Genesis Ch17v1-27

Genesis chapter 17

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

Last week we were looking at the previous chapter and that messy story of Abram, Sarai and Hagar.

And in the midst of all of that mess, God was revealed as the God who sees.

The God who sees everything.

Nothing escapes his notice.

And not in some distant and detached kind of way,

but in a very near and intimate sense.

He sees our suffering.

He sees our hearts.

And he sees our fears.

And today we're going to hear God reveal himself as God Almighty.

In Hebrew it's pronounced El Shaddai.

You might have heard that name before.

And not surprisingly, God reveals himself by this name

to those people who seem to be doubting God's power to do what he had promised.

So let's read that story together in Genesis chapter 17.

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

When Abram was 99 years old,

the Lord appeared to him and said,

I am God Almighty.

Walk before me faithfully and be blameless.

Then I will make my covenant between me and you

and will greatly increase your numbers.

Abram fell face down and God said to him,

As for me, this is my covenant with you.

You will be the father of many nations.

No longer will you be called Abram.

Your name will be Abraham.

For I have made you a father of many nations.

I will make you very fruitful.

I will make nations of you and kings will come from you.

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant

between me and you and your descendants after you

for generations to come to be your God

and the God of your descendants after you.

The whole land of Canaan where you now reside as a foreigner,

I will give as an everlasting possession to you

and your descendants after you

and I will be their God.

Then God said to Abram,

As for you, you must keep my covenant,

you and your descendants after you

for the generations to come.

This is my covenant with you

and your descendants after you,

the covenant you are to keep.

Every male among you shall be circumcised.

You are to undergo circumcision

and it will be the sign of the covenant

between me and you.

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.

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.

Any uncircumcised male

who has not been circumcised in the flesh

will be cut off from his people.

He has broken my covenant.

God also said to Abram,

As for Sarah, your wife,

you are no longer to call her Sarah.

Her name will be Sarah.

I will bless her

and will surely give you a son by her.

I will bless her

so that she will be the mother of nations.

Kings of peoples will come from her.

Abram fell face down.

He laughed and said to himself,

Will a son be born to a man

a hundred years old?

Will Sarah bear a child

at the age of 90?

And Abram said to God,

If only Ishmael

might live under your blessing.

Then God said,

Yes,

but your wife Sarah

will bear you a son

and you will call him Isaac.

I will establish my covenant with him

as an everlasting covenant

for his descendants after him.

And as for Ishmael,

I have heard you.

I will surely bless him.

I will make him fruitful

and will greatly increase his numbers.

He will be the father of twelve rulers

and I will make him into a great nation.

But my covenant

I will establish with Isaac

whom Sarah will bear to you

by this time next year.

When he had finished speaking with Abraham,

God went up from him.

On that very day,

Abraham took his son Ishmael

and all those born in his household

are bought with his money,

every male in his household

and circumcised them.

As God told him,

Abram was 99 years old

when he was circumcised

and his son Ishmael was 13.

Abram and his son Ishmael

were both circumcised on that very day

and every male in Abraham's household,

including those born in his household

or bought from a foreigner,

was circumcised with him.

So Father, we pray now

as we think on your word

that you would grant us

that spirit of wisdom and revelation

so that we might know you better.

And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

There's something irresistible, isn't there,

about laughing at someone else's expense.

I'm sure you've all seen those videos

on television

of somebody falling off something

or walking into something

and not being able to stop yourself

from laughing at them.

Or if you're a little bit younger,

maybe you've watched endless YouTube videos

of people attempting to do something

only for it to go disastrously wrong.

Well, these chapters of Genesis

read like a compilation of Abram's

Abram's dumb ideas.

It's like some version of a Dumb and Dumber movie

tracking Abram and Sarah's travels

throughout the ancient Middle East.

Or some black and white Laurel and Hardy movie

where Sarah turns to Abram

only to scratch her head and say,

well, that's another fine mess

you've gotten me into.

