Genesis 17

Please do turn back to Genesis 17. We'll be looking at verses 9 to 27.

So we've come to the end of this short series in Genesis.

I'll jump back into Genesis at some point in the future,

but Sam Tunnicliffe's going to be preaching next Sunday evening.

We're looking at Genesis 17, verses 9 to 27.

Genesis 17:9–27

And this chapter has lots of unusual things, doesn't it?

There's a covenant, promises about nations and kings, new names, and circumcision.

Lots of things that seem very distant from our lives.

But this chapter is doing something very important for us.

God is laying out the blueprint for the church.

God has promised his plan of salvation to restore this world.

It is to make a people for himself.

That is the big promise we saw last week.

I will be your God and you will be my people.

That is, God has chosen a people, made a contract, a covenant with that people,

and bound himself to them in that covenant.

Bound himself to be their God and fulfill these promises.

That is what the church is.

We are God's people bound to him.

And here in this passage, God is showing us what this covenant looks like.

What his people will look like.

How God relates to them.

Who they are.

How they function.

How God's promises and salvation comes to that people.

And how we are to hold on to them.

It's a blueprint.

A blueprint.

Of having their own unique relationship with God.

And people can speak of it very much on our own terms.

They might say, you know, I like to think of my relationship with God like this.

This is who I think God is.

And this is how I connect with him.

And it's true, we do have a relationship with him.

But it's not on our terms.

No, God is saying this is what the relationship is to look like.

It's this covenant.

In short, this is the blueprint for what the church is to look like.

This is like the architect's design for God's people.

Because remember, look back to verse 7.

This is an eternal covenant running right up to now, into the future, running throughout our lives.

And in the church today.

We, the church, we are God's people in this covenant.

And this is God telling us, okay, now you are my people.

This is my blueprint.

This is my design for how this covenant will play out.

Which is why, in verse 9, do you see, God begins with, as for you.

Up until now, God has been saying, as for me, what God will do.

As for me, I am God Almighty.

I have made you.

I will be to you.

I will bless you.

That's what God will do.

But now, Abraham, as for you, this is what happens on your side of the contract.

This is what my people will look like.

And how you keep this covenant and stay in it.

These are the blueprints.

Now, follow them.

But remember, this is still gracious.

This is all grace.

This is God providing the plans.

And he's doing this for a doubt-filled and fear-filled Abraham.

For those who are fearful of the future, filled with doubts about, can God really bring any blessing to my life?

And for those just feeling small and weak in a cursed world, well, God says, here are my designs for the church.

For you to be safe in and reassured in and to find real blessing.

And so I want us to look at these blueprints today.

And I want us to see how God's covenant works in our lives.

And the first and very important thing to see is God's covenant has a sign.

God's covenant has a sign.

Look at verse 10.

This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you.

Every male among you shall be circumcised.

You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins.

And it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

So God makes a covenant, a binding contract with Abraham to be his God and to bless him and to make nations come from Abraham and save the world through him.

To finally bring the savior serpent crusher.

But these promises, they don't just stay verbal.

No, God also gives a physical sign to confirm these promises.

This sign is like God's official stamp that God stamps onto Abraham to say,

This promise really is for you.

So you know when you get a stamp in your passport that says you are officially, truly allowed into this country.

Well, this sign is like God saying you are officially, truly my people.

It's like in word God says, I will be your God.

But when someone has this sign, God is saying, I will be your God.

Abraham, if you have any fears about anything that I'm doing in this world for you, here is a sign showing you.

So this sign, it's not just an extra visual aid.

No, it is inseparably tied to the covenant.

In fact, it is so tied that it is called the covenant.

Verse 10.

This is my covenant.

The sign.

To have this sign is to be in the covenant.

Officially stamping it on Abraham.

And so this sign is key to understanding what God is doing among his people.

How this covenant works.

And what is the sign?

Let's get the awkwardness out of the way, shall we?

The sign is circumcision.

And let's get more awkwardness out of the way.

If you don't know what circumcision is,

circumcision is when you cut off some of the flesh,

some of the unclean skin,

from the end of a male's reproductive part.

And usually a knife or a sharp stone was used to do that.

And it was to be done to every baby boy in this covenant,

eight days old.

Do you see that in verse 12?

That's what circumcision is.

It's the cutting off of flesh.

And there's a reason I wanted to preach Genesis in the evening service.

Because in the morning,

preachers have to make a kid's sheet for sermons.

And I don't want to make that.

And no one wants to color that in.

But with that out of the way,

it is worth asking,

why this sign of everything?

Why not cut off anything else?

