January 23, 2013
WHAT'S YOUR NEW NAME?
Genesis 17
Aaron Graft
Central Truth
When God calls us to Himself, we are given a new name, a new hope, and a new destiny. We are transformed from lawbreakers to children of God based upon the work of Jesus Christ.
Key Verse | Genesis 17:5
"No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations." (Genesis 17:5)
Genesis 17
Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; 1 17:1 Hebrew El Shaddai walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, 2 17:5 Abram means exalted father but your name shall be Abraham, 3 17:5 Abraham means father of a multitude for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Isaac's Birth Promised
15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah 4 17:15 Sarai and Sarah mean princess shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give 5 17:16 Hebrew have given you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. 6 17:19 Isaac means he laughs I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Dive Deeper | Genesis 17
I recently learned that my hip-hop name is "Furious Fresh" (per rapstarname.com). My school-age years would have gone much differently had I known this and identified myself accordingly.
As we open Genesis 17, thirteen years have passed since Genesis 16. Abram was living in a quarrelsome house because of his poor decisions. No doubt those were a long 13 years. The game changes in Genesis 17. God shows up. He gives Abram a new name and a promise. Changing your name at the age of 99 (and remembering it!) would be no easy task.
The changing of a name in the Bible is more than rearranging letters. It is a symbol of a radical change. Saul persecuted the true church out of his devotion to the ruling authorities; Paul was persecuted by the authorities for his devotion to the true church. "Abram" became "Abraham" in reflection of God's promise to make him the father of many nations. "Sarai" became "Sarah" in reflection of the promised blessing of a son.
When I was nine years old, "Aaron Graft, slave to sin" became "Aaron Graft, slave to Jesus Christ." Just like Abraham, my identity changed because God showed up. It didn't change based on what I had done or would do; it changed based upon the goodness of God. And when my identity changed, so did my eternal destiny. That is a unilateral promise from God.
God changed Abraham's name. He also commanded Abraham to change his behavior in response -- "Walk before Me, and be blameless" (verse 2). If your name has been changed, will you conform to your old walk? Will you be a slave to sin or to the Lord Jesus Christ? Habits, it has been said, are the shackles for the free. Will you conform to old habits or new ones? If our heart has been circumcised (Romans 2:29; Philippians 3:3), then God will complete the good work He began in us (Philippians 1:6), and we will live up to the name we have been given by the work of the Holy Spirit. Our lives will increasingly, though not perfectly, become "Furious[ly] Fresh" by God's grace. Holla!
Discussion Questions
1. What does it mean to "be blameless" before God?
2. Abraham had (i) natural, physical offspring (Ishmael and Isaac), (ii) promised offspring (David, Jesus Christ), and (iii) spiritual offspring (believers in Jesus Christ). Read Galatians 3:16. What does it mean to Christians in 2013 to be the spiritual offspring of Abraham?
3. Read Colossians 2:11-12. What does a "circumcision made without hands" mean?