Genesis 17:23-27 Jew and Gentiles Were Included In The Abrahamic Covenant

On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen;  Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

On the following day, Abraham was obedient and took and circumcised every male, in his household. This was done literally. However, if we take a step back and look at this short entry, we can see a model of how Israel and all believers are in the covenant. Take a look at who is included. Everyone, family and foreigner, Jew and Gentile. 

We also see that when God commands, we are to be obedient, immediately, not when we feel like it.

For future knowledge, note that Ishmael's name means, "God Listens" or "God Hears". I can't help but think that this is a reminder that even though Abraham and Sarah disobeyed God, concerning Hagar, Ishmael's mother, God still listens to true believers and fulfills his promises.

Also, if  you do a word meaning substitution, we get the message,

God Listens. The Father of Many will save everyone one born in his household and those who are bought with his money. The word for money is keceph, which means silver. Is this a hint towards the 30 pieces of silver, that Y'shua was bought with, in the betrayal transaction between Judas Iscariot and the High Priest Caiaphas.

Finally, Abraham was 99 and Ishmael was 13, which confirms that Abraham was 86 years old, when Ishmael was born, just as Genesis 16 says. Also, many Jews and historians will tell you that the tradition of Bar and Bat Mitzvah came from the middle ages. It was, in fact, here that the tradition began. This reflects the fact that in 9AD, we are told that in the Talmud, that the priest walked through the streets of Jerusalem, lamenting the lost of the power of the death penalty, taken away by the Roman Empire. This is the final sign of the Messiah coming. They cried out, "Woe unto us, for the scepter has departed from Judah and the Messiah has not come."

Little did they know that, in the town of Nazareth, a little 13 year old boy was being Bar Mizvah and becoming a son of the covenant. That little boy was Y'shua Ben Joseph, Jesus of Nazareth.

Genesis 17:16-22 Ishmael Will Be A Great Nation, But Is He The Father Of Islam?

"I will bless her; moreover, I will give you a son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” At this Avraham fell on his face and laughed — he thought to himself, “Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah give birth at ninety?” Avraham said to God, “If only Yishma‘el could live in your presence!” God answered, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you are to call him Yitz’chak [laughter]. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. But as for Yishma‘el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and give him many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Yitz’chak, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” With that, God finished speaking with Avraham and went up from him.

Here we find that God will bless Sarah and give Abraham a son. It's very important to recognize that even though Abraham and Sarah already had a son, God did not acknowledge Ishmael, as their son. This was due to Abraham and Sarai attempting to circumvent God's will, by not waiting on God to deliver on his promise and having a son by Hagar, their handmaiden. In God's eyes, Ishmael was an illegitimate son. However, God did not condemn Ishmael, he promised to make him a great nation, through 12 princes.

Most scholars now believe and support that all Arabic people are from Ishmael. Islam proudly proclaims that supposition. However, does the text and historical records support that?

The Biblical record of Ishmael gives us the names of the 12 sons, but no clue as to how they might be connected to the modern Arabic Tribes. This list is given in Genesis 25 and later repeated in I Chronicles 1:29-33.

"Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bore unto Abraham: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth, and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedmah. These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns and by their encampments; twelve princes according to their nations." Genesis 25:12-16

and later repeated in I Chronicles 1:29-33.

"And these are their generations: the first-born of Ishmael, Nebaioth, then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael."

These sons eventually took wives, had children, and through these children, tribes were formed. These tribes made up the nations that dwelt from Havilah to Shur, and from Egypt to Assyria. The descendants of Ishmael, however, were not the sole tribes in the Arabian Desert. Other tribes emerged from other sources. Some of these, such as the tribe of Qarish, became the people of South Arabia along with others who wandered and settled in Arabia.

Islamic Apologists attempt to link Mohamed to Hadad, the eighth son of Ishmael. However, historical records show that Mohamed was born of the Qarish tribe, which were not of the Ishmael lineage. The tribe of Qarish conquered the tribe of Fihr ibn Malik, which was of the lineage of Ishmael. Therefore, there isn't any generational connection, with the sons of Abraham. Ishmael is not the Father of Islam.

As for Isaac, he was the promised legitimate son of Abraham. Isaac turns out to be the continuation of the Messianic line, that leads up to Y'shua, Jesus.

Genesis 17:15 The Spirit Of God, Given To Sarai, Counted As Righeousness

Elohim said to Avraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai, her name is to be Sarah.