Well, although it is a bit awkward,

this sign is actually really appropriate to the covenant.

This sign gives clarity to how exactly God is making a people,

bringing blessing,

how he is saving this world.

So just think of how a sign points to a reality.

So you know when you're on the motorway

and you see a sign,

a blue sign on the motorway,

and it's got a picture on it,

and you see a knife and a fork symbol.

That's a sign saying,

service station one mile ahead.

And that is an appropriate sign

because that knife and fork

accurately tells you

about the reality up ahead.

There is food and rest

and knives and forks up ahead,

one mile.

A picture of a deer on that road sign

wouldn't tell you that.

No, the sign tells you about the reality.

Well, this sign, circumcision,

tells you about the deeper reality

of God's promise in the covenant.

But what is circumcision telling us?

Why has God given this sign of all things?

Well, I want us to see a few things.

First, circumcision physically marks out

who God's people are.

That's why verse 14,

God says anyone who does not have this sign

will be cut off from God's people.

This is how God marks out the boundary

of his people,

like the stamp in the passport.

Those aren't my people over there,

but you, with this sign,

you are my people.

So I don't treat you like

I treat everyone else out there.

No, my covenant and blessing

and all the benefits are with you.

And likewise, as for you,

you mustn't act like everyone else out there,

like the nations out there.

No, you have special obligations to me now.

You are to walk before me

and believe these promises.

This sign physically marks out

God's people as separate

and holy to the Lord.

And also, circumcision,

it not only shows who God's people are,

but how God's people are made right with God.

By cutting off the flesh,

God is showing that salvation

will not happen by your flesh.

It's not your strength.

It's not from you,

but salvation will only come from God.

That's partly why it happens at eight days old.

It's not about the child

earning righteousness before God.

It's just graciously given to the helpless,

which says something about how covenant signs work.

They are not primarily about us

declaring our faith to God.

They are God declaring his faithfulness to us.

And there's another significance in circumcision.

There's a reason it's in that place,

because that is where the promise of offspring and nations will come from.

God is saying to Abraham,

the future of your family

and the future of the world,

it is all under my control.

And the Savior will arrive.

But it won't happen through Hagar.

It will happen through 89-year-old Sarai,

which is why in verse 15,

Sarai is renamed Sarah.

Sarai literally means my princess.

But now she is being renamed Sarah,

which just means princess.

So she was princess to King Abraham,

but now she's going to be princess

to another greater king,

a king who will come from her womb.

So they don't realize it,

but this is God's sign saying,

I am going to bring Christ,

even if it takes a miracle birth.

This sign is about guaranteeing the impossible.

But circumcision shows something else,

something spiritual.

Because circumcision cuts off the unclean parts of the body,

this shows what God will do to his people's hearts.

He will cut off the unclean and the sinful,

circumcise our hearts,

and make them new.

So just like in surgery,

you cut off the infected bits,

and you save the patient, don't you?

Well, God is saving his people

by circumcising our hearts,

which is why boys were to be circumcised

on the eighth day of all days.

Creation happened in how many days?

Seven.

But what does day eight signify?

New creation.

God is marking out his people

and saying,

you are my new creation with new hearts.

And so circumcision is not a random sign.

No, it is really appropriate.

God is saying,

the great reality of this sign,

being my people,

being righteous,

not because of your flesh,

but because of me,

the promise of offspring,

and a saviour,

and circumcised hearts,

that promise really is for you.

It belongs to you.

You are in this covenant,

and I am bound to you.

But there is one other thing circumcision shows.

This sign is very appropriate

because it shows

all this will happen

through judgment,

by flesh being cut off,

and by blood being shed.

This is a sign

pointing to the greater reality

of the crucifixion.

In fact,

Colossians 2

even calls

the death of Christ

the circumcision of Christ.

Because how is the uncleanness

of our hearts taken away?

by our sin

being placed on one man

and him

being cut off

in his flesh.

And how is the curse

of this world undone?

By the curse

falling on one man.

And how does God

create a new people,

a new creation,

cleansed and made right with God?

It is by blood

being shed.

flesh

torn apart.

Nails

driven

through flesh.

It is through

judgment.

And from that,

blessing

gets poured out

into the world.

This is how God

claims a people

and claims

nations for himself.

We are seeing here

the blueprint

for how the church

is made.

Christ

claims his church

through his flesh

being cut off.

And so as the church,

we,

we have a remarkable

privilege.

God has separated us

from the world

and he says to us,

I treat you differently

to how I treat

anyone else.

You are mine.

You are my covenant

people.

