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.
Gen 17:2 “And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
Gen 17:3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
Gen 17:4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be 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.
Gen 17:6 “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
Some look at this and think only in the carnal sense of being a father. It is from this line of thinking that we find teachings of 10 tribes of Israel, founding different nations. Mostly we are told of Britain and the USA, as they seem to hold a prominent
place in end time prophecy in the teachings of this doctrine. Though we simply can't dismiss this idea, it can also not be shown to be 100% correct. However it does have some backing that seems a bit to grounded to be ignored.
In the USA, there has been found polio-Hebrew writing carved in stone, and in caves. In some native American languages, ( like the Lakota, and Nez Perce') the word for HaShem holds a striking resemblance to the Hebrew word, Yahovh. Some linguist go even further, pointing to the many uses of phrases that may well have come from the Hebrew language.
The other side looks only to the spiritual meaning behind this passage. In that it was from Abram, that Yeshua's blood came. holding to the idea that the 10 tribes are lost, and will never be found by man. Yet with DNA, there is the chance this may be shown wrong. Though it holds true as of this day, we can't know what will come next week or next year.
Can both hold some truth? Yes this is a real possibility. After all, if kings are to come from Abrams blood line, and we remove the idea that this is carnal, why say there will be kings from his blood line? Yet if the spiritual is removed, then do we not miss lead ourselves into thinking that Yeshua may not have been Jewish at all? Or that the world can be blessed by people of one little nation? As we know, Israel has lead the way in almost everything we know today. Medical, technology, and yes from his bloodline we are given nuclear power as well. It is with this in mind that we should hold on to both ideas.
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.
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;
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.
As we can see this covenant is a blood covenant, yet it does not call for the spitting of animals. This may well ahve to do with the idea that HaShem has already fulfilled that part. As here we find that HaShem is placing a requirement on the people, as their part of the same covenant. This would mean that if they didn't get any blood on their feet in the first part of this covenant, blood is being asked to show their willingness to enter into it.
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.”
As we can see here, anyone that is not circumcised is to be cut off from his people. As this will show that they didn't want a part in the Abrahamic covenant. So once more see that they had a choice. They were not being forced into the covenant. Yet at the same time, we will see later that to reject it, may lead to things you may not like.
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.
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.”
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?”
Gen 17:18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
All dads want the best for all their kids. So is it any wonder that Abraham wants something good to come out of this for both of his?
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.
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.
Gen 17:21 “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
Abraham's hopes are answered. Ishmael will have 12 princes come from his blood line. It is interesting to note that from Ishmael we only hear of princes, and not kings. A nation and not many. This sets the presidents of one blessing per child. Not 2 may be equal in standing, and they go down as the number of kids a family has. It also shows us here that the youngest seems to the one HaShem wishes to be the highest blessing on. This does change with Israel, or does it?
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.
Gen 17:26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael;
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.
It is due to this passage that we find in Acts the question of gentile circumcision. The teachers of the Law seen this as a requirement for salvation. They thought that if anyone wanted salvation, they had to first convert to Judaism. Peter on the other hand didn't see it this way.
Act 15:5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command
them to keep the law of Moses.”
Act 15:7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up
and said to them: “Men
and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
As one reads this chapter, keep in mind that man kind came to conclusion, that gentiles only need to follow 5 Laws.
Act 15:29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.[fn] If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
Farewell.
If someone tells you this shows we don't need the Laws, then ask, "As it does not say we need faith, does that remove the nee for faith?"