Previously, God added the Hebrew letter, HEY, to Abram, making his name, Abraham. The letter, HEY, is significant, in that it means that the Breath of God, God's Spirit will dwell in him and his faithful descendants. Here we have Elohim, God, doing the same thing with Sarai, making her name Sarah. From this point on, the Spirit of God dwelled within Abraham and Sarai, making them righteous before God.

This also a rebuttal to the ones, who bring up Romans 3:10, where it says,

"As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one."

However, They fail to read the following verses, in Romans 3:10-12

"As the Tanakh puts it, "There is no one righteous, not even one! No one understands, no one seeks God, all have turned away and at the same time become useless; there is no one who shows kindness, not a single one!"

Reading Romans 3:10-12, in context, shows that those who do the opposite and seek God are righteous, leading Paul to write, in Romans 4:2-3.

For if Avraham came to be considered righteous by God because of legalistic observances, then he has something to boast about. But this is not how it is before God! For what does the Tanakh say? "Avraham put his trust in God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness."

It's all about putting your trust in God and his Word. His Word manifested in Y'shua, who is the most righteous man, who was obedient and gave his life, for the payment of mankind's sins. Upon putting your trust, in the Lord, you too can have the Breath of God in you and it will be counted as righteousness unto you.

Finally, Abram, which means Exalted Father, became, Abraham, which means Exalted Father of Many, A Multitude, Nations. Sarai, which means princess, became Sarah, which means women of the nobleman. Since, Sarah is married to the nobleman, Abraham, the name Sarah has become to be interpreted as Mother of Many, A Multitude, Nations.

Genesis 17:9-14 Circumcision. The Symbol Of The Covenant

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.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. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 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. 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. 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.

Brit milah [circumcision] is sometimes referred to as the covenant of Abraham, who circumcised himself in order to become a Jew. The timing of Abraham’s act had a special two-fold significance.

1. Abraham was 48 years old when he came to know his creator. Yet he was not commanded to circumcise himself at that time and waited until he was much older–99 years of age. Why?  That answer can be found in the Mishnah. "In order not to close the door upon proselytes, however advanced in years." It doesn't matter, how old your are or what you have done, in your life, as long as you come to God.

2. The Talmud says that it is a symbol of your stepping out in faith. Actually, there is no explicit commandment in the Torah requiring circumcision for proselytes. However, in the B'rit Hadashah, the New Testament, Baptism is the new circumcision, a symbol of your leaving the old person behind, and stepping into a new life, through the Messiah, Y'shua.

As for the eighth day circumcision, it turns out, a newborn babies vitamin K and Prothrombin production, which is vital to making blood clot, thereby preventing a baby from bleeding out, occurs or maximizes, on the eighth day. An amazing tidbit of information, that shows God as the designer of us all.

If a man doesn't go through circumcision or immersion, baptism, according to the law, then where is the faith? If you aren't willing to step out and perform a simple act of obedience unto God, then what will your life, with the Messiah, be like? Circumsion or Baptism is your first step in your Walk With God.

Genesis 17:6-8 God's side of the Bilateral Agreement

I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.

The reference to "... fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. " points to the fact that God will cause Sarah and Abraham to have child, through which this covenant will play out. Also, it includes the future Messianic Jews (Christians), a fact disputed by many Jews today. However, anyone can plainly see that the Jews, alone, have not fulfilled this prophecy of nations and kings.

This covenant will be an agreement that will last forever, not until a certain time, as some "Biblical Scholars" indicate. It will include the whole of Canaan, as seen in the picture below.

However, as we will see, that the details differ a little. The possession of the land will not be linear and will depend on Abraham and his descendants faithfulness. 

Also, notice that the land promised in this agreement is different than the promised land in Genesis 15, as seen in the picture below, which will be fulfilled during the Millennial Reign of the Messiah. There are a lot of scholars, that totally miss this and combine the two, as the same.

I love the final promise. The land will be thiers and "I will be their God". That includes Jews and Messianic Jews (Christians).

Genesis 17:1-5 Abram Gets a Pretty Cool Name Change as God and Abram Makes a Bilateral Agreement.

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. 

Here, just shy of Abram 100th birthday, Yahweh appears to Abram. There are some that say this is an example of a contradiction in the Bible. They refer to Exodus 33:20 and John 1:18, where it says that nobody can see the face of God. However, look at the wording. It doesn't say that Abram looked at God's face. It says that God appeared to him. Since Abram didn't die, we can assume that God appeared to him, the same way that he appeared to Moses, in a way that represented God.

Also, this is the first time that God uses the name, El Shaddai, God Almighty. If you remember, there is a law of first mention, within the Jewish community. It states that the first time something shows up, it's very important to take notice. This time, I do believe that it's due to a dual reference. Abram is about to get a name change and also, his descendants do not only include the Jews, but also the Christians, encompassing all true believers.

