A mental exercise that writers like myself often do is try to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, to imagine what it was like to experience an event or emotion for the very first time, not knowing the outcome. When we read Genesis, we have the benefit of knowing the end of the story, but Abram did not. What we read as ancient history, Abram learned piecemeal over a period of years. To us, it is boring old history, but to Abram it was new and exciting. As we approach Genesis 17, we should try to see the events as Abram did.

Imagine! He was 99 years old. It had been 24 years since he left Haran in obedience to God's call (Genesis 12:1-3). After Abram and Lot separated and Abram defeated the eastern alliance of kings, God formally made a covenant with Abram, specifying that his heir would come from his own body. He also provided a more exact description of the land Abram's descendents would possess and told Abram of the fate of his offspring for the next severl generations.

Thirteen years prior, Abram had taken a wrong turn when he followed the advice of his wife and attempted to produce the heir God had promised by following an established practice of his culture, taking Sarais made, Hagar, as his wife. This led to disunity and heartbreak for everyone involved. Biblically, it would seem God had not spoken since He encountered Hagar on her way to Egypt.

These 13 years were not wasted. They illustrate the consequences of serving God in the power of the flesh and acting presumptuously . They intensified the impossibility of Abram and Sarai ever having a child between them. In this way, if a child was born at this time it would surely be a work of God, not of man. Abram had come to believe that Ishmael was his only hope for an heir.

Previously, God had required little of Abram other than to leave Ur and believe in His promise. Now that the covenant was about to be implemented, Abram was required to behave in a way God prescribed. He must walk before his God blamelessly, not in perfection, but in purity. Significantly, God withheld specific duties until long after Abram’s belief was evident, so that works were not the basis of the covenant but a by-product of it.

Abram heard God refer to Himself by a new name. God also gave Abram a new name in token of his destiny.

The name Abram meant ‘high father’ or ‘exalted father.’ Okay, can you imagine anything more embarrassing than to have only one child, mothered by a slave, and to be named "father of a multitude"? By the grace of God, Abraham would soon live up to his new name.

Most of us have experienced the nastiness of making an agreement that turned out less than beneficial for us. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," they say. Just the opposite is true with God's promises. The more we learn of them, the richer the blessings they contain. Abram had been told that he would become a great nation; now he was told that in fact he would become the ‘father of a multitude of nations’, of kings, even. El Shaddai promised to be a God to Abram and to his descendants, including his spiritual seed (Galatians 3:16). The covenant was not only between Abraham and God, but between God and Abraham’s seed, forever.

Chapter 17 focuses on the specific obligations of the covenant. The enjoyment of the blessings of the covenant is conditional. Only by keeping these conditions can man enjoy the blessings of God as guaranteed in the covenant.

The obligation upon Abraham and his descendants was that they be circumcised. In one way, circumcision seems too simple. How can God require only this one act? Let us remember that God had already said to Abraham, "Walk before Me, and be blameless" (verse 1). Circumcision was not all that Abraham was required to do—rather, it was the symbol of his relationship to God, signifying what his moral conduct should be. Circumcision, for Abraham, meant that he had bound himself to God in this covenant. He looked forward to its blessings and submitted to its stipulations.

Circumcision is the only act of surgery of its kind that is beneficial to mankind. More than its physical benefits, it signifies spiritual requirements. Symbolically, the flesh is put away. Abram had acquired a son by the use of his reproductive organ. Now he submitted it to God. No Israelite could ever engage in the sex act without being reminded of the fact that he belonged to God. Children that were begotten were to be brought up according to God’s Word. Circumcision of infant sons did not save them but evidenced the faith of the father and mother in the God of Abraham. As that young child grew up, his circumcision was a sign to him that he was different from other boys—he belonged to God. It was not the circumcision that saved the boy, but the sign which would forever remind him of what God required to enjoy the benefits of His covenant.

