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THE BOOK OF GENESIS
Chapter 17
By J. W. SMITH
The Covenant Ratified
On three different occasions
Lord hud appeared unto
First, a surinr him that he would
conu a bles ,np to all the familh ,
the earth. 12: 1-3; second, that
posterity would he numerous as
dust of the earth. 13: 14-10;
that his : eed would he
the stars that cannot bi
13: Now, after hi:
from kith and kin, his victory
the kings of the Mast, his being
ed by Melchi/.edek , and his
tion by faith, he is prepared for
fuller revelation of (he will of
and expected to take part in
covenant of grace by receiving
appointed sign of
which, according to Paul wa “a sea
of the righteousness of the
which he had yet being
cised.” Rom. 4:11.
. The Cod of the Covenant. V»».
ft When A bra was ninety
m
old and nine, the Lord appeared
Abram, and said unto him, ‘1 am
Almighty God’.” The name
y God” occurs six times in
thirty-one times in Job, and
seven times in the Old
A name denotes what a person is
himself. It is that by which a
is known and identified. Here
sivr: Abram a new and fuller
Jation of Himself. He says, "1
El Shaddai.” “El” signifies “God
and “Shaddai »* is derived from
Hebrew word «( shail. ■ •
“breast,’ and is invariably used
Scripture for the breast of a
Hence “Shaddai” means the
ed.” “El Shaddai ’ translated “A!
mighty God” signifies the
eternal, absolute, irresistnble
Who is the Nourisher,
er, and Satisfier of His people.
title expresses “the
quality of the power of the true
God.’ He is the all-sufficient
tin' God that is enough. He is so full
of vitality that “He giveth power to
the faint, and to them that have no
might He increaseth strength by
pouring Himself into His beiieveing
children. When Abram was 99 years
of age and Sara! about 90 God np
peared snto him ns the Ed Shaddai
Who was abundantly able to perform,
regardless of human impossibilities,
that which he had promised concern
his seed.
The Almighty God said to Abram,
“Walk before Me and be perfect.”
Vs. 1, The command contains a
•jjvntlo rebuke; for it would appear
that Abram was becoming impatient
concerning the promised seed and
ha«l been walking before Kara! as
we have seen in the previous chap
ter. Henceforth he was to walk in
the light and strength of God’s prom¬
ise and be sincere, complete, not
merely in walk but in heart, All true
Christians walk before Grid as obe¬
dient children, aftei Him as faith¬
ful servants, with Him as true
friends, and in Him as living witness¬
es. We are commanded to walk in
love, so that we may be the follow¬
ers of God; in truth, so that wo may
not drift into error; in the Spirit, so
that we may not fulfill the lust of
flesh; in newness of life, so that sin
ma.v not have dominion over us; and
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in faith, so that we may
the world.
“The perfect way in hard to flesh:
, Jt is not hard to Jove.
! If thou wert sick for want of God,
j How sw iftly wouldst thou move!”
2. Thr Token of the Covenant.
V»a. 4, 5; 15-17.
The token consisted in the
name given to—
(a) Abram. “Thy name shall
Abraham." The former
mi?an ; “ W * h father.” The new
' vaK formed by dropping the last
t, p irl th( ’ “hi name an.l
»ddmg ,hl! fn 1 syllable of
Wo,,i “harnon. ’ meaning
K0 that Abraham is an
K Abram-hamon, signifying
high father of a multitude.
forth he was to be not merely
’he exalted, but Abraham the
h' 1 ’
’’’) Sarai. Thou shall not
■her name Snrai, but Sarah shall
name be.” Most scolars are
'that her former name means
princess,” which implies her
able relation to her husband.
name signifies “the princess;”
e., the royal mother of kings and
t icn-. and especially of Jems Christ
the Prince of Peace.
The token Alimight.v God gave
raham completely stripped him of
confidence in the flesh and confirmed
his faith In the promise, assuring him
that the true heir woidd not he a son
horn after the flesh,
those who are in spiritual
but a son by promise, typical of
those who enter into the
; liberty that belongs to the children
of God.
,
3 r,u ' Permanency of the Covenant
Vss. (!-K. “I will establish My cov
vnant between Me and thee and thy
| I’" se<i(i aft(!r everlasting thee in their generation to be
r un covenant, a
God unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee.’ The word • . covenant,” which
has in view the Messiah and all those
who are saved by Him, occurs thir¬
teen times in this chapter.
