Abraham and the covenant of circumcision

Story: Abraham and the covenant of circumcision

Passage: Genesis 17:1-14

Summary: God appeared to Abram and commanded him to walk before Him and be blameless. God promised that his descendants would be a multitude of nations. God changed his name from Abram to Abraham. God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham. God commanded him to circumcise his offspring to set them apart from other nations.

Notes: God sure made a lot of covenants with Abram! And each one was more detailed and unbelievable than the one before it! In this passage God commanded Abram to : walk before Him and be blameless, to keep the covenant, to circumcise his offspring. God promised: to multiply him greatly, to make him the father of a multitude of nations, that kings would come from him, that He would be their God, and that He would give them the land as an everlasting possession. Abraham's response: fell on his face. This was an appropriate response to the holiness of God which Abraham had experienced. Abram means exalted father. This was interesting and probably frustrating since he was not a father until Ishmael. And once Ishmael was born his name changed to Abraham, which means father of a multitude. The Israelites were to be set apart through circumcision. This is significant because they were set apart by sacrificing their flesh. Today, we are set apart through the sacrifice of Christ. Our flesh dies and we are made holy, which means set apart.

Questions: Why circumcision exactly? Why did God choose this method to set apart His people? Has Abraham not gotten the point yet? Why does God have to keep making promises to Abraham? Does he not trust God? Why did God choose this timing to change Abram's name? Why right after the birth of Ishmael?

Lessons: We are called to be different. We have been adopted by Christ and are now His chosen people, set apart for Him. While we are no longer under the law of circumcision, we are still called to be set apart as holy!