Gen 17:1
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: Abram's age is mentioned here most likely to show how long he waited on the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abram. This is almost 25 years later! "The LORD appeared," shows that this was another Christophany.
Gen 17:2
And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.": The covenant had already been established in Gen 15:1-21, so this can't mean that God is going to establish a covenant. What it means is that God will set in motion the promises in the covenant. The promise from God is that Abram's descendents would come from him, and would be so numerous that they couldn't be counted.
Gen 17:3
Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: What a beautiful thing, and one I long for. Can you imagine speaking with God face to face!?
Gen 17:4
"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations: This verse is strangely worded, but can be understood better by looking at Gen 17:9. God is explaining the two sides of the covenant, starting with His side first. Basically, it can be written, "My side of the covenant is that I will make you a father of many nations."
Gen 17:5
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations: Abram means "high father." Abraham means "father of a multitude." We see this practice of God renaming people a lot in the Bible. These name changes are usually to a name that shows God's purpose. Abram just meant that he was the leader of a multitude. Abraham means instead that he would be the father of a multitude, just as God said. The name points to God.
Gen 17:6
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you: God promises three things specifically here in this verse. Abram would have a lot of descendants, Abram will father nations, and Abram would father kings.
Gen 17:7
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: God is preparing to go over the covenant that will be between God, Abraham, and his descendants. The biggest key word here is "everlasting" and needs to be pointed out once again. Whenever you speak with someone who says that the Church has replaced Israel, tell them that God established His covenant with Abram and his descendents to be everlasting, and we know that it is impossible for God to lie (Tit 1:2). Everlasting means just that, and if it means something else, God is lying. Who would you believe? God, or someone that tells you that everlasting doesn't really mean forever, but just a long time?
Gen 17:8
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 also includes in His side of the covenant, the promise that He will give Abram's descendants the land of Israel. How long is this covenant for? Everlasting. There is an absurd movement within Christianity where they claim that Israel was replaced by the church. Wouldn't that make God a liar? Which would you believe? The words of men, or the words of God? People ask if there is something that God can't do. That's an easy answer: Heb 6:18
Gen 17:9
And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations: Now, God starts focusing on Abraham's side of the covenant. What comes next is the part that Abram's descendants need to obey.
Gen 17:10
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: That's it. God would give Abram a multitude, and the land of Canaan, and Abram's descendants would be circumcised. Simple, right? Well, it really should be simple, but whenever you get humans involved, simple isn't so simple.
Gen 17:11
and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you: I'm not going to go into what circumcision is. Just know that it has to do with removing the foreskin.
Gen 17:12
He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant: All males, including their own sons, servants, or anyone who has become part of the family must be circumcised.
Gen 17:13
He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant: When God repeats something, you should take note. He's repeating it because He knows it needs attention. In this case, God is restating that both those born in the house and those purchased and brought into the house (however they become part of the family) must be circumcised. Now, unfortunately, somehow this practice of circumcision has extended to converts of Judaism, not just those who are of Jewish descent, or adopted. According to this wording, converts are not part of the covenant. Salvation has always been by faith.
Gen 17:14
And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.": This is an interesting verse, and I am really unsure of it's meaning. How can an uncircumcised child be cut off from his people? We see somewhat how this can play out in the real world in Exo 4:24-25. Moses had failed to circumcise his son, and God almost killed Moses.
Gen 17:15
Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name: Sarai = My princess. Sarah = princess. The name change signifies that Sarah would not only be the princess of Abraham's family, but the princess of all families.
Gen 17:16
And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.": This is a beautiful promise. Not only would God give Sarah a baby from her own womb, God would bless her as well.
Gen 17:17
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?": This really is a very strange verse. We know that Abraham lived till he was 175, so why would he say that 100 is old? It seems from these clues that it was not normal for people to live 175 years, or even past 100. It's highly likely that God restored them physically to an earlier state of life, extending their normal lifespan. How else can a woman who is past the age of bearing (doesn't have any more eggs) get pregnant?
Gen 17:18
And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!": Abraham's faith wasn't perfect. Although before, Abraham believed God and it was counted as righteousness (Gen 15:6), it's clear here that Abraham had lost his faith that God would provide a child from his own loins, to be fathered by Sarah. Because of this lack of faith, Abraham tells God that Ishmael would work just fine as a replacement for this promised child.
Gen 17:19
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: God corrects Abraham, again telling him that a child would come from Abraham and Sarah. The promise to give the land of Canaan to Abraham's descendents is also reiterated.
Gen 17:20
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: Abraham should know that God loved Ishmael. Jesus Himself visited Hagar when she ran away from Sarah (Gen 16:1-12). Jesus promised at that time that Ishmael would father an innumerable multitude. But Abraham should also have known there were two separate promises. The love of God shows through here by lovingly repeating the promises, even though it was clear that Abraham didn't believe God at this point. To be fair, this was about 25 years after the promise was made. I doubt I'd believe either.
Gen 17:21
But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.": Abraham had said that Ishmael should be the one that God should establish the covenant with, but God tells Abraham that Sarah will bear a son and to name him Isaac. The name Isaac means laughter. Again, this shows the grace of God. When God told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a baby (Gen 17:16), Abraham laughed and said that God probably meant Ishmael (Gen 17:18). God is the God of the impossible, so He took the laughter and used it as the sign to point to Him. Naming their child laughter would point to God every time they said the name Isaac. It's like God was saying, "I want you to remember this promise and how you laughed at it, every time you look at your son that I promised to you."
Gen 17:22
Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham: God went up - Literally. Went up. This is the same word used to describe how Jesus went up (Act 1:9-11). Definitely not a coincidence. That was Jesus in the flesh (John 8:56-59).
Gen 17:23
So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him: Now, even though we saw that Abraham laughed at the prospect of having his own child, he still honored the covenant that God had established. I just thank God we live today, not back then when the circumcision had to be done without pain meds. I couldn't imagine that!
Gen 17:24
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin: These people were tough! I couldn't imagine having to go through circumcision without anesthesia. And at 99? This to me adds credence to the idea that Abraham and Sarah were physically restored by God. I know it's not explicitly said, but it's a very real possibility.
Gen 17:25
And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin: They must have had a seriously different culture back then. I can't see a thirteen year old boy submitting himself willingly to circumcision today.
Gen 17:26
That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael: Both Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised on the same day.
Gen 17:27
and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him: And all of the whole household were circumcised as well, just as God had commanded.
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