Eternal Covenant 74 (I Will Make You TheMother Of Nations!) [Gen 17:15-27] / Anne's Faith Column

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Eternal Covenant 74

(I Will Make You The

Mother Of Nations!) 

[Gen 17:15-27]

 / Anne's Faith Column 

 

 

/ By Priscilla 

 

God is the one who plans,

fulfills, and does not change.

 

 

 

If we read today's scripture,

God, who blessed Sarah by 

changing her name, said 

that He would establish

 a covenant with her,

 

 

 

who had had no hope,

by granting a son,

Isaac to her.

 

 

 

1.The sign of the covenant : 

Circumcision(to undergo

circumcision)

 

 

 

God told the Israelites to

undergo circumcision as a sign

of the covenant with Him.

 

 

 

Circumcision has two meanings.

As a starting point of the covenant,

 

 

 

first, it means that they are

members of God's people,

and second, that they

belong to God.

 

 

 

Thus God has granted them

a truly great privilege

as God's authority.

 

 

 

It is a covenant that

God will take care of and 

take responsibility for

 Abraham's descendants.

 

 

 

This must be a great

promise indeed.

 

 

 

2. The Promise of Isaac's Birth

 

 

 

Although he had Ishmael,

whom Abraham got with

a humanistic thought, God 

foretold and promised

the birth of Isaac.

 

 

 

In other words, God reminded

Abraham that Ishmael was

not the son of promise,

 

 

 

but that Abraham, who 

would become the father 

of faith, would be given

a worthy child in the

future in God's time.

 

 

 

Also, God had more

compassion and mercy

for our weakness than

for our sins.

 

 

 

God showed mercy to

Adam and Eve, who

sinned, and also to Cain.

 

 

In the Bible, to Abraham,

who left Ur of the Chaldeans

with his nephew, Lot,

 

 

 

and to Abraham who

got a son, Ishmael with

humanistic way,

 

 

 

and to Hagar,

Sarah's maidservant,

who gave birth to Ishmael

we can feel how God

showed love and mercy. 

 

 

 

God is so good that He takes

responsibility for us to the end

even if we do irresponsible

humanistic actions.

 

 

 

In particular, we can see

those situations if we think

about the love of God

shown after the

fall of man.

 

 

 

Through the characters

in the Bible, we can feel

every time how many

rewards were needed

 

 

 

for their actions committed

by human impatience.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the battle

between Ishmael and Isaac,

the son of God's promise,

is still ongoing, isn't it?

 

 

 

But, God was fair and

said that He would also

bless the descendants

of Ishmael even though

he was not the son of

promise with God.

 

 

 

Therefore, we really need 

to distinguish between

God's time and mine.

 

 

 

Therefore, each of us,

the descendants of the

faith today, need an attitude

to fall facedown and pray

to God rather than act

hastily for this.

 

 

 

3. God changed Sarai's name!

 

 

 

Sarai, Abram's wife,

realizing that she had borne

him no children, was so anxious

that she came up with a way

to have an offspring through

her servant Hagar.

 

 

 

However,

despite Sarai's mistakes,

God gave her a greater vision

and blessed her to become

the 'Mother of Nations'.

 

 

 

This is the total grace of God.

The only disappointment is

that Abraham could not assert

the promise of God,

 

 

 

which he had received,

to his wife more strongly 

and could not convince Sarai.

 

 

 

 

One of the weaknesses

of humans, beginning in the

Garden of Eden, is that they

are exceptionally weak

to their wives.

 

 

 

'Adam, the ancestor of mankind'

who said that the wife God

made at the time of creation

was 'bone of bones

and flesh of flesh'!

 

 

 

'Abraham, the father of faith'

who could not trust the word

of the Lord's covenant

to the end!

 

 

 

The reason they could not

push forward with more

confidence may have been

that they had faith,

 

 

 

but they had to go through

more difficulties because

they did not properly exercise

their leadership as husbands

to their wives.

 

 

 

Therefore,

when a difficult situation

came, the word of the

strong covenant did not

take root in them,

 

 

 

and it seems that they were

put into a realistic environment

and showed the weakness.

 

 

 

Nevertheless,

it is truly astonishing that

God's hand of salvation

has reached us through

them so far.

 

 

 

Then, with what attitude

should we receive God

of the covenant?

 

 

 

1) We must realize that there

should be a sign of the new

covenant between God and us.

 

 

 

2) God is unchangeable.

 

 

 

Also, God always

fulfills His promises.

 

 

 

Therefore, we must become

God's children who always

trust and obey God.

 

 

 

3) We must circumcise our heart

and endure to the end until

the word of God's eternal

covenant is fulfilled.

 

 

 

Prayer

 

 

 

I honestly confess

myself to God.

 

 

 

I am touched

and thankful for

the supreme love

of the Lord.

 

 

 

 

Amen

 

 

 

2010/ 04/26

 

 

/ By Priscilla 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2010/04/19

 

 

/ By Priscilla