Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3a Abram fell on his face,
"Now that the covenant was about to be implemented, Abram would be required to behave in a way that God prescribed.” (Robert L. Deffinbaugh)
“...the Lord appeared to Abram; in a visible manner, in an human form very probably, even the Logos, the Word and Son of God: it seems as if the Lord had not appeared to him since the birth of Ishmael, until this time; and if so, it may be thought to be a correction of him for listening to the voice of his wife in marrying Hagar, without asking counsel of God:
and said unto him, 'I am the Almighty God'; as the Word of God is, as appears by his creation of all things, his in sustaining of them, his government of the church, his redemption of it, and preservation of his people safe to glory...
and said unto him...walk before me and be thou perfect… "which though a sinless one is not attainable in this life, is desirable, and is to be had in Christ, though not in ourselves: but here it chiefly denotes an holy and unblamable life and conversation, which though not entirely free from sin…" (Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)
The Angel of the Covenant thus delivered a hard requirement; and Abram having nothing within himself to enable him to do it, fell on his face as a show of helplessness. And "Since this displays the proper attitude on Abram’s part, God goes on to address him.” (H C Leupold)
3b and God talked with him, saying 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you."
"As for me. - The one party to the covenant is here made prominent, as in Genesis 17:9 the other party is brought out with like emphasis. The exalted Being who has entered into it imparts a grandeur, solemnity, and excellence to the covenant. 'Father of many nations.' The promise of seed is here expanded and particularized. A multitude of nations and kings are to trace their descent from Abram. This is true in a literal sense. The twelve tribes of Israel and many Arab tribes, the twelve princes of Ishmael, Keturah's descendants, and the dukes of Edom sprang from him. But it is to be more magnificently realized in a spiritual sense. 'Nations' is a term usually applied, not to the chosen people, but to the other great branches of the human race. This points to the original promise, that in him should all the families of the earth be blessed. 'Abraham.'The father of many nations is to be called by a new name, as he has come to have a new nature, and been elevated to a new dignity. The high father has become the father of the multitude of the faithful.’ (Barnes’ Notes)
7 "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you."
This offer is open to people of all generations. Jesus promises "to be a God unto you." This is a "everlasting covenant." And: "This covenant will not fail, since God has originated it, notwithstanding the moral instability of man. Though we cannot as yet see the possibility of fulfilling the condition on man's side, yet we may be assured that ... God" (Barnes’ Notes) will be faithful on His part. Why not covenant with Him now, for there are great promises attached!!!
8 "Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
“The land of promise is made sure to the heir of promise,...The phrase 'perpetual possession' has here two elements of meaning - first, that the possession, in its coming form of a certain land, shall last as long as the co-existing relations of things are continued; and, secondly, that the said possession in all the variety of its ever grander phases will last absolutely forever...” (Barnes’ Notes)
9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
Except from "Christianity is Jewish" by Edith Schaeffer
"Abraham was the first person to be circumcised as a mark of the covenant made with him. After that, every male child born in the line of Abraham, now called Jews are Israelites, was circumcised to show he was included in the covenant as one of God's people. But the circumcision did not protect them from making foolish choices. [It did not save them.] The circumcision was not magic. It was an outward sign that this boy he had been born into the ‘line' of Abraham, but an inward belief was necessary to be in the eternal family of God.
It was made plain in Deuteronomy 10:12, 16, 19, 20 that circumcision was not magic nor were people left in any doubt of this way back there. Listen: 'And now Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but the fear of the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul… Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked… Love you therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in Egypt. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and swear by His name.'
Yes, it was always the inward belief that God's verbalized, understandable message was true, with day by day action and life exhibiting that fact, which counted. However the outward sign of circumcision was an important sacrament in looking back to the covenant made with Abraham. It was an individual sign given to families through the males, that they were a part of the people of God, the people who worship the true, living God and not the gods of men’s making, the people who came to their worship through a lamb, a substitute made clear when the ram was placed on the altar instead of Isaac. These circumcised people had the sign in their bodies that their parents had solemnly promised to teach them the truth of God's Word morning, noon, and night, and to tell them Passover day after Passover day what the blood of the lamb on the doorpost meant! A lot of people broke the promises they made about what they were going to teach those little eight-day-old baby boys! What a responsibility!
When anyone came to believe in the truth of the God of the Jews being the one real God of the universe, that person, if it was a man, became circumcised to show this fact. So some ‘outsiders’ came into the real family through belief, while many circumcised ones shifted to Cain’s line of unbelief.
In the New Testament when Paul, a Jew, is talking to other Jews, he says a lot of things in Romans about circumcision. Versus 28, 29: 'for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and the circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.' He goes on to ask if there is any advantage at all in being a Jew. His answer is that there is much advantage because to the Jews were committed to the oracles of God, that is the teachings of the Bible. He says that just because some did not believe, that did not make the true belief to be canceled out. In other words just because people say a thing is not true, and turn away scornfully, that does not affect reality or true truth one bit! What really exists, exists whether anyone believes it is there or not. The bump you get on your head from hitting the corner of the door is just as painful even if you say the door is not there!
Then Paul goes on to talk with those who did believe, starting with Abraham who he says believed. "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in the faith, giving glory to God."
Happily there were many others of the circumcised ones through the centuries who are faithful to God, and who demonstrated their faithfulness in their coming to Him in the way He had made clear was the only way. Happily there was always a ‘remnant' to teach the next generation, and to stand up and have a confrontation with those who were giving a false teaching, and compromising with the worship of false gods.
