The Sign of the Covenant
The Sign of the Covenant
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
God Almighty
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to him. “I am God Almighty.”
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
For thirteen years, Ishmael grew up as Abram’s only son and presumed heir. His birth seemingly paved the way for the fulfillment of Yahweh’s promise to give Abram innumerable offspring.1 But Yahweh would have none of it.2 He patiently waited until all hope of a child through Abram’s true wife, Sarai, had long passed. Genesis 18:11 confirms that Sarai had passed menopause by this time. She and Abram were under no delusion about the impossibility of her conceiving naturally.
When God first initiated the covenant with Abram, he identified himself as Yahweh.3 But when the time came to finally realize the promises, he identified himself as God Almighty (ʾel shaddai). Although the meaning of the Hebrew word shaddai is uncertain, the traditional translation fits its usage well.4 It always refers to God and often occurs in contexts that emphasize either his ability to do the impossible or humanity’s helplessness before him. The Almighty sees the future, scatters kings, frees prisoners, and raises slaves to positions of power.5 He can even open the barren womb of an eighty-nine-year-old woman.
Abram and Sarai were about to witness the true power of the God they served. The event they had waited almost twenty-five years for was now only months away. But before God Almighty would fulfill his part, Abram and his entire household had to show they were also committed to the covenant.
In God’s Presence
“Walk in my presence with integrity so I may fulfill my covenant with you by greatly increasing your numbers.” Then Abram bowed down before [Yahweh].
Image by Naasom Azevedo from Freely Photos
In Genesis 15 (before the birth of Ishmael), God swore a solemn oath to give Abram both offspring and land.6 The covenant was one-sided, and no obligations were placed on Abram. Chapter 17 completes the covenant ceremony by expanding on the promises and explaining the covenant obligations that Abram and his offspring must keep.
God commanded Abram to “walk in my presence with integrity.” To walk in God’s presence is to honor and obey him. This would allow God to fulfill his promises. As chapter 15 showed, God’s promises are irrevocable. Nothing humanity can do would prevent him from ultimately fulfilling them. Nonetheless, as his chosen representatives, humanity can affect how and when he does so. He would certainly increase the number of Abram’s descendants and give them the land of Canaan, but not until his people were ready.7 First, Abram had to show himself fit for God’s presence.
In response to God’s pronouncement, Abram bowed down, acknowledging his status as a servant before his master. He was ready to hear what his Lord required of him.
Abraham
God continued, “As for me, my covenant is with you. You will become the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram. Your name is now Abraham because I will make you the father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful and create nations from you. Kings will come forth from you.
“I will confirm my covenant with you and with your offspring after you in every generation as an eternal covenant to be your God and theirs. I will give to you and your offspring after you the land where you are a foreigner, the entire land of Canaan, as an eternal possession. And I will be their God.”
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
Before explaining Abram’s part of the covenant, God reiterated the promises that he himself would fulfill. The greatest responsibility still fell on him, and he was committed to keeping his covenant. He expanded the initial promise to make Abram’s offspring into a great nation by adding the promise to make him the father of many nations and even kings. To formalize this promise, God changed Abram’s name.
In many cultures, both ancient and modern, major life events are commemorated by a change in the person’s name. A name change may accompany marriage, parenthood, entrance into a religious community (at baptism, for example), or ascension to a position of power (called a throne name or regnal name). Abram was about to receive the sign that would guarantee God’s covenant, a major event not only in his life but also in the history of the world.8 So for the last time, God called his servant Abram. His new name, the name God would make famous throughout the world, would be Abraham.9
The name Abraham (ʾavraham) is a wordplay on the Hebrew ʾav hamon (“father of many”) and reflects the expanded promise that his offspring would form many nations. But the greater expansion was God’s promise to be the God of Abraham and his offspring. This formed the basis of the covenant relationship, from which all the promised blessings would naturally flow. Abraham’s offspring would restore the worship of Yahweh on earth.
Circumcision
“As for you, you and every generation of your offspring after you must keep my covenant. This is my covenant that you and your offspring after you must keep: every male must be circumcised. You must circumcise your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between us.
“At eight days old, all males in every generation must be circumcised, even those who are not your offspring but are born into your household or purchased from a foreigner. Whether born into your household or purchased, they must certainly be circumcised. In this way, your bodies will bear the mark of my eternal covenant.”