These stories would be laughable

if they weren't so serious.

God has promised Abram

that he would make him into a great nation

and that through Abraham

blessing would come

to all the nations of the earth.

But with every one of Abram's dumb ideas,

he seems to put God's promise in danger.

You might remember there was that

Sarah is my sister fiasco back in chapter 12.

Abram and Sarah travel to Egypt

because there's a famine in the land.

But as they join the queue

at the Egyptian passport patrol,

Abram suddenly gets into a panic.

He knows that Sarah is a beautiful woman.

He knows that she's going to be noticed

by all of the men that they meet.

And he has a pretty low view of Egyptians.

He thinks that they're going to kill him

to take Sarah as their wife.

So he comes up with a great idea, doesn't he?

Let's pretend we're not married.

Let's just say that you're my sister.

Well, things may not work very well for Sarah,

but at least Abram's life will be spared.

Well, she's most certainly noticed by the Egyptians.

In fact, the Pharaoh himself

hears about this beautiful foreigner.

He starts to treat Abraham well for Sarah's sake.

And Abram suddenly begins to accumulate wealth,

all under the pretense that Sarah is his sister.

Until God intervenes.

The Lord sends serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household,

and Pharaoh seems to know that this is something

to do with Abram and Sarah.

The Sarah is my sister story

was a dumb idea from the beginning.

As time goes on,

Abram seems to be giving up on God's promise.

He assumes in chapter 15

that it's his servant Eliezer

who's going to be his heir.

Maybe up until now,

Abram had relied on the fact

that there was always his nephew Lot.

Maybe it was through him

that this blessing would come.

After all, they have no children themselves,

and well, Lot is family.

But at this stage,

Abram and Lot have parted ways.

Abram looks around him.

He has no children.

His nephew has left.

It's looking as though his servant Eliezer

is all that remains.

In chapter 15,

Abram speaks to God as the sovereign Lord.

Yet he doesn't live

as though this is the sovereign Lord.

Like many of us,

there's a big gap

between what Abram knows

and how Abram lives.

We can address God, can't we,

as our loving, heavenly Father.

And yet doubt that God's actions

are for our good.

We can address God

as the all-wise God,

and yet ignore

the teaching of his words.

Addressing God as sovereign Lord

doesn't mean that Abram lives

as though God is the sovereign Lord.

But the sovereign Lord

gently assures Abram,

this man will not be your heir,

but a son

who is of your own flesh and blood

will be your heir.

In spite of Abram's doubts,

God points him back

to his promise.

Then last week,

we heard the story

about their servant's son,

Ishmael.

Time has gone on

and God appears to be doing nothing,

so Sarai takes things

into her own hands

and arranges Hagar

to be her surrogate.

Well, it's at this point

that the story goes

from dumb to dumber.

Abram and Sarai

have done all that they can do

to see God's promise fulfilled.

They've sought to protect

Abram's life in Egypt.

They've assumed

that the promise

would come through someone else

like Lot or Eliezer.

They've tried to produce

a child of their own making.

They have done everything

that they could

but rest in God's promise.

You see,

Abram's dumb ideas

are all rooted

in his view

of God.

Not so much

what he sees

of God

but what he

fails to see

of God.

And there is nothing

as important

in life

as having a right

view

of God.

In his book

Knowing God,

Jim Packer opens

with these words,

disregard the study

of God

and you

sentence yourself

to stumble

and blunder

through life

blindfold

as it were

with no sense

of direction

and no understanding

of what surrounds you.

This way

you can

waste your life

and lose

your soul.

Well,

Abram certainly

looks like someone

stumbling

and blundering

through life

blindfolds.

And if Jim Packer

is correct,

when God appears

to Abram here

in Genesis 17,

Abram's greatest

need

is to know

God

better.

It's not

family counselling

though I think

we can all agree

that that wouldn't

have done them

any harm.

It's not advice

on how to conceive.

