he could count Ishmael as his heir. God was clear and simple – NO. The Lord did agree to make a great nation from Ishmael's descendants as well, but the Covenant would follow through Sarah's child, Isaac.

Remember, all things are possible with God. He will do things His way. Walk with Him, follow Him, obey Him, and you will find the richest life possible through His plans.