In the world of law and lawyers, contracts are written between two parties to assure fairness in the workplace, in business and in personal transactions.  Adherence is important in keeping the contract. Contracts have specific “line items” indicating how the contract must be adhered to for a contract is binding and irrevocable—unless you find a “loophole” which seems to be the main work of lawyers today—to find a way out of doing what was originally agreed upon. 

It seems to be human nature to look for loopholes in life with God and others.  There are tasks that we think are highly offensive, take up too much time, or requires just too much from us.  So, we question God with why along with, “God, is this really necessary?”  All because we do not want to do what it takes to fully trust and obey the One who has our best interests at heart. Yikes. I am so grateful that God forgive us when we think we know what is best for us and fail miserably.

God’s covenant with Aram has new “line items” that required of Abram’s adherence of obedience.  The Lord appears to Him.  God then declares who He is with the call to “walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”  No problem for Abram.  He has learned his faith lessons well and has succeed to grow in faith so far. 

But then God asks him to do a specific task as a sign of the covenant between God and Abram and all his descendants after him.  “You want me to do what, now?”  Did Abram look for a loophole in the contract that day?

Genesis 17

The Covenant of Circumcision

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. ² Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

³ Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. ⁷ I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. ¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. ¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

¹⁵ God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

¹⁷ Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”

¹⁹ Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” ²² When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

²³ On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, ²⁵ and his son Ishmael was thirteen; ²⁶ Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. ²⁷ And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Real faith doesn’t seek loopholes around God’s call or in the fulfillment of His call. “On that very day Abraham…” Abraham quickly obeyed the covenant promise between them without questioning the why of circumcision.  But, Abram did wonder how a child could be born in their advanced age—with a chuckle.    

Real faith walks humbly with God consistently.  The word “blameless” is sometimes translated “perfect,” but it does not mean “sinless,” for that would be an impossible goal for anyone to reach. It means “single-hearted, without blame, sincere, wholly devoted to the Lord.” It was a call for integrity.  Abraham’s proves his faith is sincere in his prompt obedience to God. God keeps his promises and rewards our obedient faith. When God promises to direct our paths, we can be confident he will carefully lead us.

Real faith is a relationship with God that is sincere as we respond to God.  The phrase “My covenant” is used often in this chapter and defines God’s relationship with Abram.  Imagine Abraham returning to his camp to inform the people of God’s covenant stipulations, (especially the men), that he had a new name with purpose and promise! Some of them must have smiled and said, “Father of a multitude! Why, he and his wife are too old to have children!”

No matter what others said or believed, he looked at the dust beneath his feet or the stars in the heavens, and whenever anyone called him by name, Abraham was reminded of God’s gracious promise to give him many descendants.

God’s covenant with Abraham also includes us! All who trust Jesus Christ as Savior are spiritual children of Abraham (Galatians 3:6–9), and that will be a vast multitude (Revelation 7:9). God’s covenant promises to redeem us and be with us always is accomplished in Jesus, His Son.  Jesus is the promise of salvation delivered by God to us.  God’s love and commitment to His created culminates and is demonstrated through His Son, Jesus. Why?  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  John 3:16-17

CIRCUMCISION’S DEEPER MEANING—

When God commanded Abraham to circumcise all the males, this wasn’t the shock we all think it was at that time.  Warren Wiersbe, theologian and Bible commentator writes;

“Circumcision was not a new rite, for other nations practiced it in Abraham’s time; but God now gave it new importance and special meaning. For the descendants of Abraham, circumcision was not an option; it was an obligation.”

“Since God’s covenant involved Abraham’s descendants or his ‘seed,’ it was fitting that the mark of the covenant was to be on the male organ of generation. Since all people are conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5), this special mark would remind them that they were accepted by God because of His gracious covenant.”

“The Jewish people eventually made this ritual a means of salvation; circumcision was a guarantee that they were accepted by God. They did not realize that circumcision stood for something much deeper: the person’s relationship to God. God wants to “circumcise our hearts” so that we are totally devoted to him in love and obedience (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; Romans 2:28, 29; 4:9–12). This “spiritual circumcision” is accomplished at conversion when the sinner believes in Christ and is baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). This baptism identifies the believer with Christ in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, and also in his circumcision (Colossians 2:11, 12; Luke 2:21). It is not ‘the circumcision of Moses’ but ‘the circumcision of Christ’ that is important to the Christian believer.”—Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

Later, the Jewish leaders were confronted by God’s Son, Jesus on this issue of the circumcision of the heart.  And they had Him killed.  God knew they would.  But through Jesus death AND resurrection, we are made new in our relationship to God!—God’s Plan all along.

Sarai got a new name with a promise, too.  She will now be called Sarah, the mother of many nations.”  How did she respond? –with a chuckle.  More to come…stay tuned!

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts by removing all that offends you by cutting away our sins by your love, mercy, and grace.  Renew our minds with your higher ground thinking.  Refresh our souls with your tender new mercies for today.  Restore the joy of your salvation at work within us as we enjoy a wholly committed relationship with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

In Jesus Name, Amen