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Genesis
17:1-27.
RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT.
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Verse 1. Abram . . .
ninety years old and nine--thirteen years after the
birth of Ishmael [Ge
16:16]. During that interval he had enjoyed the
comforts of communion with God but had been favored with
no special revelation as formerly, probably on account
of his hasty and blameable marriage with Hagar.
the Lord appeared--some
visible manifestation of the divine presence, probably
the Shekinah or radiant glory of overpowering
effulgence.
I am the
Almighty God--the name by which He made Himself
known to the patriarchs (Ex
6:3), designed to convey the sense of
"all-sufficient" (Ps
16:5, 6; 73:25).
walk
. . . and . . .
perfect--upright, or sincere (Ps
51:6) in heart, speech, and behavior.
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Verse 3. Abram fell on his
face--the attitude of profoundest reverence assumed
by Eastern people. It consists in the prostrate body
resting on the hands and knees, with the face bent till
the forehead touches the ground. It is an expression of
conscious humility and profound reverence.
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Verse 4. my covenant is with
thee--Renewed mention is made of it as the
foundation of the communication that follows. It is the
covenant of grace made with all who believe in the
Saviour.
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Verse 5. but thy name shall be
Abraham--In Eastern countries a change of name is an
advertisement of some new circumstance in the history,
rank, or religion of the individual who bears it. The
change is made variously, by the old name being entirely
dropped for the new, or by conjoining the new with the
old; or sometimes only a few letters are inserted, so
that the altered form may express the difference in the
owner's state or prospects. It is surprising how soon a
new name is known and its import spread through the
country. In dealing with Abraham and Sarai, God was
pleased to adapt His procedure to the ideas and customs
of the country and age. Instead of Abram, "a high
father," he was to be called Abraham, "father of a
multitude of nations" (see Re
2:17).
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Verse 8. I will give unto thee
. . . the land--It had been previously
promised to Abraham and his posterity (Ge
15:18). Here it is promised as an "everlasting
possession," and was, therefore, a type of heaven, "the
better country" (Heb
11:16).
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Verse 10. Every man child among you
shall be circumcised--This was the sign in the Old
Testament Church as baptism is in the New, and hence the
covenant is called "covenant of circumcision" (Ac
7:8; Ro 4:11). The terms of the covenant were these:
on the one hand Abraham and his seed were to observe the
right of circumcision; and on the other, God promised,
in the event of such observance, to give them Canaan for
a perpetual possession, to be a God to him and his
posterity, and that in him and his seed all nations
should be blessed.
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Verse 15, 16. As for Sarai
. . . I will . . . give thee a son
also of her--God's purposes are gradually made
known. A son had been long ago promised to Abraham. Now,
at length, for the first time he is informed that it was
to be a child of Sarai.
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Verse 17. Abraham fell upon his
face, and laughed--It was not the sneer of unbelief,
but a smile of delight at the improbability of the event
(Ro
4:20).
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Verse 18. O that Ishmael might live
before thee--natural solicitude of a parent. But
God's thoughts are not as man's thoughts [Isa
55:8].
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Verse 19, 20. The blessings of
the covenant are reserved for Isaac, but common
blessings were abundantly promised to Ishmael; and
though the visible Church did not descend from his
family, yet personally he might, and it is to be hoped
did, enjoy its benefits.
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Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic
edition prepared from text scanned by Woodside Bible
Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-Brown
Commentary is in the public domain and may be freely
used and distributed.
Bibliography
Information
Jamieson, Robert,
D.D. "Commentary on Genesis 17". "Commentary Critical and
Explanatory
on the Whole Bible".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/jfb/view.cgi?book=ge&chapter=17>.
1871.
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