“Covenant Clarified” (Genesis 17:1 - 18:15) | 7/5/20

Genesis 17:1 - 18:15 | 7/5/20 | Will DuVal

This morning, we’re back in Genesis, ch.17. And those of you who already checked the bulletin and flipped your Bibles open to preview our text for today should already be asking an important question right from the outset: “Why do we NEED ch.17?” Judging just from the section titles that most Bibles include for ch.17 - my Bible titles vv1-14 as “God CONFIRMS his covenant with Abram” - and it titles vv15-27 “Isaac’s Birth Promised”... you might be wondering: “Wait a minute: I thought God already MADE his covenant with Abram back in ch.15?! What was all that business about walking through the blood path and the smoking fire pot and flaming torch… And I thought God already PROMISED Isaac’s birth - in chs.12, and 13, AND 15! Is God just REPEATING himself in ch17, or what is NEW here? 

Well, I’m glad you asked. I found 13 things (so much for last week’s 3-point sermon!) -  13 answers to that question: what’s NEW in ch.17. Most commentaries and sermons title this chapter “Covenant Confirmed”. To “confirm” is simply to “validate or make binding by some formal act; to sanction or ratify”. And God does “confirm” his covenant with Abram here. But I’ve titled it “Covenant CLARIFIED” instead. To clarify is “to make clear or intelligible; to free from ambiguity.” And specifically, God clarifies his covenant in 13 NEW ways; 13 new facets God introduces to the covenant for the very first time here in ch.17. And as always, our aim this morning is not merely interpretation, but APPLICATION. It’s not enough for us to leave with a nice history lesson, and a better understanding of the Bible; we want CHANGED HEARTS!

And for that, we need God’s word, and we need prayer, so would you stand with me... read: Genesis chs 17:1 - 18:15

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;[a] walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,[b] but your name shall be Abraham,[c] for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 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 throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah[d] shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give[e] you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.[f] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”

22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very 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 day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Ch.18: And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks[a] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord,[b] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs[c] of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard[d] for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it,[e] saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.””

 This is the word of the Lord... (LET’S PRAY...)

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  1) The FIRST new development of the covenant in ch.17 is: a New name for God - in v1.

  The scene opens on Abram, who we hear is now 99 years old; you’ll remember when we left off ch.16, after Abram’s affair with Hagar and her subsequent conception and birth of a son, Ishmael, Abram was 86 years old. So God makes Abram & Sarai wait an additional 13 YEARS after their faithless attempt to shortcut his plan for a child. And when God finally reappears to Abram here in ch.17, he introduces himself for the first time in the Bible as “God Almighty”. The Hebrew is: “El Shaddai”. VERY important name for God in Scripture. Kent Hughes notes: “El Shaddai signifies God’s power and sovereignty… It is the name that is used some thirty-one times in Job to encourage that man amidst his trials… God was saying, by invoking his name El-Shaddai , “I am able to fulfill the awesome hopes that I have set before you of a people and a land. [Don’t] let go of the promise because of your old age.” (244) [Don’t] take matters into your own hands, Abram; my hands are MORE than capable!

  So, friends, I ask you this morning: “How mighty is God, to you?” If an impartial, objective observer was asked to examine your life, and extrapolate from YOUR FAITH, how “mighty” God is, would they conclude that God is “PRETTY mighty”? “Mostly mighty”? Maybe even “VERY mighty”. Or is he ALL mighty?

  I love the rhetorical question God asks Abram at the end of ch18: “Is anything too hard[d] for the Lord?” For El Shaddai, God ALL-mighty?! Brothers and sisters: where might God be asking YOU that same question, in YOUR life, this morning: “Is ANYTHING too hard for me?” Trust me; I GOT this.

