Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 34
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Genesis 17
PG 24
FLYOVER
PG 26
DIRECT
PG 26
SCENIC
17:1–18:15; 21:1-7
17:1–18:15; 21:1-7
17:1–18:15
6
11
13
A SON IS PROMISED TO SARAH
When God speaks, things happen. God calls Abram to follow, and Abram’s entire
life changes, including his name: God calls him Abraham, “the father of many.”
Abraham’s name change isn’t a hand-wringing hope, it is a firm declaration: God
is going to save the whole world, starting with a baby boy. But thirteen years after
God first promised him a son, Abraham’s wife Sarah still is not pregnant. So the
Lord appears again to confirm his covenant with Abram and reaffirm his promise
of a son. The next chapter in the big story starts with the birth of a baby.
17
Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You
and all your descendants have this continual
responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you
and your descendants must keep: Each male
among you must be circumcised. 11 You must
cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the
covenant between me and you. 12 From generation to generation, e very male child must be
circumcised on the eighth day after his birth.
PG 83
THE MARK OF THE COVENANT
9
a | WHO, ME? | 17:1-27
When Abram was ninety-nine years old,
the Lord appeared to him and said, “I
am El-Shad
dai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me
faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make
a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee
to give you countless descendants.”
3
At this, Abram fell face down on the ground.
Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant
with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing
your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead,
you will be called Abraham,* for you will be
the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become
many nations, and kings will be among them!
7
“I will confirm my covenant with you and
your descendants* after you, from generation
to generation. This is the everlasting covenant:
I will always be your God and the God of your
descendants after you. 8 And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a
foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will
be their possession forever, and I will be their
God.”
PG 1443
ABRAM IS NAMED ABRAHAM
This applies not only to members of your fam
ily but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you
have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised.
Your bodies will bear the mark of my ever
lasting covenant. 14 Any male who fails to be
circumcised will be cut off from the covenant
family for breaking the covenant.”
SARAI IS NAMED SARAH
Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai,
your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai.
From now on her name will be Sarah.* 16 And I
will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes,
I will bless her richly, and she will become the
mother of many nations. Kings of nations will
be among her descendants.”
17
Then Abraham bowed down to the ground,
but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How
could I become a father at the age of 100?”
he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby
when she is ninety years old?” 18 So Abraham
said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
19
But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife,
will give birth to a son for you. You will name
him Isaac,* and I will confirm my covenant
with him and his descendants as an ever
lasting covenant. 20 As for Ishmael, I will bless
him also, just as you have asked. I will make
him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve
princes, and I will make him a great nation.
15
17:5 Abram means “exalted father”; Abraham sounds like a Hebrew
term that means “father of many.” 17:7 Hebrew seed; also in 17:7b,
8, 9, 10, 19. 17:15 Sarai and Sarah both mean “princess”; the
change in spelling may reflect the difference in dialect between Ur
and Canaan. 17:19 Isaac means “he laughs.”
