17:1 AND WHEN ABRAM WAS NINETY YEARS OLD AND NINE, THE LORD APPEARED TO ABRAM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, I [AM] THE ALMIGHTY GOD; WALK BEFORE ME, AND BE THOU PERFECT.
17:2 AND I WILL MAKE MY COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND THEE, AND WILL MULTIPLY THEE EXCEEDINGLY.
**At the close of Chap. 16 Abram was 86 (at the birth of Ishmael) - 16:16; So this is 13 years later.
17:3 AND ABRAM FELL ON HIS FACE: AND GOD TALKED WITH HIM, SAYING,
17:4 AS FOR ME, BEHOLD, MY COVENANT [IS] WITH THEE, AND THOU SHALT BE A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS.
17:5 NEITHER SHALL THY NAME ANY MORE BE CALLED ABRAM, BUT THY NAME SHALL BE ABRAHAM; FOR A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE THEE.
A.ABRAM: "Exalted Father" (he had one son).
B.ABRAHAM: "Father Of A Multitude" or "Father Of Many Nations."
17:6 AND I WILL MAKE THEE EXCEEDING FRUITFUL, AND I WILL MAKE NATIONS OF THEE, AND KINGS SHALL COME OUT OF THEE.
17:7 AND I WILL ESTABLISH MY COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND THEE AND THY SEED AFTER THEE IN THEIR GENERATIONS FOR AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, TO BE A GOD UNTO THEE, AND TO THY SEED AFTER THEE.
17:8 AND I WILL GIVE UNTO THEE, AND TO THY SEED AFTER THEE, THE LAND WHEREIN THOU ART A STRANGER, ALL THE LAND OF CANAAN, FOR AN EVERLASTING POSSESSION; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD.
**Again God renewed the Promise.
17:9 AND GOD SAID UNTO ABRAHAM, THOU SHALT KEEP MY COVENANT THEREFORE, THOU, AND THY SEED AFTER THEE IN THEIR GENERATIONS.
17:10 THIS [IS] MY COVENANT, WHICH YE SHALL KEEP, BETWEEN ME AND YOU AND THY SEED AFTER THEE; EVERY MAN CHILD AMONG YOU SHALL BE CIRCUMCISED.
17:11 AND YE SHALL CIRCUMCISE THE FLESH OF YOUR FORESKIN; AND IT SHALL BE A TOKEN OF THE COVENANT BETWIXT ME AND YOU.
17:12 AND HE THAT IS EIGHT DAYS OLD SHALL BE CIRCUMCISED AMONG YOU, EVERY MAN CHILD IN YOUR GENERATIONS, HE THAT IS BORN IN THE HOUSE, OR BOUGHT WITH MONEY OF ANY STRANGER, WHICH [IS] NOT OF THY SEED.
A.Verse 9 -- This was a COVENANT between God and the children of Israel IN THEIR GENERATIONS; As long as they remained faithful and were thus the chosen Nation of God, this law was binding upon them.
B.Verse 11 -- TOKEN (sign): As the rainbow was (and still is) a sign of God's covenant with all men for all time. The rain-bow is not the covenant, a ring is not a marriage covenant, circumcision was not the covenant, all these are SIGNS. All the males were to be circumcised as a sign that each was heir to the promises concerning the nation and the land.
C.Verse 12 -- EIGHT DAYS: Without modern technology they needed all of nature's help, and science now knows that eight days is the time the baby's blood clots best. How would Moses know this without inspiration?
17:13 HE THAT IS BORN IN THY HOUSE, AND HE THAT IS BOUGHT WITH THY MONEY, MUST NEEDS BE CIRCUMCISED: AND MY COVENANT SHALL BE IN YOUR FLESH FOR AN EVERLASTING COVENANT.
17:14 AND THE UNCIRCUMCISED MAN CHILD WHOSE FLESH OF HIS FORE-SKIN IS NOT CIRCUMCISED, THAT SOUL SHALL BE CUT OFF FROM HIS PEOPLE; HE HATH BROKEN MY COVENANT.
A.Note that a Jew was in covenant relation with God from the instant of birth; males who were not circumcised would be CUT OFF or excommunicated.
B.Let no Christian become unduly alarmed - Gal 5:1-6.
17:15 AND GOD SAID UNTO ABRAHAM, AS FOR SARAI THY WIFE, THOU SHALT NOT CALL HER NAME SARAI, BUT SARAH [SHALL] HER NAME [BE].
