Episode 269 - "Promises, promises" - Genesis 17:1-8

Gen. 17:1 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.” 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, but your name shall be Abraham, 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.”

Since Adam and Eve disobeyed the LORD in Genesis 3, we have been anticipating “the seed of the woman” who would crush the head of the serpent and restore things to the way the LORD intended in the beginning. The narrative has led us to Abram and Sarai. The LORD has promised to make Abram a “great nation.” We even read how the LORD initiated a covenant promise as an unconditional promise. This meant that the LORD was taking full responsibility for bringing about the fulfillment of this promise. We also read about how Abram and Sarai did things that risked disqualifying them from bringing the promised seed.

This passage opens with “When Abram was ninety-nine years old . . .” (Gen. 17:1). Stop there and think about this for a minute. The LORD has made this promise to Abram for many years, and now he is ninety-nine, but he still has not had a single child by Sarai. Too late, right? It would seem an impossible thing for a couple so old to have a child.

It’s at this time the LORD speaks to Abram again and says, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between you and me, and may multiply you greatly.” (Gen 17:1b-2) The LORD is telling Abram, first of all, that there is nothing he cannot do. He is “God Almighty.” In light of that, he instructs Abram to trust him by living according to his instructions. He then reaffirms his promise to give Abram innumerable descendants.

Abram is not jaded. He is in awe of the LORD and worships him. The LORD then revealed to him that the LORD was changing his name from Abram, meaning exalted father, to Abraham. The Hebrew term for Abraham is a word play on a word meaning “Father of nations.” The explanation for this change of identity is explained by the LORD telling him, “for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” (Gen. 17:5) He continues in verse six to unpack that promise even more.

In verse seven, the LORD promised to establish his covenant not just with Abraham but with every generation of his descendants after him as an everlasting covenant. This everlasting covenant promise includes the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession for Abraham’s descendants. One would have to completely ignore history and the news to know that Abraham’s descendants of promise (Israelites) have not yet realized that promise. So, what gives? Has the LORD failed? Has he reneged on his promise?

Let me keep this as simple as I know how. Those within the Christian faith vary in how they interpret the fulfillment of this covenant promise. Personally, I’m going to take this at face value and say that I believe the LORD will ultimately fulfill this promise in a literal way. In other words, I believe the LORD still has a plan for the Jews. Other people who love Jesus as much as I may have a different understanding of how this has been or will be fulfilled. Regardless of where people fall on this spectrum of interpretation, God is Almighty. He is not powerless to fulfill his promises precisely as he intends. He certainly is not constrained or dependent upon any specific human interpretation of his word. He is able and faithful to fulfill his promises, as we will see as we continue this study.

This brings us to the last part of verse eight. The LORD states, “And I will be their God.” (Gen. 17:8c). As one continues through the Old Testament books and time passes, one will witness a recurring pattern of the Israelites abandoning the LORD as their God. When they do so, they lose possession of the land. The lesson we should learn from this ourselves is that if we expect to experience promised blessings from the LORD, he must be our God.