The Symbol Of The Covenant
Genesis 17:1-27
PREVIOUSLY:
RATIFICATION OF THE COVENANT: GENESIS 15:
A Key Chapter In The Whole Bible.
The Official Ratification Of The Abrahamic Covenant.
The Basic Covenant For All Salvation And Prophetic Truths.
A PROMISE OF AN HEIR.
A PROMISE OF A NATION.
Abram Believed:
In The Lord And His Promise,
In Jehovah On The Basis Of His Faith,
SO, Jehovah God Declared Abram Positionally Righteous.
Salvation Is Believing In God,
That God Will Carry Out His Promises,
This Is Justification By Faith.
(Rom. 3:24-25).
Abram Was Not Saved By Works But By Faith;
Yet He Later Proved The Reality Of His Faith Through His Works. (James 2:21-24).
ABRAM WAS SAVED
BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
IN GOD WHO MADE HIM A PROMISE.
All Believers Of All Time Are Saved By Grace Through Faith On The Basis Of Christ's Death.
(Eph. 2:8-9, Rom, 3:25).
The Object Of Faith Changes Due To The Fact That New Testament Believers Have More Revelation.
Old Testament Believers Were Saved:
By Believing In God Who Would Send His Son.
Were Saved In God's Promise Of Messiah Who Would Come.
New Testament Believers Are Saved:
By Believing In The Son Whom God Has Sent.
Are Saved In The Messiah Who Has Come.
One Looks Forward To The Cross,
The Other Looks Back To The Cross.
The New Testament Tells Us That The Abrahamic Covenant Is Ultimately Fulfilled Through Christ.
(Gal. 3:16).
Abram Did Not Understand All The Details.
Abram Did UNDERSTAND: The Abrahamic Covenant Did Include The Promise Of Messiah Who Would Come.
The Faith, Which Was Counted For Righteousness.
Was The Faith, Which Believed What God Had Said:
CONCERNING THE PROMISED SEED.
There Is No Justification Apart From Christ.
(Acts 13:38-39).
But He Now Formally Ratifies THE COVENANT:
It Becomes Official.
It Was Like A Ceremony To Represent The Agreement.
IT WAS A BLOOD COVENANT:
There Are Two Major Thoughts In This Section:
THE SEED AND THE LAND.
1. The Land.
God Now Gives The Boundaries Of The Land He Promised To Abram And His Seed.
The Boundaries Of The Land Are Clearly Given.
On The South, The Nile River.
On The East, The Euphrates River In Mesopotamia.
On The West, The Mediterranean Sea Line.
On The North, Syria And Its Boundaries.
2. The Seed.
God Says: UNTO YOUR SEED I HAVE GIVEN THE LAND.
ABRAM's Seed Would Inherit The Land Forever.
Abram Understood This To Be His Physical Seed,
To Those Of His Physical Seed Who Would Also Believed God For The Fulfillment Of The Covenant.
NOW:
THE PROMISED SON: GENESIS 17:
One Possible Outline:
I. God’s Promise To Abraham (17:1–14).
New Name And Renewed Covenant.
II. God’s Promise For Sarah (17:15–22).
III. God’s Sign Of The Covenant (17:23–27).
I. God’s Promise To Abraham (17:1–14):
GOD REVISITS ABRAHAM 17:1-2:
God Appeared To Him Again.
Was 75 When He Left Haran.
Was 85 When Ishmael Was Born.
Was 99 When God Assures Abram Of A Son With Sarah.
There Has Been 13 Years Between Abram's Affair With Hagar.
Ishmael, The Son Of This Affair, Was Born.
God Appeared Again And Confirmed The Covenant.
Why?
Ishmael Was A Child Of The Flesh.
Ishmael Was Not A Child Of The Promise.
Abram Tried To Run Ahead Of God.
Abram Tried To Help God Fulfill The Promise.
There Was No New Revelation Of God's Will During This Time.
This Is The Silence Of God's Discipline Upon Abram.
God's Blessings Being Postponed
Because Of Willful Disobedience.
God Makes A Revelation Of Himself To Abram.
HERE GOD Calls Himself The ALMIGHTY GOD.
Abram Had To Learn About The Omnipotence Of God.
God Had Delayed The Fulfillment Of A Son To Abram Until He Was Incapable Of Reproducing.
(Rom. 4:19).
Abram Had To Come To A Humanly Impossible Situation.
Then, God Would Work A Miracle Of Grace.
Not Until ABRAM'S BODY WAS DEAD Would God Fulfill His Word And Give Him A Son.
Note:
God Not Only Does That Which Is Right And Best.
God Always Acts At The Right And Best Time.
God First Calls Abram To Walk Before Him,
An Exhortation To Continue To Remain To The Divine Presence By Faith.
Perhaps Abram's Faith Was Weakening And He Was No Longer Anxious About The Special Seed Promised By God.
Abram Is Called To Be PERFECT.
