Abram is now 99 with a 13 year old son from his wife's slave. God comes to him again and asks Abram to be faithful and blameless in his ways. God makes a covenant with him that he will be the father of many nations. Abram's name will be changed to Abraham. The land that is Canaan will become an everlasting position of the decedents of Abraham. As a sign of that covenant, all males will be circumcised. These males born of this line will be circumcised at 8 days. All men presently living in Abrahams household will be circumcised at that present day.
God tells Abraham that this line will come through Sarai who will now be called Sarah. She will have a son in her old age that will be named Isaac. This will occur within the year. God will still bless Ishmael and nations will come from that line as well.
Then Abraham and all the males in his household fulfilled their end of the covenant.
In this passage we can see fulfilment of God's blessing, promise and call. He finally reveals His timing to Abraham. He does so in a way so that it apparent that it is God who is fulfilling this promise. As Abraham prepares for this promise, he must endure a great physical pain in preparation. As I reflect on my time of waiting, it has been no where near as long as Abraham's. Still God has chosen not to reveal his timing, but I may be asked to undergo pain beforehand. Once again, we see that God involves family in his callings. So I continue to pray for a call for my family.
No comments:
Post a Comment