Most of us have been alive long enough to have someone break their promise.
Whether it was a politician or a spouse, somebody has promised to do something and not come through. It could have been a child or a friend. It might also have been a coworker or someone in our church.
It happens. We don’t like it, but it happens.
But it can do something to us. It can set us up to assume we will get let down. And we can transfer this to the Lord. We might assume that His promises are like our promises. We can subconsciously think the Lord won’t come through. Maybe we’ve waited a long time for Him to fulfill His promise, and we’re doubting.
We’re not alone.
Last week, we saw how the Lord suddenly showed up. He reminded Abram of the covenant and renamed him Abraham. He also expanded the covenant. We continue this interaction in Genesis 17:9-14.
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Genesis 17:9-14, New International Version
The Lord says “I will” seven times in the first eight verses. God has already shown His initiative to Abraham—even by changing His name from Abram to Abraham! He is stating what He is going to do.
It’s important to note that the Lord doesn’t place any conditions on this promise. He states He will do these things. It is His grace and His will.
In the Bible, naming means ownership and taking responsibility for something. The Lord had already renamed Abram to Abraham. The Lord could take responsibility for Abraham and would fulfill the promises He is making.
The “signature” of Abraham’s acceptance of this covenant is circumcision. This was a way to separate the Lord’s people from those who were not His people.
In verses 10-13, the Lord gives the specific requirements of who is to be circumcised. It’s essentially every male over eight days old in Abraham’s household.
Circumcision is a permanent process. The permanency was also symbolic of the Lord’s covenant: irreversible.
Verse 14 gives the ominous warning. If a male refuses to be circumcised, or if parents will not circumcise their child, they are guilty of rejecting the Lord Himself. This is because they rejected the permanent sign of His permanent covenant. They declared, in essence, that they would want nothing to do with the Lord and His ownership of them.
Whether it’s Abraham or us, the Lord’s promise is absolute. It’s not based on us, but it’s based on Him. His word secures our hope. His word secures our future. His word secures our present. In every way, when the Lord says it, a promise is a promise.
Life Meets Theology 