Genesis 17:1-8. 1When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
In Genesis 12, God appeared to Abraham and told him to leave his home in Ur, and to travel to the Promised Land in Canaan. God promised Abraham that he would be a great nation one day and that he would be a blessing to everyone.
In Genesis 15, after many years of waiting and after losing his nephew Lot who left the Promised Land behind, Abraham asked God, “How can I know that you will keep your promises to me?” So God “cut the covenant” with Abraham. Do you remember what happened? While Abraham slept, only God walked through the dead animal pieces, twice. Once for himself and once for Abraham. When two people make a covenant they BOTH walk through the pieces. They BOTH make promises to each other. But not this time. Only God would make promises. God made promises as God and as Abraham. This is what Jesus does for us; he makes promises as God and as us.
Ten years later, in Genesis 16, Abraham and Sarah try to make God’s promises happen in their own way. They use Hagar to get what they want, but then everyone acts really, really poorly, and Hagar runs away. For sure, God will end his covenant with Abraham, won’t he? Nope. Yes, Abraham messed up (again), but the covenant promises were made by God and God, not God and Abraham. This means that nothing Abraham does, no mistakes, no failures, no sin can remove God’s covenant love from his life. Abraham doesn’t get a “time out” from God, or a “let’s wait and see if you can do better.” No. In fact, God will respond to Genesis 16 with Genesis 17, the covenant promises all repeated and…growing?
Not just one great nation, but a multitude of nations.
Not just a son, but many kings shall come from you.
Not just a land that you wander around in, but land that will be your everlasting possession.
And the greatest of promises, I will be God to you. And not some weak god, but God Almighty, El Shaddai. The God of all power, protection, and provision.
And here’s another change in Genesis 17: for the first time God gives Abraham a command
Genesis 17: 1. “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.”
God is asking Abraham to walk before him in obedience. To be blameless. To follow God’s ways, not the ways of the world (like he did with Hagar).
Why is God saying this now? Does God need Abraham to obey? Will he end the covenant if Abraham isn’t perfect and blameless? The answer to these questions is, NO. God doesn’t ever need our obedience (God doesn’t need anything), but he wants us to obey for our own good. But what happens when we mess up? What if we are to blame for something bad? Does God stop loving us? Does he take away his promises? NO! God’s covenant is still between God and God. God would have to mess up for the covenant to be ended. Abraham will surely mess up again (just keep reading), but God’s love for him will never end.
This is exactly how our relationship with God works when we have Jesus. God made a covenant with Jesus that we get to be a part of, like Abraham. Jesus never has and never will mess up, therefore, God’s promises will never end. Jesus has obeyed God blamelessly, therefore all of God’s blessings are there for us to enjoy.
But God also wants you and me to walk before him and be blameless. He wants us to obey him. Not because he needs it, but because we need it. You see God wants us to trust his promises completely. His promise to love us. To be with us. To protect us and take care of us. To change us and make us like Jesus. But for us to be like Jesus means we have to try to be like Jesus, knowing that even if we mess it up, that’s OK. Jesus has already done it all for us.
This is called “active faith.” Faith that does what God wants. Faith that obeys God. Faith that works hard to trust God and love others. Not to earn God’s blessings, but because we have already been given all of God’s blessings in Jesus.
You: Can you explain the difference between earning blessings from God and receiving blessings from God through faith.
You with Jesus: What are some of the ways that God wants you to obey him? What will God do if you fail to obey him? (Hint: don’t forget to think about Jesus)
Prayer: Father, you want me to live and act the way you say in your word. Help me to know that I can try to obey you from your love not from guilt or fear of getting in trouble. Amen.
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