This covenant, in which all the
children of God are included, can
"ever be revoked; for it is esablish
°d by God and made as firm as His
almighty power and everlasting
can make it. “For the moun¬
tains shall depart, and the hills be
removed; but My kindness shall not
depart from thee, neither shall the
covenant of My peace be removed,
saith the Lord that hath mercy upon
thee.” Isa, 54: 10.
Furthermore this covenant
grace in which God binds Himself to
protect His people and take them
safe to heaven, includes the children
of believers and are made partakers
of its blessings although they are
(clearly j unconscious set forth of its in the nature. terms This of the is
> and in the form of its
covenant st; a j.
I From the beginning H was God's pur
peso to propagate IBs t’hureh by
nieiins of a godly seed. 1 he Church
dosus Christ, composed of
bought souls, is the only institution
in the i, world ,i,i today that ,i will .,, never
have an e „d
Of the Covenant of grace
the—(1) Messenger (Mai. 3:1), Me
diator (Hob. 12: 24), Substance
Isa. 42: ti), Surety (Heb. 7: 22).
4. The Seal of the Covenant. V*. 9-14
“Every male child among you shall
be circumcised.’’ In Roni. 4: 11 we
are told that circumcision was *
seal of the righteousness of fnith
which he (Abraham) had, yet being
uncircumcised.” Circumcision did not
procure the blessings of the coven¬
ant, but declared it. “It was an out
ward sign of an inward grace.’ It
was a mark which proved the par-!
cnts’ devotion to God, which et them
apart for God, and which formally ad
mitted the children of beiieveing
parents into the privileges of the
covenant.
The ordinance was to be adminis
tered on the eigth day, becan. e the
child was ceremonially unclean even
flays (Lev. 12: 2, 3); it wa perform
ed on all the male that were home
born and bought (Vs. 12,13); it was
accompanied with the naming of the
child (21 : 3, 4; Luke 2: 21); it w.
vain without faith (Gal. .':(>); it
was contempt of the covenant not to
observe it (vs. 14), and, therefore,
dangerous to those who neglected it
(vs. 11; Kxs. 4: 24-26).
5. Tbi* Heir of the Covenant Vs. 21
“But My covenant will 1 establish
with Isaac." When God ijevealed to
Abraham that, he would have a on
by .Sarah wdth whom He would < tab
lisb His covenant, hi- expectations
concerning Ishmael were destroyed.
He was troubled for his son lest he
should be abandoned by God and ev
en cut off to make room for Isaac.
Hence we have the earnest petition;
“O that Ishmael might live before
Thee!” The prayer was hard; for the
Lord greatly blessed him with mate- ■
rial things.
But the blessings of the covenant i
were reserved for Isaac, from whom
(he Messiah was to come. When God i
takes into covenant with Himself j
those whom He hath chosen from the
foundation of the world, no wrong
is done to any one idse. They ar<
chosen, not for their own sakes, but
to carry out God’s great )>lan and
to be a blessing to the world.
6. The Subjects of the Covenant.
Vss. 9-14; 23-27.
Not only Abraham and his eed,
but bis house-born slaves and those
who were bought, were to receive
the sign of the covenant. Abraham,
as father and master, was under sol
emu obligation to carry out God’s
command. Circumcision was to be
administered to those who were un
conscious of its meaning as well as
to those who understood its signifi
cance. Those who are connected
with godly homes, whether son or
slaves, are responsible to God for the
religious privileges they enjoy. On
the other hand, every employer
should remember that he is account
able to the great Master in heaven
for the souls of those who labor for
him, and that his responsibilities do
not end with the mere considerations
: of Reasonable work and fair wages.
| Their spiritual interests must not be
neglected.
We learn from this portion of
God s word that—(1) Our sufficien
•y is of God. (2.) It, is our privilege
to walk with God. (3) It is to the
humble God reveals Himself. (4) God
calls things that are not, as though
they were. (!>) The Loru is not slack
concerning His promise. (6) They
who fear the Lord shall not want any
j good thing. (7) God's ways are not
our ways, (8) Men of influence have
| religious duties to perform. (9) We
can cast our burdens , , upon ,, the Lord. , ,
(10) God hears the imperfect peti
tjons of His peop i e . (H) Children
may hp pnrtakers „f the covenant of
, g ract , (12) It is dangerous to neg
lect God . s ordinances. (13) Our obe
(Uencp to God should be instanta.no
v>us. (14) In this life we may have
seasons of special communion with
God.
1
The University of Lisbon, for many
years the only institution of its kind
in Portugal, was founded by King
I Dionysius, son of Alfonso 111 and
husband of Elizabeth of Aragon. Dio- i
nysius died in 1326.
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