Some have emphasized the similarities between baptism and circumcision (Colossians 2:10-12). Both signify a union with God that has already occurred. Both necessitate the putting away of former things and living a life pleasing to God (Romans 6:1; Colossians 3:1-11) . There are rather obvious differences which must be kept in mind. Baptism is for believing adults, as an indication of their faith in God (Acts 16:33; 19:1-7). Circumcision was performed on 8-day-old infants and evidenced the faith of the parents. Baptism is a public sign, circumcision was a private sign. Baptism is for all believers, male and female, circumcision was only for the males. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant with Abraham; baptism is not the sign of the New Covenant (the sign of the New Covenant is the Lord’s supper (Luke 22:20).

Up to this time, God had promised Abraham a son but had not specifically identified the mother of this child. Abraham had been convinced by Sarai and circumstances that it must be Hagar and apparently he still considered this to be the case. What a shock God’s words must have been, and what a commentary on chapter 16.

Abraham had seriously misunderstood God and now God set him straight. Against the testimony of all experience, Sarai would be the mother of the promised heir. Abraham's response is puzzling.

Before you judge Abraham's faith, consider that Abraham was not speaking to God at this point. Verse 17 records Abraham's inner and immediate response to God’s proclamation. No, Abraham was not laughing in delight, but in disbelief. Would any of us respond differently? I am not suggesting total unbelief, but I do think that Abraham was incredulous. God's promise was an incredible one—too much to take in one dose. Laughter is often the response to things which catch us off guard. Abraham’s words to God also reflect a failure to fully grasp what has just been promised: "Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!" (Genesis 17:18).

Abraham could not believe that Sarah would bear a son to him, so he informed God that so far as he was concerned, Ishmael was satisfactory as his heir. God need perform no miracles that would be necessary for Sarah to bear a child. There was already a son in the family. Abraham loved this child. If another heir were born, there would surely be conflict. Couldn’t God choose to bless Ishmael rather than to provide another child?

God’s plans would not be changed. God had purposed to give Abraham and Sarah a child and through this child to bring about His promises. No substitute son was satisfactory, especially when he was the result of self effort. Indeed, Sarah would bear a son and the spiritual blessings could only come about through him (Genesis 17:19).

God, however, did not overlook the love Abraham felt for Ismael. He'd made His own promises to Hagar. Ishmael would become a great nation, the progenitor of 12 princes, but the spiritual blessings could only come through Isaac.

There is little in this passage which is new to anyone who has read the Bible. Let us not forget, however, that a good deal of what was said was new to Abraham. New revelation was simply clarification of the promise of Genesis 12:1-3. All of Abraham’s life was primarily focused upon that single promise. It took him a lifetime to begin to grasp the promise which initially took only three verses to record. The pinnacle of Abraham’s growth in faith is seen in his willingness to sacrifice his son (we'll get to that in Chapter 22). This act was the ultimate test of Abraham’s faith in God’s promise to bless him through his descendants.

If it took Abraham a lifetime to grasp three verses of Scripture, how long will it take us to fathom the depth of the riches of His grace (Romans 11:33-36)?

Often I desire "new" truths for my own life. God does't often provided that because He knows, as I often forget, that I have not yet fully grasped the few great truths of His word. How easy it is to think that we have learned some truth, pausing for a moment and then moving onto the next lesson. In Abraham’s life, God revealed a truth, then continued to return to it, testing him, and revealing more of that truth than he had known before.

Which one of us can say that we have come to fathom the doctrine of the grace of God or of the atonement? Who would be willing to claim that he had seen all of its implications? Like Abraham, we can expect God to be at work in our lives, expanding and expounding upon the few great and central truths of Christianity. Like Abraham, you and I cannot have a static relationship with God. If we are truly born again, God will not allow this to happen. He may allow us to fail as Abraham often did. He may leave us to ourselves for a time, as Abram found God silent for 13 years. Then, sooner or later, God will break into our lethargic lives and draw us closer to Himself. That is what the Christian life is all about.