Verses 1-2, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.' ” God appeared to Abram and told him exactly what He expected from him...to walk before Him blamelessly. He also later spoke through Micah, regarding His expectations for His people. Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” This is what separates the children of God from the children of the devil...obedience to Him, resulting in righteousness. I John 3:7-10, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”
Along with practicing righteousness comes loving your brothers and sisters in the Lord. You are simply not of God if you have evil hatred in your heart toward fellow Christians. 1 John 3:11-15, “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” The world is supposed to hate you, but not those who are in Christ. The evil in their heart represents itself through hatred, backbiting, gossip, plotting against, jealousies, being divisive, wishing bad things upon, or anything that would tear down rather than edify and build up one another. The church is sadly full of these people. When they leave, strife actually ceases. So do not have pity on them or feel compelled to maintain the relationship that has divided over the truth, but rather enjoy the peace. What do light and dark have in common anyway? They are not supposed to dwell together.
Verses 4-8, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” God established an everlasting covenant with the descendants of Abraham...the Jews. As part of this covenant, He gave them land as an everlasting posession. There is no way God is done with the Jews or that America has somehow replaced Israel, just because ungodly men claiming to be godly say so. ...the Bible is clear on the matter. Romans 11:28-29, “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” We know from Romans 11 that the Jews' blindness in rejecting their Messiah is only temporary.
Verses 9-11, “And God said to Abraham: 'As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” Circumcision was a sign of the covenant, by cutting away skin (removal of one's flesh) and putting their trust in God alone. God gave Abraham this commamd that he had to choose to obey. We know that the act of circumcision is nothing, it is the heart of obedience that matters. Over time, the Jews began to trust more in their circumcision than in God. Romans 2:25-29, “For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
Verses 17-18, “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, 'Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?' And Abraham said to God, 'Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!' ” Abraham couldn't see the fulfillment of God's promise because of the circumstances...he and Sarah were so old. In his unfaithfulness, he wants God to bless his work of the flesh, namely Ishmael. To which God replied, "No!" We do not get to make messes in the flesh and expect God to somehow bless our self seeking. When you repent and submit to His will is when you will be walking in His blessing again, but be prepared to let go of your attachments which will be painful. God made it clear that Ishmael would not be used to fulfill His promise. Verses 19-21, “Then God said: 'No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” If God makes you a promise, do not try to figure it out in your flesh. He alone sees the whole picture. Remember that you will need to be in a position of total death and humility, so that God can do a work and get all the glory.
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