Image by Cheskel Dovid from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Having reiterated his part of the covenant, God turned to Abraham’s part: he and every male in his household had to be circumcised. This command was not limited to Abraham’s lifetime. The rite had to be performed on all eight-day-old boys and other new members of the covenant community in every generation.10 Until the establishment of the new covenant, it stood as an absolute requirement for every male associated with Abraham’s household.11
Medically, circumcision has both benefits and risks.12 But Scripture never mentions health as a reason for circumcising the members of Abraham’s household. Rather, circumcision is the sign of God’s eternal covenant with Abraham, the guarantee that God would keep his promises. The permanent removal of the foreskin represents God’s determination to separate for himself a faithful remnant from a world living in rebellion against him, starting with Abraham. However, circumcision did not guarantee faithfulness. Bearing the outward sign of the covenant had no value without inward devotion to God.13
Although the covenant focused on the promises to Abraham and his offspring, from the beginning, it was never limited to them. Outsiders who would join Abraham’s household in the future had to be circumcised as well. God would not have commanded them to bear the sign of the covenant if they were excluded from it simply because of ancestry. By accepting circumcision, they claimed the blessings promised to those who associate themselves with Abraham.14
Cut Off
“Any uncircumcised male who refuses to have his foreskin circumcised will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
Image by polly vn from Creation Swap
Any man in Abraham’s household who refused to be circumcised broke God’s covenant. By disassociating himself from Abraham, he would invoke God’s curse.15 For this reason, he had to “be cut off from his people.” The punishment clearly parallels the crime here. Cut off the foreskin or cut off the man.
The Hebrew verb karath (“to cut”) means to remove a person or thing. Depending on the context, it can refer to exile (removal from a place)16 or even death (removal from existence).17 Here, the phrase “from his people” clarifies the nature of the punishment. Although Scripture presents death as the just punishment for sin, it is not the worst possible consequence. Far worse is to be removed from God’s people. All die, but only God’s people will enjoy eternal fellowship with God and the blessings of the future new earth free from the curse of death.
Daniel used the verb karath when he predicted the Anointed One would be “cut off,” referring to the death of Jesus on the cross.18 Jesus was cut off not just from his people but from the land of the living, fulfilling the sign of the covenant.8 By cutting off their foreskins, Abraham and his offspring symbolically act out the crucifixion of Jesus, just as believers under the new covenant symbolically act out the resurrection through baptism.
Sarah
“As for Sarai, your wife, you will no longer call her Sarai because her name is now Sarah. I will bless her by giving you another son through her. I will bless her so she will bring forth nations. Kings will trace their ancestry to her.”
Ten years after moving to Canaan, Sarai gave up all hope of bearing the son promised to Abraham. As a result, she had given her slave Hagar to her husband, resulting in the birth of Ishmael.19 Another thirteen years passed before God changed Abraham’s name, promising to make him the father of many nations.20 But his was not the only name changed that day. For the first time, God explicitly mentioned Sarai as a recipient of his promise. Long after all hope seemed lost, he would intervene to give her a son of her own.
To commemorate this promise, God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah. Sarah is the feminine form of the Hebrew word sar (“prince, high-ranking official”) and means “princess,” a fitting name for the mother of kings. God’s promises to her closely parallel those to Abraham. Because of God’s blessing, she who was barren would become the ancestor of entire nations.
Isaac
Then Abraham bowed down before him and laughed, wondering, “Can a one-hundred-year-old man really father a child? Or can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?” So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael could live in your presence!”
God replied, “Sarah, your wife, will certainly give birth to a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his offspring after him.”
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Abraham responded to the promise of a son through Sarah by again bowing down before God. But this time, he laughed out loud as he did so. This contradictory response reflects the natural conflict between Abraham’s faith and his understanding of reality as he contemplated this new promise. By the time nine months passed, he would be one hundred years old, and Sarah would be ninety. Even if he could father a child at that age, surely Sarah could not conceive!21
Abraham expressed his doubts by proposing that God simply accept Ishmael as his heir. Everyone else had. This wish probably stemmed from a desire to not revisit the unfulfilled longings of the past combined with genuine love and concern for his firstborn. Watching Ishmael grow in God’s presence under the covenant blessings would be enough for Abraham. But it wasn’t enough for God.
