Week Six - Day Three: End of Day

Genesis 17:1

(1) “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.’ 3” Abram fell facedown”

In the Ancient Near East, covenants were an important part of life. They provided the language for all standard commercial and military agreements between important land holders, or tribal leaders. And they gave definition to those relationships. It is not surprising that the Patriarchs¹ used the language and imagery of covenants in their understanding of their relationship with God.

Genesis 17 recounts the covenant ceremony between Abraham and God. In this ceremony, circumcision is given as the sign of the covenant on Abraham’s part. (This may be the most elaborate and painful signature ever extracted in any kind of agreement.) It was perfectly appropriate that Abraham, as the lesser party in the covenant, would take on a physical sign, perhaps considered a sign of servitude or beholdingness. Circumcision is certainly such a sign.

But consider God’s part of the covenant. Isn’t it fascinating that God, for His part, identifies Himself as “God Almighty.” The Hebrew here is El Shaddai. Think of the significance of this. Abraham lives in a polytheistic world populated by a host of lesser gods – gods who represent different parts of nature as well as the interests of different tribes and people groups. Into this god-soup, Abraham experiences the one God as saying, “I’m it and I’m all-powerful.”

This is essentially how God introduces Himself to human beings. “I’m it; I’m all-powerful and I’m going to bless you. But you are going to submit to me and carry a sign of that submission in your very flesh.” I think God really intends for us to get this aspect of His being! So let’s get it!

Lights out!