After confirming the Covenant with the sign of circumcision,
God changed Abram’s name to Abraham (father of many nations). God also changed
Sarai’s name. Both of them would become a “new” person.
(Genesis 17:15) And
God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name
Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name."
Both names come from the same root word (“Sar”:
captain, chief, governor, prince), but have different connotations:
Sarai means: “dominant”.
Sarah means: “lady, princess,
queen”.
These names differ by only one letter. Her new name
ends with the letter “Hey”, which is the same letter that was added to
Abraham’s name.
What God continued to say about Sarah was probably
what surprised Abraham the most:
(Genesis 17:16) I
will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her,
and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
How did Abraham react to this news?
(Genesis 17:17) 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?”
Most probably Abraham laughed because he thought it was
funny since it seemed impossible that at his age he would have a son. Sarah
will also laugh later on (Genesis 18:12). That is why his son will be named
“Isaac” (Hebrew Yitzchak) which means laughter.
The promise of a son was not with any woman. Abraham
would have a son with his own wife. This was God’s plan from the beginning.
God’s covenant could not go against the marriage covenant and his divine order.
Even then, Abraham did not understand what God was
telling him. A son from Sarah? It seemed impossible. Besides, Abraham already had
a son: Ishmael. Could not God fulfill
his promise through him?
(Genesis 17:18) And
Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"
Yet, God made it clear that Ishmael was not the son
of the promise. His son would come from Sarah, just as it was supposed to be.
(Genesis 17:19) God
said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call
his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting
covenant for his offspring after him.
What God was telling Abraham seemed “impossible”. That
is why God at the beginning introduced himself as God Almighty (Hebrew El-Shaddai),
to whom everything is possible.
(Genesis 17:1-2) When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to
Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be
blameless, (2) that I may make my covenant between me and
you, and may multiply you greatly."
ISHMAEL’S DESTINY
If Ishmael was not the son of the promise, what would
become of him when the other son was born? God explained it to Abraham:
(Genesis 17:20) 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.
Ishmael was a harvest of man’s desires, but was not
God’s plan.
Even then, God listened to Abraham’s cry and he
assured him that he would bless his son. However, he would not be a part of the
people of Israel
WHO WILL BE PART OF THE COVENANT
The covenant God made with Abraham was not only with
him but with his descendants… yet, not “all” of his descendants.
(Genesis 17:21) But I
will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this
time next year.
Isaac was the offspring God promised Abraham. This
son would come from his wife Sarah, not from another woman. Even though it had
been delayed, it would certainly come because this was God’s plan.
Even though Abraham did not understand how God was
going to fulfill his promise, he believed. He immediately took on the sign of
the covenant, and circumcised every man in his household.
(Genesis 17:22-27) 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.
(Genesis 17:22-27) 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.
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