Genesis 17:1–22 (KJV 1900)
And 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. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And 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. 8 And 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. 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And 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. 13 He 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. 14 And 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. 15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And 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. 17 Then 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? 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19 And 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. 20 And 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. 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. (Genesis 17:1-22)
Up to this point in the account of Abram and Sarai, the relationship between them and the LORD God was a real exchange of words that required no faith at all. It was basic. The LORD God told Abram and Sarai to go to a foreign place, and He expected them to go. He watched as Abram took things into his own hands, and rescued him from the trouble of that mistake. He watched as Sarai took things into her own hands, and rescued her, Hagar, and Ishmael from the trouble created by that mistake. It’s important to note that He allowed both Abram and Sarai to make critical mistakes in their relationship with Him; yet, their relationship continued as the LORD God gently led them to the places He willed.
Up to this point, it was a conversation between the LORD God, Abram, and Sarai. There was nothing formal about their shared words. In fact, at this point, the LORD God had not made their relationship binding. Proof of that is found by realizing that both Abram and Sarai disobeyed the LORD God fully, yet He remained their LORD God, and they remained His planned works. Even when they tried to do things their way, He rescued them as a Father would rescue a young, unknowing child from danger. One can almost sense a Father/child relationship, where the Father has great patience and the child is innocent in his understanding of how to behave in front of his Father. But then, why should Abram and Sarai know how to act? Their background came from a society of worship to false gods that had a little god for every situation in their lifetime. It was a new concept to have one LORD God that controlled every aspect of your life!
Abram and Sarai had been chosen from all others alive on the earth to begin the works of their LORD God. These works were to establish a holy and true people that called the LORD God their one and only God. The LORD God was certain that Abram and Sarai worshipped only Him, and knew He was more powerful than any false god they had ever seen worshipped by others. If only He could get them to believe Him fully, and have trust and faith that He was able to create life itself and therefore, well above their human being requirements! He knew one way that faith in His promises could be fully developed, and that was through the trusted covenants that man had developed among themselves to enter into contract with each other.
So the LORD God made a Covenant between Him and Abram. A covenant is a formal agreement that is made between two parties that is legally binding. The LORD God had made one with the earth through Noah that promised to not destroy more flesh by a flood, sealed by the sign of the rainbow. (Gen 9:12-17) And now, He chose to make a formal agreement that Abram and Sarai could understand to be binding to both Him and Them.
It was that promise presented within the covenant, that Sarai was able to obtain faith. Remember Hebrews 11:11-12?
Hebrews 11:11-12
“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” (Hebrews 11:11-12)
IT WAS THE PROMISE! She was able to judge the LORD God to be faithful to them, because of the promise He made them! IT WAS ABOUT THE COVENANT! The agreement that the LORD God made with Abram and Sarai that gave Truth to their relationship in a way that Sarai could understand. Thus, to understand the faith of Sarai, as well as the faith of Abram, we must examine that Covenant fully, and see what exactly they agreed to do for each other forever!
Take a moment and read the entire covenant of the LORD God that He made between Him and Abraham (Genesis 17:1-22), then let’s tackle it bit by bit, so we can make sure we understand the promise made between the LORD God and Abram/Sarai perfectly!
While we go through each of the promises, make sure that you distinguish the Promises of God to Abram and Sarai, from the requirements of relationship that the LORD God expects of Abram and Sarai. Without both parties agreeing, there can be no promise given and no covenant enforced. When you have found all the parts of the agreement in this first section, go to the next slide and compare your answers to ours.
Genesis 17:1–2 (KJV 1900)
And 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. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
(Genesis 17:1-2)
(Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the LORD God formalized the promise within the Covenant)
1. I am the Almighty God – The Lord God identified Himself formally and fully to Abram, establishing the legal requirements that was traditional in the culture of formal promises made in contract with each other in that time.
2. Walk before me and be thou perfect – Abram was given the requirements of the LORD God to ratify the contract between them.
3. And I will make my covenant between me and thee – Next the LORD God promises to make the covenant with Abram, provided he walk and is perfect, and acknowledge the LORD God as His God.