  #2- God places a new expectation on Abram here - (vv1, 9)

  V1: God immediately follows up his self-revelation as El Shaddai with a new demand of Abram: “walk before me, and be blameless”. We saw this last week: your theology determines your identity determines your action; IF God is “Almighty”, that means you are NOT the Sovereign, plan-orchestrator here, Abram. That’s ME. YOU are simply called to trust and obey. Ch16 - that whole affair with Hagar, immediately after I formed my covenant with you in ch.15 - not a great start, Abram, on the “trust and obey” front. Let’s try this again, Abram, in ch17, and let me be absolutely clear this time, CLARIFY the covenant for you: v9 - “God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you shall keep my covenant’” And THIS time, Abram’s response, in v3, was to “fall on his FACE”. To which God replies in v4, “Now THAT’S more like it. NOW, Behold, my covenant is with you”.

  Likewise, we ought to ask ourselves again this morning: How am I doing, on the “trust and obey” front? Specifically, what do my actions REVEAL about my identity and therefore, about my theology. See that’s the thing: IF your theology determines your identity determines your action, then your ACTIONS necessarily REVEAL your true identity, which reveals your actual view of God. You may THINK you believe God is all-powerful, but if you never PRAY, if you always just take matters into your own hands, instead of taking them to the One with ALL power, then He’s not actually El Shaddai for you. You may THINK you believe that we’re all created equally in God’s image, that God cares about EVERY human life, but what about black lives? What about the lives of the unborn? What about LGBTQ folk? Does every life TRULY matter, to us, church? How did YOU respond to the “Pride month” PR in June? Do we get out our soap boxes and bark condemnation at people who don’t even know their right hand from their left, as God says of the Ninevites in Jonah 4? Do we have the same ATTITUDE as Jonah - are we upset that God would even ask us to CARE about such people? If God called US to go evangelize at a gay pride parade, would we sooner board a ship for Tarshish? Do we REALLY believe that “God desires that NONE should perish, but that ALL should reach repentance” - 2 Peter 3:9? If we aren’t actively bearing witness for Him, then we don’t. It’s that simple. Our actions reveal our theology.

  #3- God bestows a new blessing & a new name on Abram (vv4-5)

  The new blessing is that he will be exceedingly prolific. God already promised him in ch12: “ I will make of you a great nation”...and “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (vv2-3). But now, he’s told in ch17, v4 he will be the father of “a multitude of nations.” NationS now. Plural. Namely, Ishmael’s AND Isaac’s. God promises to proliferate BOTH sides of Abram’s lineage. V2: I will “multiply you greatly”; v6: “I will make you exceedingly fruitful”.

  And in LIGHT of this new blessing, God confers on Abram a new NAME as well: v5 - “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” Kent Hughes explains (245): “In the psychology of the ancient Near Eastern world, a name was not merely a convenient means of identification, but was intimately bound up with the very essence of being ...The Bible views name-giving as symbolizing the transformation of character and destiny… Abram’s name had meant “exalted father” and referred not to the patriarch but to God. But when his name was changed to Abraham, it referred to the man himself as “father of a multitude”. And I would add that the same is true of ALL the names God grants in these chapters - He strategically uses people’s NAMES to remind them of His promises to them:

  -Every time Abraham is tempted to be untrusting and impatient again, God wants him to hear, “Good morning, ‘Father of a Multitude’”.

  -Every time Ishmael feels insecure and unloved, because Sarah will kick he and Hagar out of camp in ch.21, but God wants him to feel comforted and cared for every time he hears his own name, “Hey - what would you like for lunch, ‘God Hears’?”

  -Every time Abraham and Sarah call ISAAC in from playing for supper, “Come on in, ‘He Laughs’”, God is reminding them that while we may laugh at HIM, in our faithless disbelief that he can work miracles, God in turn laughs at US, at just how little of His plan and His power we actually see.

  What about YOU, friend? What does your IDENTITY say about your theology? Do you recognize that if you are in Christ, you’ve been given a new name? Think of the lyrics to that great song we sing together: “I am Chosen [capital “C” - that’s my new NAME; my new IDENTITY - I am CHOSEN], no longer Forsaken. I am who you say I am... I’m a Child of God, yes I am.”

