Genesis 17

Ge 17:1-27.

RENEWAL OF THE

COVENANT.

1. Abram . . . ninety years old and nine--thirteen

years after the birth of Ishmael

[Ge 16:16].

During that interval he had enjoyed the comforts of communion with God

but had been favored with no special revelation as formerly, probably

on account of his hasty and blameable marriage with Hagar.

the Lord appeared--some visible manifestation of the divine

presence, probably the Shekinah or radiant glory of overpowering

effulgence.

I am the Almighty God--the name by which He made Himself known

to the patriarchs

(Ex 6:3),

designed to convey the sense of "all-sufficient"

(Ps 16:5, 6; 73:25).

walk . . . and . . . perfect--upright, or

sincere

(Ps 51:6)

in heart, speech, and behavior.

3. Abram fell on his face--the attitude of profoundest reverence

assumed by Eastern people. It consists in the prostrate body resting on

the hands and knees, with the face bent till the forehead touches the

ground. It is an expression of conscious humility and profound

reverence.

4. my covenant is with thee--Renewed mention is made of it as

the foundation of the communication that follows. It is the covenant of

grace made with all who believe in the Saviour.

5. but thy name shall be Abraham--In Eastern countries a change

of name is an advertisement of some new circumstance in the history,

rank, or religion of the individual who bears it. The change is made

variously, by the old name being entirely dropped for the new, or by

conjoining the new with the old; or sometimes only a few letters are

inserted, so that the altered form may express the difference in the

owner's state or prospects. It is surprising how soon a new name is

known and its import spread through the country. In dealing with

Abraham and Sarai, God was pleased to adapt His procedure to the ideas

and customs of the country and age. Instead of Abram, "a high father,"

he was to be called Abraham, "father of a multitude of nations" (see

Re 2:17).

8. I will give unto thee . . . the land--It had been

previously promised to Abraham and his posterity

(Ge 15:18).

Here it is promised as an "everlasting possession," and was, therefore,

a type of heaven, "the better country"

(Heb 11:16).

10. Every man child among you shall be circumcised--This was the

sign in the Old Testament Church as baptism is in the New, and hence

the covenant is called "covenant of circumcision"

(Ac 7:8;

Ro 4:11).

The terms of the covenant were these: on the one hand Abraham and his

seed were to observe the right of circumcision; and on the other, God

promised, in the event of such observance, to give them Canaan for a

perpetual possession, to be a God to him and his posterity, and that in

him and his seed all nations should be blessed.

15, 16. As for Sarai . . . I will . . . give

thee a son also of her--God's purposes are gradually made known. A

son had been long ago promised to Abraham. Now, at length, for the

first time he is informed that it was to be a child of Sarai.

17. Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed--It was not the

sneer of unbelief, but a smile of delight at the improbability of the

event

(Ro 4:20).

18. O that Ishmael might live before thee--natural solicitude of

a parent. But God's thoughts are not as man's thoughts

[Isa 55:8].

19, 20. 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.