You are holy

to me

and I've

bound myself

to you

through the blood

of Christ

and I will

bless you

in my son.

And so this sign,

it isn't just a

helpful illustration

for Abraham.

No,

this sign

is God

declaring

centuries

before the reality,

Abraham,

the saviour

is coming

and he's

already yours

now.

Which goes

to show

this is how

believers were

saved in the

Old Testament.

Although Christ

wasn't born yet

to this point,

they still

had faith

in him

because they

had faith

in the promise

that he will

come.

You can think

of the story

of the Bible

like a tapestry

and from Genesis

onwards,

we see

the tapestry

slowly unfolding.

We are

seeing it

unfold

bit by

bit.

In a way,

it's already

written,

it's already

been made,

God's written

it,

but we're

just seeing

it unfold.

And when we

get to the

New Testament,

it unfolds

finally in all

its glory

to reveal

Jesus Christ.

all the

threads of

the tapestry

that they

all lead

up to him

and are

connected to

him.

And so if

you hold

on to one

thread in

the Old

Testament,

you are

actually

holding on

to Christ.

Well,

that is what's

going on here.

The promise

and covenant

and sign

that this is

the thread

Abraham is

holding on

to.

He's to hold

on to it

and to believe

it.

We look

back to

Christ and

Abraham looks

forward,

but it's

all the same

saviour,

the same

reality.

So we are

looking at

the early

blueprints

of the

church and

how this

covenant

works.

God's

covenant

has a

sign.

But we

also see,

it's my

second point,

God's

covenant

is with

families.

God's

covenant

is with

families.

So if

God marks

out his

people with

this sign,

who does

he mark

out?

Verse 12,

Abraham is

to be

circumcised

and every

boy,

eight days

old in

his household,

his children.

And that

is because

who is

this covenant

with?

Who is

God making

these promises

to?

It's to

Abraham

and his

offspring.

God's

covenant

is with

families.

God

says,

I will

be your

God and

you will

be my

people to

believers

and their

children.

This is

how the

covenant

works.

God

works

through

families,

which is

why the

sign is

to be

for the

males

of the

household.

So men

are the

heads and

the

representatives

of their

families.

And so

when God

stamps his

promise on

them,

God is

claiming that

person and

their families.

Which is

also why even

servants were

included.

Did you see

that in

verse 12?

Every male

throughout your

generations,

whether born

in your

house or

bought with

your money

from any

foreigner who

is not of

your

offspring.

And this

goes against

our modern

individualistic

instincts,

doesn't it?

We can be

quick to

think,

well,

salvation is

just about

me and

God and

that's it.

And yes,

of course,

we relate to

God personally

and God

saves

individuals.

But as we

see these

blueprints,

God's plan

for his

people,

it's far

bigger than

that.

God saves

in covenant

and that

covenant is

with families

and that

includes

children.

even before

they could

talk or

even

understand

these

promises,

yet God

sees the

children of

believers

differently.

There is

something

different for

those children

than the

children of

the pagan

families in

Canaan.

God says to

that eight-day-old

newborn,

these promises

are for you,

little child,

and I am

marking you

out as

mine.

Now,

that doesn't

mean they are

magically instantly

saved as

soon as the

blade hit the

flesh.

No, it

still requires

faith.

It requires

God's people

to believe

this sign

and trust

the promises

God has

made.

It still

requires

surrender and

holding on to

that tapestry

thread for

adults and

children.

Yet God

graciously says

this covenant

is with you

and your

family.

the promises

are for

all of you.

You're born

into this

covenant and

now by

faith never

leave it.

And so it

is possible

to break

this covenant

with unbelief.

That's why

verse 14

speaks of

people being

cut off from

the covenant.

We see that

with Esau,

we see that

with rebellious

Israel.

Ishmael.

We even see

it here with

Ishmael.

Look at verse

25.

Ishmael is

circumcised.

He's in the

covenant.

Yet, look back

to verse 21.

But I will

establish my

covenant with

Isaac.

It is possible

to be in the

covenant but not

actually of the

covenant.

You can be

circumcised in

the flesh but

not in the

heart.

And so we

see in this

blueprint what

the church is

like.

The church is

going to be a

mix of Ishmael's

and Isaac's.

God's people,

it's never

purely only

belief this

side of heaven.

No, it's

mixed.

Some won't

believe the

promises given

to them.

And sadly,

we've seen that,

haven't we?

People walking

away from the

faith.

both adults

and children.

It's a painful

breaking of the

covenant.

But that isn't

because God's

promises have

failed.

It's because they

haven't been

believed.