  #4 - (we’ll move more quickly through some of these...) God makes Abraham a New promise here in v6.

  V6: “kings shall come from you”. Again, BOTH branches of the family tree. God promises in v20 that Ishmael will father “twelve princes”, and obviously there have arisen MANY rulers of the Muslim people, historically, out of Ishmael’s lineage. But Ishmael’s twelve princes, as we will see, parallel the twelve tribes of Israel, through the line of Isaac and Jacob. And beginning a thousand years after Abraham, out of those tribes, and in particular, the tribe of JUDAH, God would raise up kings - from Saul, & David, & Solomon, down through the divided monarchy, all the way, ultimately to the greatest king EVER to come from Abraham’s line 2,000 years after him. But I’ll save him for our conclusion. :)

  #5 - We discover a New Duration of covenant, in (v7)

  V7: “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant”.

  God had promised NOAH, back in ch.9, that his COMMON grace covenant never to flood world again would be an everlasting covenant. But this is the first we hear of the everlasting nature of the Abrahamic covenant.

  #6 - And this one is VERY important: There is a new level of Investment here, from God, in Abraham’s life and future, in (vv7-8)

  God covenants in v7 “to be God to you”. And He declares the same to Abraham’s offspring in v8: “I will be their God”

  Jeremiah 32 unpacks this promise for us: God vows there: “"They shall be my people and I will be their God . . . I will not turn away from doing good to them . . . I will rejoice in doing good to them . . . with all my heart and with all my soul"” (vv38-41)

  John Piper calls this the most astounding promise in all of Scripture. He writes, “It boggles the mind to try to imagine what it must mean if the God who made the planets and stars and galaxies and molecules and protons and neutrons and electrons rejoices to do you good with all his heart and with all his soul. If God is God for you, then all his omnipotence and all his omniscience are engaged all the time to do good for you in all the circumstances of your life. Paul says in Romans 4:13, "The promise to Abraham and his descendants [is] that they should inherit the world." In 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 he [promises us], "All things are yours whether . . . the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's."” (“God’s Covenant with Abraham”, Dec 4, 1983, desiringgod.org) Get this, friends: God just promised that to the extent that we are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s, and EVERYTHING belongs to God, then we are heirs to it ALL. This is Abraham’s ADOPTION. When Polly and I adopted Elijah, we took a vow to treat him as our son, to afford him all the privileges of a natural-born DuVal. THAT’S what God promises here - to BE God for Abraham and his descendants. And who are Abraham’s descendants? Galatians 3:29 - “If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.”

  #7 - God commands a new SIGN of the covenant - (vv10-14)

  Vv10-14: ““Every male among you shall be circumcised.””

  Now, we could spend an entire sermon just unpacking circumcision! It’s become sort of standard practice for most of us with our baby boys in the “Christianized” world. But we need to pause for a minute and realize just how BIZARRE and HORRIFYING this command must have sounded to Abraham. “I’m sorry, God, I must have misheard you, it SOUNDED like you said you want me to cut off my… WHAT?!” But let me just quickly give you 5 reasons God commands this new sign of the covenant; I’ve alliterated them for you:

  It is Sanitary - circumcision is hygienic, it reduces one’s risk of both STDs and UTIs, it reduces the risk of both penile cancer in circumcised men and cervical cancer in their female partners… so there are health benefits.

  It served to Set Israel apart - Not a lot of folks opting to ‘snip the tip’ 4,000 years ago! Even 2,000 years ago, when Jesus himself was circumcised - Imagine visiting the public, Roman baths, as a Jewish man; circumcision served as a permanent, VISIBLE reminder of one’s Jewish distinctiveness.