A.She had not thus far been included by name in the covenant with Abraham; now she is taken into the covenant, and accord-ingly receives a new name as did he - cf Verse 5.
B.The meanings of the names are not as clear as in his case, and different suggestions have been given, for example:
17:16 AND I WILL BLESS HER, AND GIVE THEE A SON ALSO OF HER: YEA, I WILL BLESS HER, AND SHE SHALL BE [A MOTHER] OF NATIONS; KINGS OF PEOPLE SHALL BE OF HER.
A.GIVE THEE A SON ALSO OF HER: More specific than "thy seed."
B.So the SEED that God had been promising to Abraham was not Eliezer, amd not Ishmael; but BY HER a son was to be given.
17:17 THEN ABRAHAM FELL UPON HIS FACE, AND LAUGHED, AND SAID IN HIS HEART, SHALL [A CHILD] BE BORN UNTO HIM THAT IS AN HUNDRED YEARS OLD? AND SHALL SARAH, THAT IS NINETY YEARS OLD, BEAR?
17:18 AND ABRAHAM SAID UNTO GOD, O THAT ISHMAEL MIGHT LIVE BEFORE THEE!
A.It seemed impossible they should have a son, for Abraham would be 100 years old and Sarah would be 90.
A.SAID IN HIS HEART: Not out loud.
B.AND LAUGHED: Was this the laughter of ridicule? It seems not, for falling on the face is a position of reverence and worship -- Note the first part of the Chapter when God spoke to him and he fell on his face - Verse 3.
C.Could he have had the idea that God was just speaking un-thoughtedly, and that he was chuckling about the impossible thing which would be if the words could actually be true?
17:19 AND GOD SAID, SARAH THY WIFE SHALL BEAR THEE A SON INDEED; AND THOU SHALT CALL HIS NAME ISAAC: AND I WILL ESTABLISH MY COVENANT WITH HIM FOR AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, [AND] WITH HIS SEED AFTER HIM.
A.ISAAC: The name means "He Laughs."
B.Note the emphatic promise by the underlined words. The promise did not depend on their human strength, and would not fail because of their human frailty -- It was JEHOVAH Who made this promise, and He is Almighty.
17:20 AND AS FOR ISHMAEL, I HAVE HEARD THEE: BEHOLD, I HAVE BLESSED HIM, AND WILL MAKE HIM FRUITFUL, AND WILL MULTIPLY HIM EXCEEDINGLY; TWELVE PRINCES SHALL HE BEGET, AND I WILL MAKE HIM A GREAT NATION.
**God heard Abraham, and knew how he felt toward his son Ishmael -- God would bless Ishmael, BUT HE IS NOT THE SEED.
17:21 BUT MY COVENANT WILL I ESTABLISH WITH ISAAC, WHICH SARAH SHALL BEAR UNTO THEE AT THIS SET TIME IN THE NEXT YEAR.
**This is emphatically specific, even to the exact time of birth being given before she had conceived (a year ahead).
17:22 AND HE LEFT OFF TALKING WITH HIM, AND GOD WENT UP FROM ABRAHAM.
17:23 AND ABRAHAM TOOK ISHMAEL HIS SON, AND ALL THAT WERE BORN IN HIS HOUSE, AND ALL THAT WERE BOUGHT WITH HIS MONEY, EVERY MALE AMONG THE MEN OF ABRAHAM'S HOUSE; AND CIRCUMCISED THE FLESH OF THEIR FORESKIN IN THE SELFSAME DAY, AS GOD HAD SAID UNTO HIM.
17:24 AND ABRAHAM [WAS] NINETY YEARS OLD AND NINE, WHEN HE WAS CIRCUMCISED IN THE FLESH OF HIS FORESKIN.
17:25 AND ISHMAEL HIS SON [WAS] THIRTEEN YEARS OLD, WHEN HE WAS CIRCUMCISED IN THE FLESH OF HIS FORESKIN.
17:26 IN THE SELFSAME DAY WAS ABRAHAM CIRCUMCISED, AND ISHMAEL HIS SON.
17:27 AND ALL THE MEN OF HIS HOUSE, BORN IN THE HOUSE, AND BOUGHT WITH MONEY OF THE STRANGER, WERE CIRCUMCISED WITH HIM.
**Thus Abraham rendered obedience to the command of circum-cision, including the circumcision of Ishmael.
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