King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 23 notes
1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
I am Elshadai, walk before me and be blameless. I am the almighty God. This I believe is the first time God is introducing Abram to His covenant name of Elshadai.
Could God appearing here refer to an open vision? What form did God take? It was no longer the word of the lord coming to Abraham, or Abraham hearing the word of the lord as we see previously, but it was now the lord appearing.
14 years after Ishmael, God comes again.
Why this introduction and talk of perfection?
I think because he knew what news he was about to break to Abraham-
That Ishmael though blessed of God and spoken about was not the promised heir.
God really stretched Abraham- he had to cause the old man to believe again and again and then finally took Isaac from him- a dead man is what Abraham became at the end of the day so when God saw that Abraham had given all to him,
him he caused to become alive not just in his generation but even forever alive.
We talk of him even today-
I see the same thing was done to Jacob.. God made him think he had lost Joseph and Benjamin- the two things he had left to hold unto in this life.
Rachel his beloved was truly dead but the boys were the only ones left whom he thought were dead till they were restored to him.
After which now God appears to Jacob and shows him the future - re-affirming his promises once more.
It seems God is in the business of getting us killed, dying to self and our desires, hopes and the things we hold dear so he can mould us to his form and shape.
2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
I guess at this age and time ⌚, Abraham was getting tired 😴 of this routine of promises. No wonder he laughed later on in this discourse.
3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
I like that, God sounds so much like a man. He says “As for me”. Hmm
5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
I'm sure at this stage promises like these of exceeding fruitfulness were beginning to sound like stories of Ananse (a folklore here in Ghana). He had only one child and was ninety-nine years of age for crying out loud. Why was God keeping up this game?
7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
All these plenty promises and Abraham was not even seeing a hint of evidence.
He indeed was underperforming in this regard because he had only one son.
Where were the descendants going to come from?
Looking at how God deals with us, I don’t think I want to predict God and how his plans for my life will pan out.
He is too unpredictable and his ways pass finding out. I think I will just trust him.
8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
Can we then say that by extension of this covenant, everyone on his household partook of this covenant by circumcision?
This kind of lines up with Paul's argument that we are partakers of Israel through faith and not just the natural seed 🌱 of Abraham.
This story of Abraham is the story of a priest, the story of a prophet, the story of a man whom the Gods talk to and instruct.
That is the story of Abraham… God’s dealings with him are not different from his dealings with, say, the prophet Jeremiah….
This was the prophet and father of us all, i.e. Father Abraham.. A man whom God appeared to and spoke with.
He was indeed a prophet, priest and king 👑.
12And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
Can we then say that by extension of this covenant, everyone on his household partook of this covenant by circumcision?
This kind of lines up with Paul's argument that we are partakers of Israel through faith and not just the natural seed 🌱 of Abraham.
15And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
Why did God wait all this while before telling Abraham this?
Then this old desperate-to-please-God couple would not have involved Hagar to start with.
Rather God waits and then comes to tell Abraham that Hagar's son is not the one, because I omitted this detail: the promise is through you and Sarah,
Not just through your seed.
16And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
God did not even speak of Sarah's behavior towards Hagar after what she did.
God at this time was not interested in this domestic issue.
He had his own plans for human kind.
God interrupts it seems to champion his one cause. Any other thing he leaves to man to figure it out.
That's why he made us any ways.
17Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
It was at this point that God dropped the bombshell and Abraham got it.
All this while he was not talking of Ishmael but Isaac, a new child of Abraham from Sarah.
18And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Interesting one there, so the name Isaac came from after Abraham laughed. 😇
I USED TO think it was Sarah's laughter a year later that prompted the name Isaac, rather it was Abraham's... Hmm 😂
Interesting one there
20And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
Hmm 🤔.. It's almost as if God blessed Ishmael for Abraham's sake since Ishmael was not part of God's plan.
But it so happens that Ishmael sneaked into the plan and being from Abraham's loins he had to be blessed.
But then again we see the angel of God earlier asking Hagar to come back to Sarah because the blessing was upon Abraham and nothing out of his loins can be cursed 🤬 even if it came by mistake.
21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
And he left talking... God had appeared to Abraham I believe in human form. As is repeated later under the Mamre tree. Likely this was in a quiet 🤫 location when God appeared to him.
It's almost like Abraham had had enough. God himself saw that Abraham had come to his wits' end with this promise of God that never seems to happen.
This time though God had given Abraham a date.
Now God left off talking to Abraham. It's like Abraham was not saying anything again or asking any questions 🙋 so God left off talking to him.
23And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
The promptness with which Abram obeyed God is worth emulating.
The heathen and pagans so fear their gods and obey them.
Yet we the sons of the kingdom 👑 are not apt in obeying the voice of the lord.
This is wisdom 🤔 for me.
Abraham really had control over his households.
God speaks in the morning and by evening his will has been executed.
24And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
What kind of a leader was Abraham? For him to have, in the selfsame day he was instructed of God, done the circumcision of his entire household. Slave and free alike.
I make some assumptions:
His household was up to date with his GOD and very likely worshipped Jehovah.
His leadership skills and influence over his house was such that he could steer his household in line with the vision and was such a communicator that his followers caught hold of the vision and ran with it.
I know he was a skilful visionary because in his house he had highly trained servants who could take on kings in battle and come out victorious.
He was a nomad who didn’t leave things to chance.
He was a peacemaker, and abundance conscious so he could easily part ways with his own nephew giving to him the best of lands. He was both a man of practical wisdom and of faith:
when it came to the things that God had said to him, he believed it and lived in faith with God whilst living a daily practical life and preparing for the challenges of his day. I guess it's this practicality that led to the birth of Ishmael - a mistake though - and to him suggesting God bless Ishmael instead.
25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
Power, wealth and authority don’t come cheap- Abraham circumcised himself the same day and his households.
No wonder God so mightily blessed him.
27And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Abram always swift in obeying God.
Was it not the same state the men of, is it Nineveh, found themselves in that they got killed by Jacob's sons?
Abraham could have been attacked at this time easily but the lord's protection was upon them... These are my thoughts, the text does not suggest that in any way.