But this isn't

to fill us with

doubt or to

make us worry

about our

children.

No, this is

here to help us

understand the

nature of the

church and make

us realize what

we need to do.

God has given

us promises and

we must believe

them.

As the church,

we are in this

covenant.

We have the

promises and now

we must never,

ever leave.

Because the

blessing is only

found here.

This is the

only place we

can be sure God

is my God and

I am cleansed by

the blood of

Jesus.

us.

And like

Abraham, we

need to recognize

the sign God

has given us

and believe it.

But what is the

sign for us?

If this is the

blueprint of the

church, if this

is the same

eternal covenant

we're in now,

what is the sign

we have?

Well, it's no

longer circumcision.

God's covenant

sign is now

baptism.

That's my third

and final point

today.

God's covenant

sign is now

baptism.

Listen to these

words from

Colossians 2.

In Christ

also you

were circumcised

with a

circumcision

made without

hands by

putting off

the body of

the flesh

by the

circumcision of

Christ,

having been

buried with

him in

baptism.

If Christ's

death is the

true circumcision,

the reality

Abraham's

circumcision was

pointing forward

to, well

baptism is now

the new sign

that points

back to that

same reality.

And it works

with the same

blueprints.

It is in

baptism that

God marks out

his people.

It is his

covenant sign

to separate his

holy people from

the world.

God's sign

pointing us

back to the

deeper spiritual

reality.

In baptism

God declares

to us

you are

washed by the

blood of

Christ.

You have

died with

him and

now you

have my

promised

spirit poured

out on you.

And so

baptism is

fundamentally

not about

us declaring

our faith to

God or to

the world.

No, baptism

is God

declaring his

faithfulness to

us.

I am your

God.

It is his

official stamp

on us

showing these

promises really

are for you.

Now always

trust me and

don't go

anywhere else.

God knows

we have

doubts.

And so

God says

look to your

baptism.

if you

have doubts

and fears

and you

feel wobbly

in the

faith and

you wonder

is this

really for

me?

And it

is very

easy to

look into

ourselves and

see our

sin and

our weakness

and to

doubt

everything.

Well if

that's you

that's exactly

what Abraham

went through.

But God

says when you

have those

doubts don't

look in

look out.

Look at

the sign

God has

given you.

in your

baptism

God says

I am

your

God

and with

me you

may have

wobbles

but I

will never

let you

fall.

But let's

also address

the question

that may be

on your

mind.

If this

is how the

covenant

works and

this is how

God deals

with his

people and

this is the

blueprint for

the church

then that

means this

eternal

covenant is

still for

us and

for our

children.

God is

still working

through families

today.

That is why

at Pentecost

Peter preaches

the promises

for you

and for

your children

and all

who are

far off.

It's why

Paul says

in 1

Corinthians

when a

believing

parent has

a child

that child

is holy.

Our

children

belong to

the covenant

they are

born into

it and

God says

they are

not like

other

children to

me.

No,

they are

mine and

my promises

belong to

them.

And if

this covenant

is for

them,

so is the

sign.

The covenant

and the

sign go

together.

And that

is why we

baptise

children.

That is

why we

raise them

saying,

you belong

to God.

You are

not your

own,

little one,

but you

have been

bought with

a price.

You can

pray,

our

heavenly

father,

my love,

he is

your

heavenly

father.

You really

can sing,

Jesus died

to take

my sin

away.

Jesus

loves me,

this I

know,

for the

Bible

tells me

so,

and my

baptism

tells me

so.

God is

even more

gracious than

we realise.

His grace

is for

you and

your

children.

Through

every trial,

his grace

surrounds your

whole family.

And so

children,

if you have

been baptised,

please know

that.

God has

given you a

sign,

baptism.

And that

sign is

God saying

to you,

you belong

to me.

You are

already in

this covenant,

which means

you are to

believe the

promises God

has given

you.

Like Ishmael,

growing up in

a Christian

home, it

doesn't

automatically

save you,

but it does

mean you are

in this

covenant.

And God

has given

you promises,

promises to

love you and

bless you and

save you through

Jesus.

Those promises

are yours,

you must

believe them.

And that

goes for

every adult

as well.

Now we

are in this

covenant,

we mustn't

go anywhere

else.

Because this

is where we

have God and

this is the

only way to

find blessing,

to find true

happiness and

eternal life.

God has

given us

this gracious

sign, so

let's not

ignore it.

Let's not

forget it.

but let's

believe it.

He has

marked us

out, his

promises are

for us, and

as his church

incredibly we

can say he

is our God

and we are

his people.

Let's pray.