As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Genesis 17:4 records God establishing His covenant with Abraham with the promise that he would become the father of many nations. The change of his name from Abram to Abraham, meaning father of a great multitude, marked this promise. In connection with it Sarah also was to be the mother of nations, with kings descended from her.
The promise was spoken when Abraham was ninety-nine, after he was called to walk faithfully before God, and Abraham fell on his face as God spoke to him. The covenant is thus connected with the call for Abraham to walk before God and be perfect. It came as God prepared Abraham, who had been called out of an idolatrous setting and separated from his father's household, to be His chosen instrument.
The covenant was to continue through Abraham's descendants and included God's promise to be their God. It required Abraham and his descendants to remain separate from other nations and faithful to God, with circumcision as its sign and pledge to keep its conditions. Although their later mingling with surrounding peoples exposed them to idolatry, God did not forsake them in Egypt because of His covenant with Abraham.
The covenant of Genesis 17:1-8 was continued to Abraham's son and was treasured by Isaac and Rebekah, with blessings of spiritual pre-eminence in that the holder of the birthright would serve as priest of the family and the Redeemer of the world would come through his descendants. Inheriting those covenant blessings carried obligations, so that like Abraham the heir had to obey God and seek His will in marriage, family life, and public affairs.
Genesis 17:4 records God establishing His covenant with Abraham with the promise that he would become the father of many nations. The change of his name from Abram to Abraham, meaning father of a great multitude, marked this promise. In connection with it Sarah also was to be the mother of nations, with kings descended from her.
The promise was spoken when Abraham was ninety-nine, after he was called to walk faithfully before God, and Abraham fell on his face as God spoke to him. The covenant is thus connected with the call for Abraham to walk before God and be perfect. It came as God prepared Abraham, who had been called out of an idolatrous setting and separated from his father's household, to be His chosen instrument.
The covenant was to continue through Abraham's descendants and included God's promise to be their God. It required Abraham and his descendants to remain separate from other nations and faithful to God, with circumcision as its sign and pledge to keep its conditions. Although their later mingling with surrounding peoples exposed them to idolatry, God did not forsake them in Egypt because of His covenant with Abraham.
The covenant of Genesis 17:1-8 was continued to Abraham's son and was treasured by Isaac and Rebekah, with blessings of spiritual pre-eminence in that the holder of the birthright would serve as priest of the family and the Redeemer of the world would come through his descendants. Inheriting those covenant blessings carried obligations, so that like Abraham the heir had to obey God and seek His will in marriage, family life, and public affairs.