Like any desperate

couple,

I'm sure they would

have tried anything

that anyone

suggested to them.

Abram's greatest

need is to

know

God

better.

So when God

appears to Abram,

he begins by

revealing

something

about himself.

Abram's greatest

need

is to

know

the God

who has

made

the promise.

The first

words God

speaks to

Abram

are these,

I

am

God

almighty.

I

am

God

almighty.

Thirteen

years have

passed since

Ishmael was

born.

Abram is now

ninety-nine

years old.

And here's

what the

New Testament

has to say

about Abram

and Sarah

in Hebrews

eleven.

By faith

even Sarah

who was

past

childbearing

age

was enabled

to bear

children

because she

considered him

faithful

who had

made the

promise.

And so

from this

one man

and he

as good

as dead

came

descendants

as numerous

as the

stars in the

sky

and as

countless

as the

sand on

the

seashore.

Now it

seems to

me that

the writer

is far

kinder to

Sarah

than he

is to

Abraham.

Maybe he's

just being

polite.

Sarah is

past

childbearing

age.

She is

past

grandparenting

age.

She is an

old woman.

The thought

of her

conceiving

was well

inconceivable.

And Abram

were told

that he

was as

good as

dead.

No

fertility

clinic in

the world

would even

look at

them.

There was

absolutely

nothing

to work

with.

But isn't

that the

very point?

This was

never

something that

Abram and

Sarah would

do.

It was

always something

that God

was going

to do.

for them.

It was

something that

God

Almighty

would do

for them.

This is

what Abram

and Sarah

needed to

know.

That the

God who

made the

promise

is God

Almighty.

In actual

fact all

through the

book of

Genesis this

name El

Shaddai is

tied up with

this promise

to make

the descendants

of Abram

into a

great nation.

God

Almighty

would do

this.

You see

God Almighty

is self

sufficient.

And not just

in the sense

that we might

use that term

today.

Self

sufficiency

has become a

very popular

lifestyle,

hasn't it?

Growing your

own food,

generating your

own energy,

making your

own clothes.

But the

truth is that

none of those

things are

actually self

sufficient.

They're all

dependent upon

other things.

You still can't

cut your hair

without scissors.

You can't grow

food without

seeds.

You can't make

clothes without

needles and

threads.

You can't

generate energy

without wind

and sun.

Not even to

mention that we

wouldn't exist

without mothers

and fathers.

Our best

attempts at

self-sufficiency

are only a

pale reflection

of God's.

In fact,

there's no real

comparison at

all.

Because God

needs no

thing and

no one.

He is the

only one

who is

truly

self

sufficient.

Now,

such a God

stands in

complete contrast

to the

pagan gods

of the

ancient world.

They were

needy.

They were

high maintenance

gods.

They were

dependent upon

humans to

give them

all they

needed.

And they

could get

pretty angry

if their

worshippers

didn't give

them what

they wanted.

You might

remember in

Acts 17,

the apostle

Paul confronts

the people

of Athens

with a God

who is

altogether

different from

these high

maintenance

gods.

here's what

he says,

the God

who made

the world

and everything

in it

is the

Lord of

heaven and

earth

and does

not live

in temples

built by

human hands

as if

he needed

anything.

Rather,

he himself

gives all

men life

and breath

and everything

else.

God

is the

God

of the

Bible

is God

almighty.

He needs

nothing.

He needs

no one.

Rather,

he is the

giver

of everything.

That's what

Abram needs

to know.

This God

is El

Shaddai,

God

almighty,

the self

sufficient

one.

He doesn't

need Abram

to do

anything.

He doesn't

need a

servant.

He doesn't

need a

nephew.

He doesn't

need an

illegitimate

child.

He is

God

almighty,

self

sufficient,

needing

nothing and

needing

no one.

self

sufficient.

But he's

not only

self

sufficient,

he is

all

sufficient.

Maybe

you've

worked with

someone who

is self

reliant.

