God Speaks To People Of Faith Genesis 17

God Speaks to People of Faith: Genesis 17

We had taken one chapter at a time through Genesis, and I was excited about chapter 17, because once we were done we could stop saying Abram and Sarai and just say Abraham and Sarah. It is the name change chapter. Genesis 17 contains what are almost three speeches from God. He talks about himself, about Abraham, and about Sarah. This has been a journey for Abraham since Genesis 12, with learning, failing, repenting, and knowing God. We are like him. We have good days and bad days, and God is gracious to teach us. I saw three truths.

God Reveals Himself (Verses 1-3)

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. You are never too old for God to speak to you. Thirteen years pass between chapter 16 and chapter 17, because Ishmael is 13 in this chapter. Nothing is recorded about those years. I believe Abram was changing diapers, teaching his son, and being faithful to provide for his family. God uses the times we would call mundane. He reveals himself as El Shaddai, God Almighty, the God who is sufficient, who pours out blessing. Abram, I am everything you need. And with revelation comes responsibility: “walk before me and be blameless.”

This was not the first time God appeared to Abram. He did in Mesopotamia in Acts 7, in Genesis 12, and in a vision in Genesis 15. He appeared to Isaiah, to Adam and Eve in the garden, to Paul on the Damascus road, and to Peter in Luke 5. We sometimes think, if God appeared to me, my relationship would be so much better. But 2 Peter 1 says we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, so pay attention to it as a lamp shining in a dark place. We have God’s word, and in it he reveals himself. John 7:17 says if anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know. Mark Twain said, it’s not the things in the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me, it’s the things that I do understand that I’m not obeying. If you want more revelation, respond to what you have.

To walk before God is to walk as if in his sight. Matthew Henry said to be a Christian is to walk before God in our integrity, and to think, speak, and act in everything as those who are always under his eye. How did you walk this past week? Blameless means whole and complete: on Monday through Friday, not just Sunday. And Abram responded in worship. Verse 3: “Abram fell on his face.” Verses 3 to 22 are God speaking, and Abram listening. Are you a good listener to the Lord? A. W. Tozer, a pastor in Chicago, would put on old overalls in his office and lie on the carpet with his nose on a spot, just to listen to the Lord.

God Reiterates His Word (Verses 4-8)

God had spoken of the covenant before, but now he expands and clarifies. Sometimes he does not reveal his full will because we would be scared to death. He takes us where we are and slowly repeats his word. Abram meant father of many, and Abraham father of many nations. Imagine walking down the road and telling people you are the father of many and having no children. God calls Abraham to believe. It will be 25 years from Genesis 12 until Isaac’s birth, and when it is impossible, that is when God shows up. Repeated information brings encouragement: I will, I will, I will. Kings, including David and Solomon and the King of kings, would come from Abraham. In verse 8 he says, I will be their God. It is about relationship. It ought to change your life, like marriage. And three times he calls it an everlasting covenant.

God Offers Instructions (Verses 9-27)

The sign of the covenant is circumcision. “Circumcision was not the covenant it was a sign of the covenant.” My wedding ring does not make me married, but it symbolizes I said yes. If I put it on a teenager’s hand, it does not make him married. Rabbinic tradition said no circumcised Jewish man will see hell, but people trusted in the sign more than the God of the sign. Stephen said, you are uncircumcised in heart and ears. John MacArthur said the real surgery needed to happen on the inside. What about babies of eight days? Think of an arranged marriage, where you eventually come of age and decide whether to put your heart into it. Jews have the bar mitzvah, and others confirmation. I went through confirmation as an Episcopalian and did not know Jesus. I was there because there were pretty girls. “You can’t do anything to Merit your salvation.” Baptism, giving, church membership, the Lord’s Table, prayer, candles, and sacraments cannot save you. Only Christ can.

Sarai becomes Sarah, my princess. God promises a son. Abraham fell on his face and laughed: shall a child be born to a man a hundred years old? Matthew Henry said it was a laughter of delight, not distrust. Sarah laughs in unbelief next week and again with joy in Genesis 21, and Isaac means he laughs. Abraham asks that Ishmael might live before God. God says he will bless Ishmael, with twelve princes, but the covenant comes through a son of promise, not of the flesh. At this time next year.

And Abraham obeyed immediately, completely, and at cost, on that very day. He circumcised Ishmael at 13, himself at 99, and all the men of his house, leaving his family defenseless.