17:1 Abram is progressing through life, he's getting older, his family is getting older. He's going through the motions of life but what has not changed for Abram is his faith. His faith has grown with him. God calls Abram to continue to walk with Him, the One Creative Entity in good intention. God encourages him (and us) to be blameless, to always act with compassion and never maliciousness.
17:2 When we maintain our faith, God is able to maintain His blessings in our lives. He is able to establish Himself within us, within the unfolding of our lives. He is able to remain. This reassurance from God calls for Abram (and us) to remember that with Him, what we produce... our achievements, multiply exceedingly. In Abram's case, this meant a long, almost endless line of descendants when he thought he would have none. For us it might mean something else, a reassurance of accomplishment of a dream or a passion we have.
17:3 Abram falls down to the ground. In humility. In faith. In awe. In love. In gratitude. He is overcome by God's continued love and promise. It is a beautiful, personal and intimate moment when you and God have a private conversation. He will express His love for you with emphasis.
17:4 God reiterates His promise to Abram. He never forgets. He never slacks off. He remains committed to ensuring that your dreams and your hopes transpire in your life.
17:5 Abram is renamed here by God as Abraham, meaning: father of many. His name comes to reflect God's promise to Him. Abraham went from worrying that he would never have even a single child, to being the father of many generations. God answers prayers with emphasis.
17:6 Through Abraham's faith, God is able to make him fruitful, a producer of great faith and nations. How so? Through our faith God is able to instruct us. He enables us to learn and grow in wisdom. He teaches us to exert the patience and perspective required to smartly navigate life.
17:7 Moreover, God promises Abraham that He will make Himself accessible to Abraham's descendants. Just as closely as He worked with Abraham, God promises to work with us. He extends His blessed and divine commitment to include even those of us who were not yet born. His love is abundant and without limits.
17:8 God promises to give a portion of land to Abraham's family... to these many lines of descendants and that has resulted in our world today. Although humans have land disputes, God gave this space to all of us. He promises to be our God. We have this tremendous blessing of having our omnipotent, omniscient creator devote His whole self to us, to our well-being. Individually. We each have full access to all that He is and therefore, with Him, we have no limits.
17:9 After making these promises to Abraham he returns to Abraham's present. God reiterates His commitment because we so often need to be reassured. He's is here within us; He's not going anywhere. These promises are solidified.
17:10-13 God establishes a health law with Abraham. He requests that Abraham circumcise the males in his family. This will come to represent Abraham's trust that God knows how to promote and ensure healthful living conditions. Remember, this was a time on the earth when there were not yet scientists to discover germ theory.
17:14 The act of circumcision is not something that would disable or enabled a person to receive God's promises... but in Abraham's time, it certainly was a tangible way to distinguish followers of this faith from others.
17:15 Sarai's name is also changed. She becomes Sarah, meaning: noble-woman.
17:16 God's promise comes into fruition here: Sarah will become pregnant and a mother of nations (along with Abraham, they will have many descendants). God's promises manifest. God promised that this would happen for them. Sarai grew impatient, tried to finagle a desperate way to have children when if she had waited, she would have effortlessly received what she so desired. This is a lesson for us. Be patient. Your commitment with God ensures that your prayers will be answers in perfect timing.
17:17 Abraham laughed in joy and disbelief. He could not fathom that at his and Sarah's age they would be able to have a child.
17:18 Abraham thinks of his son by Hagar, Ishmael.
17:19 God reassures Abraham that Sarah will also bear a son to be named Issac. Issac meaning: laughter. God's commitment to Abraham will be extended to Isaac and his descendants and so forth. This is a lofty and generous promise from God. We discover through this promise that God is thrilled and inspired by our faith and trust in Him to be in our lives.
17:20 God mentions twelve great princes. These will come to be the twelve tribes which grew to comprise of much of the world's population.
17:20 God mentions twelve great princes. These will come to be the twelve tribes which grew to comprise of much of the world's population.
Do not forget how messy and fallible a species we are. We make mistakes. We behave selfishly. And although we have many good characteristics, we can be downright frustrating to deal with. God accepts it all. He accepts us all. He makes a commitment to be with and within us despite our shortcomings. We are His children and He loves us. It is endearing to Him to watch us try, even when we stumble, in good faith.
17:21 God knows us. He knows us before we even know ourselves. Before our souls manifest on the earth as humans. God knows that He will be able to maintain this covenant with Isaac because Isaac will have great faith like Abraham.
17:21 God knows us. He knows us before we even know ourselves. Before our souls manifest on the earth as humans. God knows that He will be able to maintain this covenant with Isaac because Isaac will have great faith like Abraham.
17:22-27 Immediately after his spiritual conversation with God, Abraham follows God's advice. Be proactive in all that you do, especially your faith. When you want to grow and strengthen your faith, be an active and motivated participant. Utilize every moment to follow God's lead.