It is important to note that the word 'god' does not refer to the true and living God alone. All through the Old Testament God speaks to His people and uses the word 'god' to point out that the word itself is not sufficient. The word ‘god’ was attached to the golden calf, and to all the idols and concepts of men’s imagination throughout the centuries. True enough there is only one real God, only one living God, only one Creator of the universe, only one Master of the universe-- but everyone who uses the word ‘god’ is not necessarily speaking of Him. God himself uses the word ‘god' to refer to the false gods, to refer to the gods of men's invention. People often say that men have invented God, that men have devised God as a basket into which to throw all their problems, or as an aspirin pill to dim the pain of life. True enough that men have invented gods to suit their own fancies. True enough that men have created gods and whole systems of worship of these gods. Men's ways of coming to these false gods, and men's false ways of trying to come to the true God, have one thing in common which puts them all on those vertical parallel lines springing off from the line of Cain. What do they have in common? It is the way of coming to please these gods, or trying to please the real God, by the works of their own hands – religious good works or moral good works.
The ‘remnant,' the faithful circumcised ones, the ones who continue to believe that God was speaking the truth when He made it clear how to come to Him, were not at all confused as to the continuity through the ages. In all periods of history some believe so firmly that the promises, the covenants of God, were true truth, that they had courage to stand 'on the end of a limb' so to speak, in the most terrifying places of danger. These people believed God to be all powerful and believed that they were in communication with Him, and that he could work in space and time and history – in their moment of history and in their geographic location.”
Genesis 17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
Not just Abram is honored. "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” (Heb 11:11) God gives Sarai a new name as He did for Abram. "In Scriptures a new God-given name often represents a new departure, a new nature or a new power. Compare for instance, Genesis 32:28; John 1:42; Revelation 2:17” (BSF Notes) "Sarai is now formally taken into the covenant, as she is to be the mother of the promised seed. Her name is therefore changed to Sarah, ‘princess.' Aptly is she so named, for she is to bear the child of promise, to become nations, and be the mother of kings.” (Barnes Notes) It would be good for all women to imitate her faith. Like Abraham, she was not perfect, but she was called to be so.
It is easier to understand the debacle with Hagar when you realize that this is the first time that the promise is vocalized to include Sarai. What unspeakable joy the news must have brought to Abraham’s soul. He “fell upon his face and laughed.' From the reverential attitude assumed by Abraham we infer that his laughter sprang from joyful and grateful surprise. 'Said in his heart.' The following questions of wonder are not addressed to God; they merely agitate the breast of the astonished patriarch. Hence, his irrepressible smile arises not from any doubt of the fulfillment of the promise, but from surprise at the unexpected mode in which it is to be fulfilled. Laughing in Scripture expresses joy in the countenance, as dancing does in the whole body.” (Barnes Notes)
18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation."
“...O that Ishmael might live before thee! — This he speaks, not as desiring that Ishmael might be preferred before the son he should have by Sarah, but as dreading lest he should be forsaken of God. The great thing we should desire of God for our children is, that they may live before him; that is, that they may be kept in covenant with him, and may have grace to walk before him in uprightness. God’s answer to this prayer is an answer of peace. Abraham could not say he sought God’s face in vain; nor shall we, if we seek it sincerely… We may charitably hope that spiritual blessings also were bestowed upon him, though the visible church was not brought out of his loins.” " (Benson Commentary)
"The blessings of the covenant are reserved for Isaac, but common blessings were abundantly promised to Ishmael; and though the visible Church did not descend from his family, yet personally he might, and it is to be hoped did, enjoy its benefits.” (Jamieson, Fausset Brown Commentary)
God maintains another child of Sarah and Abraham was coming. “He names that child Isaac, that is, laughter, because Abraham rejoiced in spirit when this son was promised him.” (Benson Commentary) Ishmael was born of doubt but Isaac as the child of promise of God.
Abraham was concerned about Ishmael's eternal salvation. Abraham could not be happy in the establishment of the covenant through Isaac, if Ishmael could have no part in it. Was Ishmael doomed to eternal destruction? Many Bible versions seem to say that the LORD denied his request. Even in my preferred New King James Version of the Bible, God answers: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish [quwm] My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” (Gen 17:19) However, a close look at Strong's reveals that the "No" is an added word. Then God says: "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.” (Gen 17:20) The LORD acknowledged that He heard his prayer. And "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16) God would continue to woo Ishmael for Abraham's sake, but the decision to covenant with the LORD God belonged to him. I believe these words to Abraham concerning Ishmael were not a consolation prize. It meant that even Ishmael was part of the sands of the sea in number of Abraham’s physical descendants with access to grace.
21 "But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
But the LORD would establish or "quwm" the covenant through Isaac who was not yet born. The word "quwm" is a primitive root meaning "to rise." God would raise it up through Isaac. He would have the right of the firstborn—not Ishmael, as tradition taught. He would be head of the house after Abraham died. He would resolve matters of doctrine and teach the precepts of the faith to all who desired to covenant with Yahweh God of his father.
22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
"God went up from Abraham - Ascended evidently before him, so that he had the fullest proof that it was no human being, no earthly angel or messenger, that talked with him; and the promise of a son in the course of a single year, at this set time in the next year, Genesis 17:21, which had every human probability against it, was to be the sure token of the truth of all that had hitherto taken place, and the proof that all that was farther promised should be fulfilled in its due time. Was it not in nearly the same way in which the Lord went up from Abraham, that Jesus Christ ascended to heaven in the presence of his disciples? Luke 24:51.” (Adam Clarke)
23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27 and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
The fact that Abraham circumcised Ishmael is proof positive that Abraham didn’t think that Yahweh had denied his request for Ishmael’s salvation. His firstborn and all others under his realm of influence obeyed the covenant— the males having a sign in their flesh to remind them of that gracious covenant whereby Yahweh made His ways known to mankind.