4. Will multiply thee exceedingly – Promises of future generations to come from Abram is given formerly by the LORD God.
How did you do? Now let’s try a bit more. The next part of the agreement reads:
Genesis 17:4–6 (KJV 1900)
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. (Genesis 17:4-6)
5. The covenant is established officially between the LORD God and Abram
6. He promises Abram that he will be a father of many nations.
7. The LORD God changes the name of Abram to Abraham
8. The LORD God reveals that Abram was created specifically to be the father of many nations. It is at this very moment in the Word of God that it is revealed that Abram was not a man who stumbled into belief in the LORD God, but was created specifically for the work of the Lord.
9. The LORD God to make him exceedingly fruitful, with generations of nations and Kings
How are you doing with these statements of facts? Let’s look at more of the Covenant, and see if you can pick out the different points!
Genesis 17:7–9 (KJV 1900)
7 And 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. 8 And 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. 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. (Genesis 17:7-9)
10. The LORD God promises this covenant to carry through the seed of Abraham to all generations of his FOREVER!
11. The formal promise of the LORD God is made to Abraham and his seed for everlasting eternity. There is no expiration date.
12. The LORD God promises to give Abram and his seed the foreign land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. (The land of Canaan is part of today’s Israel, although its borders have been shrunk by conflict among many nations. This means that the land of Israel today was given to His people in a formal, binding, legal Covenant by Him, and does not belong to any other people or any other nation).
13. The LORD God promises to be the God of His Chosen People that come from Abraham, and who are given the legal title to the Land of Canaan.
I’m sure you’re doing great in your statements of fact! Now let’s continue and find more details in the Covenant between the LORD God and Abraham.
Genesis 17:9–14 (KJV 1900)
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And 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. 13 He 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. 14 And 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. (Genesis 17:9-14)
14. The LORD God made Abraham and his seed responsible for keeping the covenant between Him and them
15. To show that the covenant that was made between Abraham and the LORD God, He commanded every man child of the covenant to have his foreskin circumcised at eight days old. This includes every man child of all generations, and any servant of the house that is bought with money. Circumcision is the token of the everlasting covenant that the LORD God made to Abraham and his seed.
16. Any uncircumcised male child that is not circumcised will be cut off from the covenanted people, and will break the promise given to him by benefit of birth from the generation of Abraham.
Now the Covenant focuses upon Sarah! Pay close attention, because this begins the foundation that lays her faith, and gives reason for our study!
Genesis 17:15–16 (KJV 1900)
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And 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. (Genesis 17:15-16)
17. The LORD God changed the name of Sarai, to the name Sarah.
18. The LORD God promised to bless Sarah, and give her a son
19. The LORD God promised to make her a mother of nations, with kings coming from her people.
That was the promise that Sarah remembered. That was the promise that strengthened her in her old age. And once she conceived, it was the promise remembered that gave her full faith in the LORD God!
But, the promise did not stop there! Look at the rest of it, and make your statements of facts.
Genesis 17:19–21 (KJV 1900)
19 And 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. 20 And 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. 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. (Genesis 17:19-21)
20. The LORD God named her son Isaac
21. He promised to establish the covenant with Abraham with his son also and continue through the generations.
22. He also promised to remember Ishmael by blessing him, making him fruitful, and multiply exceedingly.
23. He promised twelve princes from Ishmael’s generations, and that they would be made a great nation.
24. HOWEVER, the covenant would be established and continued through Isaac and not Ishmael.
25. Sarah was promised to bear Isaac at a set time in the next year.
This concludes the agreed upon Covenant of the LORD God given to Abraham and Sarah.
Hebrews 11:11-12
“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” (Hebrews 11:11-12)
This is the promise that Sarah’s faith was built upon. Her faith did not come immediately, but rather developed as she saw the LORD God protect and bless her family. When she became pregnant as an old lady, her faith was confirmed to be valid and valuable, and she believed on the LORD God from that moment on. The Faith of Sarah became part of the foundation that all faith in the LORD God is based, as recorded in Hebrews 11:11-12.
