Is obedience to the Lord difficult for you?
Let’s think about it this way: if the Lord’s will for you makes sense, is obedience difficult for you? Probably not.
What about when the Lord’s will doesn’t make sense? What about when the Lord calls us to do something that will make us uncomfortable? Unconventional? Challenging? Is obedience difficult then?
Three weeks ago, we saw the Lord suddenly show up, remind Abram of the covenant, rename him to Abraham, and expand the covenant. We saw the Lord’s sign of this covenant two weeks ago: male circumcision. Last week, we witnessed (again!) how the Lord takes messes and blesses them.
We conclude Genesis 17 today with Genesis 17:23-27:
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
Genesis 17:23-27, New International Version
We encounter passages like this sometimes in the Old Testament. We tend to read over them and think, “Ah. What a nice bow on the story. Now, it’s concluded.” But there’s still more happening here.
We notice that Abraham acted immediately. It was “that very day” (verse 23). Abraham did as the Lord commanded per the requirements of the covenant. Abraham had all the men circumcised “as God told him” (verse 23).
Abraham’s prompt action signaled his faith. Abraham now believed that Sarah would give birth to the child of the promise. His faith echoed this belief from here to the New Testament. The writers of the New Testament recognized Abraham’s belief. He believed that the Lord would intervene and provide a son from the aged couple (Romans 4:17–19 and Hebrews 11:11–12).
The final remark about Abraham’s obedience carries the reader back to the beginning of the narrative. In Genesis 17:1, the Lord tells Abraham, “Walk before me and be blameless.”
This portrait shows an obedient Abraham. It is reminiscent of the picture of Noah. Noah also “walked with God” and was “blameless” (Genesis 6:9). These phrases aren’t very often in the Bible. Considering this sparsity, it seems likely that the author expected an association to be made between these two great men.
Abraham and Noah are presented as examples of those who have lived in obedience to the covenant. They were “blameless” before the Lord. This is because both obeyed Him.
God Almighty certainly expects no less from His people today. There are signs of our covenant as well. Jesus said the world will know we are His disciples by our love for each other.
Further, we are called to live a blameless life. In many ways, we are called to walk before the Lord blamelessly. Knowing this is impossible on our part, we plead the blood of the New Covenant to cover our sinfulness. We ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to walk in the newness of life.
May we seek to walk before the Lord in blameless obedience.
Life Meets Theology 