And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 

Right off the bat, Abram recognizes something significant is about to occur. He falls to his face out of respect and reverence.

If you remember correctly, back in chapter 15, Abram saw God in a vision and God made a unilateral agreement with him. That agreement was based on the Faithfulness of God and it was never ending. This agreement is a Bilateral agreement and is based on the faithfulness of generations to come. In these verses, God begins to tell Abram the first part of the deal.

God promises to make Abram a father of many nations, not just Israel. As part of this agreement, Abram gets a name change. God adds the Hebrew letter, HEY, to his name, making it, Abraham. The name, Abraham means, The Father of Many Nations. The letter, HEY, is significant, in that it means It means that the Breath of God and God's Spirit will dwell in him and his faithful descendants.

Also, this is proclaiming that the Word of God, The Mashiach Nagai, The Messiah, The Seed of The Woman, that will crush Satan's head, will come forth, through the descendants of Abraham.

We'll go over the rest of the agreement, next time. In most agreements, it's all about the details.

Genesis 16:7-16 God Sets End Time Scenario Back On Track

Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 

There are many good scholars, that every time they see the phrase, "The Angel of the Lord.", that automatically say, it is an Old Testament appearing of Y'shua, Jesus. However, if you are well adjusted student of the Word of God, one that gets back to the original Hebrew, you will find that the words, "Now the..." are not even in the original scriptures. This is an incidence where the translators try to make the text clearer to the reader, without knowingly, or maybe knowingly, change the scriptures to match their agenda, whatever that may be. However, you and I will continue to get back to original scriptures and let the Spirit of God teach us.

With that said, here, a messenger from God, finds Hagar, by the spring, on the way to Shur. Shur means "wall". To give you perspective, Shur is a place southwest of Palestine on the eastern border or within the border of Egypt; the Israelites passed through the wilderness of Shur after crossing the Red Sea. See the map below:

Abram and Sarai is presently living somewhere near Beer-Sheba, near the southern shores of the Dead Sea. The pregnant Hagar had traveled a long way. She was definitely on her way back to her birth home, Egypt.

The angel, that stops her, asks the question, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” First of all, he says her name, her rightful position, then asks two questions, to which, he already knows the answer. Most non-believers jump on this and similar verses and say, "See....This is another inconsistency, within the Bible." or "See....This shows that God is not omniscient and doesn't really know everything, as the Bible tells us." However, it really shows their ignorance concerning local cultural idioms. Let me give an example.

When you were young and your mother, seeing that you were doing wrong, says, "What do you think you are doing?" or "What are your doing, young man?" Does it show that your mother was an idiot and didn't really know what was going on? Absolutely not. No one, in their right mind, would say that. The only ones, that would say that, are those who are not looking for the truth and have a personal agenda. Anyway, the angel is doing the same thing that your mother was doing....Getting your attention and setting your mind's eye on the truth of what you are doing. This always followed by a correction, as we see here. The angel is telling Hagar to turn around and go back to Sarai and do as she says.

You see, there were two wrongs here. Hagar shouldn't have taunted Sarai and Sarai shouldn't have treated Hagar, the way that she did. In the end, Ishmael have to be born and raised, within the house of Abraham, for God's plan to play out.

And the Angel of the Lord said to her:
“Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

As  this prophecy turns out, Ishmael will be the father of the Philistines and others up to the modern Islamic State. However, we will talk about that, when we discussed Ishmael's descendants, in a future post.

Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

This backs up the implied idiom, we just discussed. Hagar recognized it, testifying that God sees all. She even name a nearby well, Beer Lahai Roi, which means, well of the living One that sees me. Obediently, she does what she is told. She bares Ishmael and goes back to Sarai and Abram and sets God's plan, back on track.

Now, a parallel lineage has been set into motion to mimic the true Messianic line. It will so closely resemble the Messianic line, that it will lead many astray. However, those, who are True Believers, ones the walk with God, on a daily basis, will be able to differentiate between the two lines. Which one are you?

It doesn't matter how many times I read the scriptures, it still amazes me how God, even though he allows man to live their lives, according to their own will, still is in control of the outcome. He is a masterful strategists, who has foreseen every outcome and has set into motion his plan for the salvation of man, even man has his own sovereignty. Again, it is amazing.

Foreseeing Israel's and the worlds disobedience throughout history, God is setting up an end time scenario to corral mankind into seeing God's handiwork and move them back to God. Here, he is setting up a seed of Abram to both punish and preserve his remnant in the future mankind.