God initially ignored Abraham’s request and returned to the subject of Sarah and her son. He had determined to bless her and would not be deterred. She would indeed give birth to a son, and his name would be Isaac (yitshaq). The name Isaac means “he laughs.” Abraham laughed when told Sarah would conceive, and Sarah would also laugh.22 But God would have the last laugh. Despite their advanced ages, God could and would fulfill every promise he had made to both Abraham and Sarah. Isaac, not Ishmael, would inherit the eternal covenant.
Ishmael’s Future
“As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will bless him by making him fruitful and greatly increasing his numbers. He will father twelve rulers and grow into a great nation. But my covenant I will confirm with Isaac, the son Sarah will give birth to around this time next year.” When God finished speaking with Abraham, he left.
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After affirming his promise to give Sarah a son, God addressed Abraham’s concerns about Ishmael’s fate. He assured Abraham that he had “heard” his plea, a wordplay on Ishmael’s name, which means “God hears.” This alludes to the encounter between Yahweh’s messenger and Ishmael’s mother. At that time, the messenger named Hagar’s unborn child Ishmael and blessed him.23 Now, God blessed him again.
God promised to make Ishmael fruitful and to increase the number of his descendants, a blessing that reflects the original blessing on Adam and Eve and the blessing on Noah and his sons.24 Like Isaac, Ishmael would grow into a great nation. Isaac would father kings, and Ishmael would father rulers. Isaac would inherit the covenant promises, and the promised offspring of Abraham would come through him. But Ishmael was in no way excluded from the blessing of the nations that would come through Abraham and Isaac.14
Abraham’s Obedience
So on that same day, Abraham circumcised Ishmael, his son, all those born into his household, and all those he had purchased—all the men in his household—just as God had told him to. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. Abraham and Ishmael, his son, were both circumcised on that same day. All the men in his household, whether born into his household or purchased from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
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Although Abraham laughed at the idea of Sarah having a son, his faith quickly overcame his doubt.25 As soon as God left, he implemented the sign of circumcision “on that same day,” stated twice for emphasis. Trusting that God would keep his part of the covenant, Abraham wasted no time fulfilling his own obligation.
As God commanded, every man in Abraham’s household was circumcised that day. This required great faith because it left the camp vulnerable while the men healed.26 But Abraham didn’t hesitate to obey. Abraham and Ishmael were also circumcised. In this way, the members of Abraham’s household were set apart as God’s chosen people.27
- Genesis 13:16; 15:5.
- See Ishmael.
- See The Promise of Land.
- Kidner, Genesis, 139–140; Wenham, Genesis 16–50, 20.
- See Genesis 43:14; 49:22–25; Numbers 24:3–4; Psalm 68:14.
- See The Promise of Offspring; The Promise of Land.
- The exodus generation, for example, should have been the generation to receive Canaan. But through rebellion, they showed they were not ready. This prevented them from seeing the fulfillment of the promise but did not prevent God from fulfilling it for their children (Numbers 13–14).
- See The Major Covenants.
- See Famous.
- The way the Israelites counted, the first day was the day the baby was born, so the eighth day would be exactly one week later. This system of counting is also reflected in the creation story. The “seventh day” (the Sabbath) occurred six days after the world was created (Sunday to Saturday). See The Water’s Triumph.
- Circumcision is no longer required for believers under the new covenant. As determined by the Jerusalem Council, gentiles do not need to become Jews in order to follow Jesus. See Acts 11:1–18; 15:1–21; Galatians 2:1–3:14; 5:1–12; 6:11–16.
- Mayo Clinic, “Circumcision (male),” accessed May 15, 2021, https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/circumcision/about/pac-20393550.
- Leviticus 26:40–42; Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; 9:25–26; Acts 7:51; Romans 2:28–29.
- See Why Israel?
- See Contempt.
- Exodus 8:9; Zechariah 14:2.
- Genesis 9:11; Exodus 31:14; Amos 2:3; Zechariah 13:8.
- Daniel 9:26.
- See Hagar.
- See Abraham.
- Abraham went on to father six more sons, but Isaac was Sarah’s only child. See Genesis 25:1–2.
- Genesis 18:10–15; 21:6.
- See A Wild Donkey.
- Genesis 1:28; 9:7.
- See Isaac.
- See Genesis 34:24–26.
- See Circumcision.