Chapter 7-Our Covenant God (Genesis 17)

In our text for this week, we see that God appears to Abram and declares, “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.” Abram promptly falls on his face, and God proceeds to expound upon the covenant promise He had previously made to Abram, including the changing of his name to Abraham, which was a common practice in ancient times following the the establishment of a covenant between a greater king and a lesser king. He then states the reason for changing Abram's name: "...[F]or I have made you the father of a multitude of nations." Not only is God sovereign in His establishment of the covenant, but He ensures that the covenant will be fulfilled according to His plan and purpose.

This is not the only instance in which God speaks of future fulfillment in the past tense. In Romans 8:29-30, Paul states, "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." God decrees His plans from eternity past, and carries them out in time (history). He declares the end from the beginning, from times past things not yet done. Scripture shows that He will accomplish all that He has purposed to do. (Isaiah 46:10)

As spiritual descendants of Abraham, recipients of the blessings promised to him, we are God's covenant people; ours is a circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit. (Romans 2:29) We are obligated to recognize that God has called us and set us apart from the world. We are to live our lives in a manner accordant with the God who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us that we might have eternal life through union with Him. We have been made alive together in Christ, and we are to direct others (spouses, children, friends) who have received the sign of the covenant to remember the God who called us into the covenant, in whom we can put our full confidence and trust, and by whom we will finally be brought into the resplendent presence of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.