The Devotional Journey
Bible Reading 12
Yahweh reaffirms His promise of a son
Read Genesis 17:1–18:15.
Many years earlier, Yahweh had promised that Abram and Sarai would have a son. And now, 13 years after Ishmael was born through Hagar, God appeared to Abram again to tell him that in the next year, Sarai and he would have their own biological son.
Abram laughed to himself in disbelief when he heard this, for he was thinking in terms of human limitations. At this point, he was already 99 years old and Sarai was 90; she was way past menopause. Humanly speaking, there was no way that Sarai could conceive a child!
He tried to convince Yahweh to work His plan through Ishmael but God did not accept Abram’s idea. He was showing Abram and Sarai once more just who He is. He was going to do something supernatural and miraculous for them. Nothing is impossible with God. Abram should have realised who was speaking to him.
So Yahweh told Abram that when their son was born, they were to name him Isaac. This Hebrew name means “He laughs”. It was like a gentle rebuke to Abram’s lack of faith in God. Every time he called his son, Abram would be reminded of this moment when he didn’t trust God.
In addition, Yahweh also changed Abram’s and Sarai’s names. He said that Abram would now be called “Abraham”, which meant “father of many nations”. And Sarai’s name would now be “Sarah”, which meant “mother of many”. He wanted their very names to reflect His promise to Abram that he would have many descendants. Abraham and Sarah would have to use their new names by faith.
Yahweh also instructed Abraham to circumcise every male in his household. Circumcision was the procedure of cutting away the foreskin of the male organ. Why did God ask for this? He wanted all of Abraham’s male descendants to have a visible, outward sign that they were part of the contract that God had made with Abraham. God wanted them to take seriously their responsibility to raise godly children so that as a nation, they could bring the message of salvation to the whole world.
Some people wonder why God instructed that circumcision of newborn boys be performed on the eighth day. Modern medical science has discovered that on the eighth day, a baby’s level of prothrombin, a protein that helps in blood clotting, is at its highest level in the baby. This is important to prevent the baby from bleeding to death from the procedure of circumcision.
Even though God did not explain this to Abraham, He had designed and created all mankind and so He knows best how to take care of mankind! Isn’t that amazing? God really cares about even the smallest details of mankind’s needs.
Think about how kind God is as we ponder this incident. God was going to keep His promise that Abram and Sarai would have their own biological son even though the couple couldn’t believe it. Yahweh was showing them that He really is God. He can do anything. This is the God whom we worship.
Do you feel that a problem in your life is humanly impossible to overcome? Perhaps you are right… humanly speaking, it is impossible. But know that your God is not limited. Nothing is impossible with Him.
Open your heart to share your anxieties and concerns with Him. Hand over your situation to Him. He is Creator-Owner-Ruler God of the universe. He has all the resources available to help you.
Speak to Him in prayer and allow Him to share His thoughts with you about your situation. Just as He cares about the smallest details of life (like performing circumcision on the baby’s eighth day), He cares for every small detail in your life. With every problem, you have an opportunity to experience God working in your life.