This Word Actually Means Complete.
God Is Not Calling His Servant To Sinless Perfection.
God Wants Him To Reach His Full Potential In Spiritual Things.
To Open His Life Up By Faith.
To Receive What God Can Be To And Do With Him.
God Reiterates His Original Covenant To Abram
A Promise That From Him
Would Come Many
Descendants.
A. A New Name (17:1–8):
It Was God Who Appeared To Abram And This Is Pure Grace.
The Grace Of God Always Seeks Men Before They Seek Him.
So Awestruck, Abram Fell On His Face Before God In Worship.
Because Of This Appearance Of God, God Changed Abram's Name.
The Name Abram Meant: FATHER OF HIGH PLACES.
His New Name Abraham Meant: FATHER OF MANY NATIONS.
So Numerous Will Be His Seed That Great Nations And Kings Will Come Through It.
God Establishes This Covenant Forever.
He Will Be An Everlasting God With An Eternal Covenant For Israel.
He Promises A Seed And A Land.
This Will Be An EVERLASTING POSSESSION.
Note:
The Ultimate Fulfillment Of The Abrahamic Covenant Will Take Place In The Millennial Age.
B. Renewed Covenant (17:9–14):
CIRCUMCISION THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT.
Every Generation Of Jews Was Commanded To Perform The Rite Of Circumcision As A Token (sign, Symbol) Of The Covenant.
Every Male Jew Was To Be Circumcised On The Eighth Day,
The Child Would Be Strong Enough For This Procedure.
Note:
Circumcision Is Not An Obligation Imposed On The Human Race.
IT IS A SIGN OF THE COVENANT:
The Rainbow Of The Noahic Covenant,
The Sabbath Day Of The Old Covenant,
The Cup Of The New Covenant.
It Serves To Identify The Recipients Of The Covenant.
A Most Effective Reminder:
A Scar On The Body.
A Reminder Of The Faith Of His Parents.
A Reminder Of Jewish Converts Could Expect.
Note.
Circumcision Is Only An Outward Sign Of An Inward Belief.
It Is Just Like The Symbol Of Water Baptism.
Water Baptism Has Nothing To Do With Salvation.
Water Baptism Is Part Of Christian Obedience,
Circumcision Had Nothing To Do With The Salvation Of The Jew. Circumcision Was Part Of Their Obedience As Believers.
A Jewish Child That Was Not Circumcised Would Be CUTOFF.
Refers To Death But We Cannot Be Absolutely Sure.
It May Mean Cut Off From The Blessings Of The Covenant.
II. God’s Promise For Sarah (17:15–22):
Now God Says For The First Time That Sarai Will Also Have A Definite Part In The Bringing Forth Of The Promised Son.
She Too Will Be The Mother Of Many Nations And Kings Will Come From Her Too.
God Changes Her Name:
From SARI Meaning Contentious.
To SARAH Meaning PRINCESS.
This Caused Abraham To Laugh For He Was Almost 100 Years Old And Sarah Was 90.
The Laugh Is Not The Laugh Of Unbelief, But Of A Faith, Which, The News Almost Too Good To Be True.
Named Isaac, Which Means LAUGHTER.
It Is ONLY With Isaac That God Will Establish His Covenant.
Ishmael, Now 13, Was Much Loved By Abraham And He Asks God That Ishmael Might Live Before Him.
Ishmael Was Not The Promised Son And The Covenant Blessings Would Not Come Through Him But Through Isaac, Ishmael Was An Unbeliever And Not An Heir To The Promise.
However, God Did Promise Abraham That He Would Bless Ishmael Physically But Not Spiritually.
There Was To Be A Great Nation From Ishmael With 12 Princes.
Note: Ishmael's Descendents Are The Arab Nations.
These Descendants Mostly Hold To The Islam Religion.
Even Today, As A People, Are Opposed To The True God Of Abraham, Isaac And Jacob.
God Again Repeats To Abraham That In Isaac And Isaac Alone The Covenant Would Be Fulfilled.
Isaac Was God;s Sovereign Choice For The Spiritual And Physical Blessings Of The Covenant.
God Has The Right To Bestow Blessings On Whomever He Pleases.
(Rom. 9:6-13).
Note. Abraham Had Much Faith In The Sovereign God And God Saw Fit To Bless Abraham's Faith
(Rom. 4:16-20).
III. God’s Sign Of The Covenant (17:23–27):
COMMAND OBEYED.
Abraham Took His Whole Family, Including Ishmael And His Servants, And Had Them Circumcised.
Note:
Circumcision Does Not Make One A True Believer.
Ishmael Was Circumcised, But He Not Chosen In The Promise. Ishmael Never Exercised Genuine Saving Faith In The Covenant.
ABRAHAM, HAD NOW COME TO REAL MATURITY IN SPIRITUAL THINGS.
FROM THIS TIME ON HE WAS A DIFFERENT PERSON BEFORE GOD.
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