They don't

need anyone

or anything.

They're at

their happiest

when they're

working away

on their

own.

They don't

need anyone

else to

contribute.

They don't

welcome

advice.

They don't

need help.

But their

self

reliance

isn't a

good thing

at all

because they

would do

so much

better with

the input

of others.

Well God

is not

like that

self

reliant

co-worker

who achieves

substandard

results because

he resents

the help

of others.

Because God

almighty is

not only

self

sufficient,

he is

all

sufficient.

He has

everything

he needs

within

himself

to do

whatever

he

pleases.

You see

even

Abram's

dumb

ideas

have not

derailed

God's

promise.

Sarai's

scheming

is not

going to

frustrate

his purpose.

The king

of Sodom

nor the

pharaoh

of Egypt

will be

allowed to

hinder his

plans.

Because the

God who

has made

these

promises

is none

other than

God

almighty.

You and

I sometimes

make promises

that we

fully intend

to fulfil

but something

gets in

our way.

We make

plans but

at the

last minute

through

circumstances

we can't

control

will our

plans fail

to materialise.

it wasn't

that we

didn't

want to

do it

it wasn't

that we

lacked the

ability to

do it

but something

prevented us

from doing

it.

Well no

thing

and no

one

gets in

the way

of God

almighty

doing all

that he

promises.

is this

is what

Abram

needs.

He doesn't

need to

understand

how God

is going

to do

what he

promised.

He only

needs to

know that

the one

who has

made the

promise

is El

Shaddai

the self

sufficient

one

the all

sufficient

one

God

almighty.

but knowing

more about

God

caused

Abram

to a

deeper

commitment

to God.

Look at

the rest

of verse

one.

I am

God

almighty

walk

before

me

and be

blameless.

You see

knowing more

about God

caused

Abram

to a

deeper

commitment

to God.

God

almighty

will

fulfill

all of

his

promises

to

Abram.

Abram

doesn't

need to

concern

himself

with

that

at

all.

Rather

Abram

needs to

concern

himself

with

walking

faithfully

with

God

almighty.

Abram's

knowledge

about

God

must

change

how he

lives

before

God.

We could

say that

it's an

if-then

kind of

thing.

We see

those kind

of statements

in the

New Testament.

Jesus

says,

if you

love me,

keep

my

commandments.

He isn't

making his

love for

his disciples

conditional

upon their

obedience.

Instead,

he's saying

that if

they love

him,

then they

will do

what he

commands.

If-then.

The way

that they

live flows

from their

relationship

to Jesus.

The Apostle

Paul will

use the

same kinds

of arguments.

Since

then you

have been

raised with

Christ,

set your

hearts on

things above

if-then.

Our

relationship

with Jesus

changes

our

lives

and our

affections.

Now that's

what's

happening in

the second

part of

verse 1.

I am

God

Almighty.

Walk

before me

faithfully

and be

blameless.

Abram's

knowledge

of God

must change

how he

lives

before

God.

And the

same is

true of

each one

of us.

Now a

strange thing

happens in

these chapters

doesn't it?

God changes

the names

of Abram

and Sarai.

In verse

5 Abram

will be

Abraham

father of

many.

And verse

15 Sarai

will be

Sarah

princess

because from

her will

come

kings.

It all

sounds

wonderful

doesn't

it?

But tell

me this

who has

the right

to change

anyone's

name.

Who has

the right

to do

that?

Well

God

Almighty

does

because

God

Almighty

defines

our

identity

as he

did with

Abram

and

Sarai.

We live

in a

time where

self

is the

God

of the

age.

Gender

is no

longer

defined by

biology.

no one

can tell

a woman

what to

do

with

her

body.

Consent

is the

only

sexual

boundary.

And when

we're

surrounded

by that

kind of

culture

all of

the time

that

bows

the

knee

to

the

God

of

self,

we can

too easily

forget

that it

is God

Almighty

who defines

our

identity.