  It’s a sign of SUBMISSION - many Jewish theologians discourage even offering explanations for circumcision, because the only one needed, they say, is that GOD SAID SO. Obeying this command must feel SO contrary to every self-protective instinct within Abraham - imagine being 99 years old and picking up THAT knife - the only possible explanation is: “God told me to”.

  It is Sacrificial - circumcision HURTS! As with ALL God’s covenants, there is BLOOD involved. That’s why for every male AFTER Abraham, God commands that you get it out of the way on the 8th day; this is NOT a moment you want seared in your child’s memory for the rest of his life. It is SO cool that I got to circumcise Elijah on our kitchen counter a few months ago - side note: who’s coming over for lunch today? - But it’s ALSO cool that he’s not gonna remember it! Talk about nightmares! Circumcision is God is saying, “It’s going to COST you something, to belong to me.”

  And finally, and most importantly, circumcision is Symbolic - Psalm 51:5 states, “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” We call this “original sin”: we were ALL born sinners… we were all CONCEIVED as sinners. King David, who wrote Psalm 51, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wasn’t saying that he was the product of an illicit, sinful relationship; he wasn’t. He was just the child of 2 sinners. And just like 2 cats make a baby cat, and 2 dogs make a baby dog, 2 sinners make a baby sinner. And circumcision is God saying: “Even in your moments of greatest ECSTASY in this life, in the bedroom, even in your greatest JOYS, finally holding this baby boy in your arms, I want you to be reminded of your need for repentance. That you are sinful to your CORE, to the deepest, most private parts of you; and I want you to symbolically commit to CUTTING that sin out of your life. And everyone who won’t, v14, shall be symbolically “cut off” from his people.

  #8 - God bestows a new name & a new blessing on Sarai, as well, in (vv15-16).

  v15: “You shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.” They both mean “princess”; but commentators note that Sarai was the possessive form of Sarah - “MY princess” - so the change suggests that she will no longer simply be like royalty in the eyes of those who named her, her parents alone - “Daddy’s little princess” - but she will be an ACTUAL princess of NATIONS. v16: “I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her… and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.””

  However, #9 - this amazing new promise from God is MET with a New depth of DOUBT, from both Abraham and Sarah (17:17-18; 18:9-15)

  They already don’t have a stellar track record of trusting God; remember ch16...

  But here in ch17 their skepticism reaches an all-time low: we hear that “Abraham fell on his face and laughed…” in disbelief!

  And Sarah follows suit in ch18, v12, when she overhears the promise: “Sarah laughed...”

  Can you imagine literally LAUGHING in God’s face?! Maybe that’s why Abraham fell to the ground and Sarah hid behind the tent flap, because they couldn’t bear to look God in the face while they were laughing.

  But Abraham goes so far as to suggest yet ANOTHER alteration to God’s plan! Just when you thought he’d learned his lesson, he has the AUDACITY in v18 to interrupt God, mid-promise and essentially REBUKE God: “Oh that Ishmael might live before you” instead! God, I know you’re POWERFUL, but Sarah is 90 years OLD... she’s already been through menopause… even YOU aren’t THAT powerful, right? El Shaddai - God ALL mighty?

  And God responds, to BOTH of them, by rebuking them back - ch17- “No, Abraham, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son”. “Oh, and Sarah, over in ch18, what are you laughing at?” And ashamed, like a kid who got caught red-handed, Sarah peeks her head out of the tent in v15, and has her OWN audacity, to double down and try and LIE her way out of it: “I didn’t laugh… Must have been the wind...” So God rebukes her too: “No, you DID laugh”. And that’s how this whole scene ends!

  But that’s not how the STORY ends, because going back to ch.17 now, v19, we receive clarification #10 - a new CHILD (v19)

  V19: “you shall call his name Isaac.” It’s the first time God NAMES this long-awaited child and heir of Abraham. And judging from Abraham’s response of obedience in v23, I have to believe this is when his change of heart takes place; he stops laughing and starts taking God’s promise seriously. Names were so significant; it’s almost like their version of seeing your baby on an ultrasound for the first time: “Woah! This just got REAL!”

