Village Schools of the Bible

Genesis: A Devotional Study
by Max Frazier, Jr

Abraham...this Old Testament Patriarch became a hero to the Apostle Paul and is mentioned in nearly every epistle that bears Paul's name. His story is the story of a developing faith, as we have seen these past several weeks. Now, this week we enter into the significant account of the giving of the sign of God's covenant with Abraham.

Genesis 17

Key Words: "covenant;" "I will"

Key Verse: Verse 7 relates the covenant between God and Abraham which is an everlasting one. It cannot be changed.

Purpose Statement: This chapter establishes the eternal agreement God struck with Abraham. It was sealed by the rite of circumcision and honored through the promised birth of Isaac.

Outline: God's Covenant with Abraham

I. The covenant defined (vs. 1-8)
II. The covenant exacted (vs. 9-14)
III. The covenant expanded through Isaac (vs. 15-20)
IV. The covenant enacted (vs. 24-27)

Thoughts to Ponder: Abraham had been in Canaan for 24-years. Ishmael was now 14-years old. Isaac, the son of the promise, could not be born until the covenant had been established. I have often wondered why God used the act of circumcision as the means of establishing His covenant with Abraham. Why not pierce Abraham's ears or cause some other kind of physical abnormality to appear, to be inherited by each succeeding generation? I think I am just now beginning to understand. First of all, it could not just be something a person inherited, for the covenant was passed on only by an act of obedience, not something very involuntary like a genetic inheritance. Secondly, circumcision affected the male organ used in reproduction. It would cause a man to remember that life came from God and that his offspring would also receive the promises God had given to Abraham. God's ways are so much higher than our ways, even in the giving of the rite of circumcision. Praise God for His circumcision today of our hearts. It is a sign that His promises are for us as well.

One cannot escape the fact that the covenant God made with Abraham was to be an everlasting one. Associated with the covenant were God's blessings in the form of many nations and kings, and even a changed name, and God's provisions as it related to the land. The only condition placed by God upon Abraham was obedience in being circumcised. But, then again, there is that biblical truth that obedience produces God's blessings.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Sometimes a handful of patience is worth more than a bucketful of brains.

Genesis 16 Return to Table of Contents Genesis 18