That our

lives are

not our

own to

do

with

as we

please.

That we

are to

walk

before

God

faithfully

and be

blameless.

You see

God

Almighty

defines

our

identity

because

we

belong

to

him.

And

everything

we have

belongs

to

him.

Now I

don't know

if you've

ever shared

a house

with somebody

else.

Maybe at

college you

shared a

house with

other

students.

Well it

was my

experience

during

college

years

that there

was only

one way

that you

could have

any hope

of putting

something in

the fridge

and it

still being

there when

you went

back later.

You wrote

your name

on it.

You not only

wrote your

name on it,

you wrote

your name

all over

it.

You wrote

your name

all over

it in

big bold

capital

letters so

nobody

could miss

it.

this is

Martin's

and you

can be

sure that

it still

would be

gone from

the fridge

when you

went to

find it.

Well in

the rest

of this

story that

filled the

most of

our reading

actually

it's as

though God

takes a

big black

marker

and writes

his name

in big

bold

letters

all over

Abraham

and everything

that Abraham

owns.

It's the

sign of

circumcision.

I'd love to

have counted

how many

times the

word

circumcision

or circumcised

was said

in that

chapter.

But that's

what God

is doing

with each

cut of

the flesh

God

Almighty

is saying

this is

mine.

He

belongs

to me.

And the

fact that

Abraham

belonged

to God

changed

how

Abraham

was to

live.

Didn't

the Apostle

Paul write

to the

church in

Corinth

you are

not your

own

you were

bought

at a

price.

and that

price was

the death

of God's

own

son.

We were

covenant

breakers

deserving to

be cut

off from

God

and his

people

and that

was what

circumcision

signified

but Jesus

was cut

off in

our

place.

We are

not our

own

we were

bought

at a

price

therefore

Paul says

honour

God

with

your

bodies.

They are

not yours

to do

with

as you

please.

If you

belong to

Jesus

they belong

to him

and it's

he who

defines

your

identity

and has

a right

to say

how you

live

and how

you use

your

bodies.

In fact

how you

use

everything

that belongs

to you.

So as

those who

have been

bought

at a

price

by the

death

of

Jesus

as

those

belonging

to him

let us

live as

people who

trust God's

promises in

Jesus.

Let's

trust the

God who

is both

self-sufficient

and all

sufficient.

Let's not

only address

him by this

name when

we pray

El Shaddai

God

Almighty

but let

us learn

to live

as though

the God

we pray

to

really

is

what he

says he

is

God

Almighty.

Let's

pray

together.

Father

we confess

that too

often we

go through

life like

Abram

and Sarah

feeling to

rest in

the promises

of God

and doing

everything we

possibly can

to

fulfil

your

promises

to us.

Oh

Father may

we learn

that such

a path

takes us

to the

end of

ourselves

and forces

us back

to you

and may

we learn

to be

people who

trust

you.

May we

grasp

that you

really are

God

Almighty

that nothing

is outside

of your

control.

That not

one thing

or no

one can

frustrate

your purposes

for your

people.

And Father

may we

learn to

rest in

that

knowledge.

And

Father we

pray that

we are

people that

as our

knowledge of

you

increases

that so

our commitment

before you

increases

that we

walk before

you

faithfully

in light

of the

knowledge of

what we

know of

you.

Father may

we grasp

that everything

we have

belongs to

you.

That we

were bought

at a price

by the

death of

your son

the Lord

Jesus.

That just

as you

had the

right to

rename

Abram and

Sarah

to define

who they

were so

you have

the right

to define

who we

are and

how we

should live

and what

we should

do.

And may

we learn

not to

resist

such a

thing

but to

grasp that

there is

real freedom

in knowing

who you've

made us

to be.

May we

learn to

rest in

that knowledge

and walk

faithfully

before you

and we

ask this

in the

name of

our Lord

Jesus.

Amen.

Well the guys

are going to

return and

we're going to

say