| And when Abram was , ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
El Shadday is one of the most powerful incarnations of the LORD's many mighty NAMES. This is the first time He gives this NAME. It is an expansion on YHVH, and contains a more comprehensive expression with the use of the adjective. WALK - I think it's interesting that God refers to our faith, as a "walk." Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him. In Psalms, not only is "walk" representative of our faith, but, God's light leads our way, e.g. "Lamp unto our feet." It seems like a small thing, but, it implies that we are in darkness, stumbling, and without God to lead us, and light our way, we cannot reach our destiny, which will be to dwell with the LORD forever. It is in these small things that our faith is forged. It's not good enough to pray, even pray 3 times a day. We're told to walk with God, like Enoch, like Abraham, and to always have Him before our face.
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| And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
Covenant is more than an agreement, it's a mystical contract between the LORD, and mankind, established first with Noah, and then refined with Abraham. Gen 6:18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. What is this covenant, and what did it mean to Noah, and to Abraham? We can consider this in the totality of the whole of Scripture, understanding that God is isolating one gene pool for a reason: The MESSIAH, but, could Abraham embrace this, as a 99 year old man, who had only one son? | |||||||||||||||||
| And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, I love this simple expression of humility and worship. It's repeated throughout the Bible, and denotes ultimate humility. One paradox that has always left me with wonder, is the humility of Christ. He led us by example, in every way, even by humbling himself to serve us. I don't fully understand why he needed to pray, at all, but, not only did he pray, he showed us the way of grace. Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt]. | |||||||||||||||||
| As for me, behold, my covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Nations - As a Jew, I've heard this word used to express non-Jewish people, in a somewhat derogatory tone. Actually, it's not a slur, but, usually representative of non-Jews, from the nations. Here, in Genesis 17, God establishes the branches of Abraham's comprehensive family tree, for he is not only father of Jews and Arabs, but, of all humanity, through the bloodline of Jesus Christ, the Savior. | |||||||||||||||||
| Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee. It's interesting to note how God often gives us new names, when we are established. Like being born again, our new names reflect this. In Revelation, Christ addresses himself with a new name, "Alpha and Omega," and reveals how we will receive a new name in His kingdom. Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it]. In Isaiah, Zion becomes known as Christ, our Savior, who certainly fulfills the original covenant, made with Noah, and then with Abraham and his ancestors. Through Christ, all men are redeemed, and all our names are changed by this. We go from pitiful hunks of clay and dust, to Jews for Jesus! Christ doesn't make the gentiles Christian, he makes them ISRAELITES, accepted into the same Holy Covenant that the LORD establishes with Abraham. Isaiah 62:11 Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him. Isaiah 62:2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. | |||||||||||||||||
| And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. The KING of kings, as well, in Christ, the LORD. | |||||||||||||||||
| And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. | |||||||||||||||||
| And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. This is fulfilled at this time. Canaan, the son of Ham, does not have claim to the Holy Land. It is in the possession of the Palestian people, and Jews, both ancestors of Abraham. Technically, even if the Jews don't possess the entire land of Canaan, in the Middle East, the Palestinians are certainly as entitled to this promise as Jews are, because, the agreement was that the land between the Euphrates and Nile, would belong to Abraham's descendants, and it is. Europeans, from Japheth's seed, Ethiopians and Africans, from Canaan's seed, do not possess it, but, the Arabs and Jews, who were the literal heirs. | |||||||||||||||||
| And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. | |||||||||||||||||
| This [is] my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
Circumcision is the mystical covenant. It is a SIGN in the flesh, of our contract with God. The uncircumcised foreskin is denoted as "unclean" and was the first symbol of uncleanness, in regards to our acceptance to the LORD. It is the beginning of our instruction into spiritual principles, by the implementation of carnal rituals and acknowledged sins. It is not difficult to understand why an uncircumcised foreskin is unclean. The bigger question is why was man created with this error, that needed correction? Uncircumcised men suffer from more renal complications and infections, and more interestingly, the consequences to females are even worse. In the past 20 years we've learned that women with uncircumcised partners have a much larger incident of cervical cancers. This sign in the flesh was understood by Abraham, and early generations, to denote obedience. Little did they know how harmful uncircumcision was to man and woman. | |||||||||||||||||
| And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. | |||||||||||||||||
| And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which [is] not of thy seed. It's only in the past decades when we've known more about coagulation. Vitamin K is mostly responsible for the production, in the liver, of prothrombin, which enables clotting. Some studies suggest that on the 8th day, Vitamin K, and prothrombin is at it's peak in the newborn. Some studies vary, but, nevertheless, the LORD doesn't require circumcision on the first day of life, or the 40th day, but, 8th day. We now can understand the hidden meanings, in physiological factors, unknown to the ancients. Also, 8 days represent the beginning of the 2nd week, which is veiled in our salvation. The reason we believe we are getting close to the LORD's return is the 7th day, or 7th millenium after Adam and Eve. We're ending the 6,000 years of man, awaiting the 7th millenium, which is the Sabbath of the LORD's kingdom. The eighth day symbolizes our eternal covenant, because, after the 1000 years with Christ, in Jerusalem, we then move on to an eternal life with God. Eventually, through the Scriptures, we learn that circumcision is a symbol, to teach us to peel away the dirty layer of flesh, to be made clean, and acceptable to God. The concept of the heart establishing our spirituality was unfamilliar to the ancients. Their organ of love was sexual organs, and through this mystery, eventually, we were expected to understand that it is not the peeled penis that saves us, but, our circumcised hearts. By the time the LAW was given, in Deuteronomy, the LORD expands the meaning of the token of the Holy Covenant: Deu 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Jer 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench [it], because of the evil of your doings. | |||||||||||||||||
| He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. | |||||||||||||||||
| And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. | |||||||||||||||||
| And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah [shall] her name [be]. | |||||||||||||||||
| And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be [a mother] of nations; kings of people shall be of her.  | |||||||||||||||||
| Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a child] be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? | |||||||||||||||||
| And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! Even though Abraham had the advantage of speaking to the LORD, face to face, he finds it difficult to embrace his power. The LORD even introduces himself to him as El Shaddai, the All Powerful God! Astoundingly, he rejects God's words, and bids Him to make Ishmael the chosen seed for this purpose. Part of this was disbelief, but, mostly, this statement reveals his deep love for Ishmael, his 13 year old. Circumcision, a sign in the flesh, is necessary not only because of hygienic reasons, but, to instruct us to not let our thoughts be limited by carnality. Carnal will is not merely sexual desire, but, all forms of submitting to the flesh. Abraham's pride in Ishmael was the carnal pride any dad would have, but, God was asking him to accept the unseen, which is harder to do. When Abraham fails to accept God's promise of a son between Sarah and himself, he is a prisoner of carnal thought, not embracing faith that the LORD who created all, can do anything! | |||||||||||||||||
| And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him. | |||||||||||||||||
| And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. | |||||||||||||||||
| But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. | |||||||||||||||||
| And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. | |||||||||||||||||
| And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. | |||||||||||||||||
| And Abraham [was] ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. | |||||||||||||||||
| And Ishmael his son [was] thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. It's with irony that the Jewish tradition is to bar-mitzva a boy on his 13th birthday. Bar-mitzva is not in the Torah, and the only indirect relationship to this ritual and the Hebrew Bible, is this one passage in Genesis, which refers to ISHMAEL! | |||||||||||||||||
| In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. | |||||||||||||||||
| And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. | |||||||||||||||||
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