7 `And I have established My covenant between Me and thee, and thy seed after thee, to their generations, for a covenant age-during, to become God to thee, and to thy seed after thee;
and Jehovah appeareth unto him during that night, and saith, `I `am' the God of Abraham thy father, fear not, for I `am' with thee, and have blessed thee, and have multiplied thy seed, because of Abraham My servant;'
but now they long for a better, that is, an heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for He did prepare for them a city.
for to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call.'
and I have walked habitually in your midst, and have become your God, and ye -- ye are become My people;
To do kindness with our fathers, And to be mindful of His holy covenant, An oath that He sware to Abraham our father, To give to us, without fear, Out of the hand of our enemies having been delivered, To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness Before Him, all the days of our life.
because this `is' the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord, giving My laws into their mind, and upon their hearts I will write them, and I will be to them for a God, and they shall be to Me for a people;
and to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed; He doth not say, `And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, `And to thy seed,' which is Christ; and this I say, A covenant confirmed before by God to Christ, the law, that came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not set aside, to make void the promise,
nor because they are seed of Abraham `are' all children, but -- `in Isaac shall a seed be called to thee;' that is, the children of the flesh -- these `are' not children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for seed; for the word of promise `is' this; `According to this time I will come, and there shall be to Sarah a son.'
He received again Israel His servant, To remember kindness, As He spake unto our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed -- to the age.'
and Jesus having seen, was much displeased, and he said to them, `Suffer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the reign of God;
Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!
And they have dwelt on it confidently, And builded houses, and planted vineyards, And dwelt confidently -- in My doing judgments, On all those despising them round about, And they have known that I, Jehovah, `am' their God!'
He hath remembered to the age His covenant, The word He commanded to a thousand generations, That He hath made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, And doth establish it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel -- a covenant age-during, Saying, `To thee I give the land of Canaan, The portion of your inheritance,'
`And now, if ye really hearken to My voice, then ye have kept My covenant, and been to Me a peculiar treasure more than all the peoples, for all the earth `is' Mine; and ye -- ye are to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation: these `are' the words which thou dost speak unto the sons of Israel.'
and also I have established My covenant with them, to give to them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they have sojourned;
And God saith again unto Moses, `Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this `is' My name -- to the age, and this My memorial, to generation -- generation.
He saith also, `I `am' the God of thy father, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob;' and Moses hideth his face, for he is afraid to look towards God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 17
Commentary on Genesis 17 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 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.