Faith is a funny thing sometimes.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

When you think you’ve got it, it seems to slip away.   We tell others to follow the Lord, but what happens when the Lord calls our number?  All the Christianese in the world might not help much when our faith is actually used and exercised.

We all have been there, and we will all be there again.

Thirteen years had passed between the events of Genesis 16 and 17.  As far as the Biblical record is concerned, the Lord was silent.  When He does break the silence, His message is shocking both for its apparent suddenness and the content.

The Lord breaks the silence in Genesis 17:1-8

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham,  for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:1-8, New International Version

This is a truly significant moment in the life of the patriarch.  The Lord had unfolded His promise a little bit at a time, becoming more precise with each revelation.  It was no accident that the narrative opens with stating Abram’s age.  Their lack of children is very apparent.

Their doubt in God’s plan and taking matters into their own hands—which produced Ishmael—was also present.  Our Lord is the God of the Impossible and Abram was about to learn this well.

The Lord now announces His confirmation of the covenant He made with Abram.  After all these years, the promise was nearing fulfillment!

Even the end of verse two hints at what is to come for Abram.  The Hebrew phrase translated “will greatly increase your numbers” is an anagram of Abraham.  An anagram is when the letters of a word are rearranged. This rearrangement creates a play on words.

For example, George Bush could be rearranged as an anagram of “He bugs Gore.”  The Lord does the same thing with Abram’s name when He says He will “greatly increase your numbers.”

Abram fell facedown before the presence of the Living God. The Lord then declared that Abram will not just be a father. He will be the father of many nations. 

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

And then God changes his name.

Thinking back to Genesis 1, what is the significance of God changing Abram’s name?

Naming speaks of ownership.  The Lord did own Abraham and reaffirmed His care for the patriarch.

In Hebrew, Abram means “exalted father,” but Abram was only a father of Ishmael, which reflected his lack of faith.  Now, he would be called Abraham, which means “father of many.”

Unlike the covenant with Noah after the flood, this covenant with Abraham was narrow: Abraham’s family.  There are more details added here, but there is a beautiful crescendo in verse 8 that leads to the peak of the covenant: 

  • The whole land of Canaan will be Abram’s.
  • This same land will be the inheritance of Abram’s descendants.
  • (Here’s the best part) The Lord says, “I will be their God.”

We all stand looking at the example of Abraham–the father of many–and are forced to examine ourselves.  How’s your faith in the God of the Promise?  Abraham fully believed that God had the power to make this happen.

Do you?

We should look upon the covenant of God to Abraham. Let us see the faithfulness of Almighty God. We can KNOW that He can be trusted.  Like Paul, may we declare, in faith, the words of 2 Timothy 1:12 “…because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.”