  And yet as we noted last week, God’s promise of redemption doesn’t mean he just ERASES all the consequences of our actions. And in Abraham’s case, one of those consequences, #11 - is the formation of a New nation (v20).

  V20: “As for Ishmael... I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly… I will make him into a great nation.” The foreboding prophecy of the rise of Islam that was veiled in ch16, now becomes clearer here in ch17.

  And #12 - Perhaps just as significant as God’s revelation of Isaac’s NAME is God’s new self-imposed DEADLINE for Isaac’s birth, announced in (v21)

  v21: “Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year”

  FINALLY, after 24 YEARS of waiting… and that’s just since we met them back in ch11, when Abram was already 75 years old; presumably they have been hoping and trying for a child their entire married LIVES now, more like 80+ years, waiting for a child... INDEFINITELY.

  Polly would often say while we fought our OWN battle with infertility for years: “I could accept it and move on, if I just KNEW FOR CERTAIN that we’d never have kids… or if I knew it would take 10 years; it’s the NOT KNOWING that’s so hard.” And Abram and Sarai have dealt with the not knowing for 8 decades. Til now.

  And it is this confirmation, this CLARIFICATION of the covenant by God, that ultimately sparks #13 - Abraham’s newfound Obedience (17:22 - 18:8)

  We hear in V23: “he circumcised [them] that very day”, and later in ch18, v8: ”he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth...”

  -By the way, did you notice the “them” in ch18. I really COULD have added a 14th point: a new THEOPHANY - but I’m already out of time. But this is the first time God shows up VISIBLY to Abram, at least in human form, while Abram is actually conscious. And notice HOW God reveals himself in v2 - as “three men”. And yet Abram addresses “them” in v3 in the singular voice, “O Lord”, with singular verb tenses -... 3 in 1.

  -I mean, you can’t make this stuff up, folks! It’s right here in ch17 of GENESIS - The TRINITY - it’s right there in ch1 of the Creation account itself - God has been revealing his Trinitarian nature to us from Day 1. And I said it last week: Christ’s work of redemption didn’t begin with the birth of Jesus; God the Father, Son AND Holy Spirit have been at work since Day 1 - redeeming our messes.

  And as usual, that’s who this entire covenant clarification has been pointing us to all along, friends, all 13 points - it’s JESUS.

  -JESUS is the new and most precious name of all for God: Yeshua = “He SAVES”; a God powerful AND loving enough to save us from our sin.

  -JESUS not only calls us to “walk blamelessly”; he rose from the grave to finally make it POSSIBLE for us!

  -JESUS bestows on us a new name and blessing

  -JESUS is the climactic fulfillment of God’s promise of a king.

  -HIS covenant lasts FOREVER.

  -JESUS is God’s proof that he puts his money where his mouth is, when it comes to being INVESTED in our lives in a deeply personal way: He is Immanuel = “God WITH us”

  -And yet, in our sin, like Abraham, we responded to Jesus with our own doubt and skepticism, so much so that we nailed him to a cross.

  -And yet, like God with Abraham, Jesus responds to us with yet MORE grace. While we were yet sinners, he prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”, and He died for us. In our place.

  -And today, friends, Jesus offers us something even BETTER than a new child, a new nation, a new deadline; he offers you a new LIFE. ETERNAL life.

  -And he’s even left us with a new SIGN of his new covenant: baptism, to symbolize God’s circumcision of your HEART, your decision to die to your old self, in order to be raised with Jesus to new life in Him.

  -But just like God in Genesis 17, Jesus calls us to a new OBEDIENCE. It is the obedience of FAITH. 1 John 3:23 - “This is God’s commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ”.

  So I ask you this morning, friends: have you, WILL you, in faith, receive JESUS’ new covenant offer of eternal life in Him? Let’s pray.