Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you. I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.”
(Genesis 17:3-8)

God started speaking to Abram re-iterating the covenant they had cut (Genesis 15:9-21). Immediately, God moves into HIS side of the covenant. Now this is AFTER Abram fathered Ishmael. It’s quite probable that Abram and Sarai had believed Ishmael was the child of the promise. The fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram that he would have an heir from his own body. But with THIS visitation, God makes it clear the promise is yet unfulfilled. That the child will be of Abram’s seed is still to come.

One of the first things God does is place part of HIS name into ABRAM’s name/ God changes his name. Abram means ‘father of Aram’ and ‘exalted father’, denoting the place of his birth and a personal position. It localizes his influence. Here God adds the Hebrew letter ‘hei’ to his name, making him ‘father of many’ or ‘father of nations’. It was a name with broader responsibility and leadership. An outward name, not a personal name. Also, it permanently placed part of God’s name inside Abram’s name. Every time he spoke his name and every time someone spoke his name to him, he would be reminded of God and of the promised descendants. Abraham now embodied the promise and covenant relationship with God.

God is not speaking of temporary things, but eternal things. He is linking this child of the promise to the Messiah and the kingdom of the Messiah – the only two things that have no end on the Earth. The promise is of the SEED (singular), not plural – referencing Messiah and not all the physical offspring (Galatians 3:16). It lends a spiritual side to this promise and Abraham’s descendants. This is echoed by Paul who detailed that all those who trust in God are children of Abraham, regardless of genetic birth (Romans 4:16).

It is interesting to note based on something God says later to Abraham (Genesis 22:2), that He did not consider Abraham as having ANY children yet. God is a God of covenant. Ishmael was born outside of covenant with God (not according to the plan or the promise of God), so he wasn’t counted. Why is that? Because Abram was not yet consecrated to the Lord, so he couldn’t have consecrated children – children who qualified as the promise fulfilled. God is about to set them apart so that his offspring will be set apart and qualified (this is one reason why we baptise in the New Covenant, a symbol of how we have been set apart in Jesus).

God is making sure Abraham knows the promise is not just about offspring, but also about the LAND itself. A Land God was giving him as an EVERLASTING possession. Abraham and his descendants get the Land. Period. They are the ONLY rightful owners by God’s decree – and God will take care of that even if we choose not to acknowledge it.

The sage Ramban writes: ‘BEHOLD, MY COVENANT IS WITH THEE, AND THOU SHALT BE THE FATHER OF A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS. This refers to the covenant of the circumcision, as He will explain, “This is the sign of the Covenant, and after the covenant you will be the father of a multitude of nations.” Blessed be the Lord! By Him alone are actions weighed, for He preceded and commanded Abraham to enter into His covenant to be circumcised before Sarah became pregnant so that his seed would be holy.’

The sage Haamek Davar writes: ‘הנה בריתי אתך. לעזרך למה שאני מדבר אתך: And you shall be the father of many nations: For until this point, Abraham had called out the name of God and converted some people, but this was only those people who converted entirely and entered under the category of servants of God in God’s Torah that Abraham had taught them. And this is as it is taught in the Gemara Tractate Sanhedrin (99b) and in Avodat Kochavim (page 9) that the meaning of “the souls that they made in Charan” is that he taught them Torah and this is impossible for the whole world. And from the beginning, the only purpose was to “establish the borders of the nations according to the number of the children of Israel.”(Devarim 32:8). But it was the desire and the goal that all of the nations should know God. “And the idols would entirely disappear”(Isaiah 2:18) And it was for this thing that God warned Abraham that his desire should be to the depths of his understanding to be a father of many nations, to make them know God. And In this he was called a father of many nations, like a father who establishes his son with correct ideas and by this the previous statement of God is clarified.’

The sage Kli Yakar writes: ‘“Behold, My covenant is with you.” The word “behold” [hineh] indicates something that already exists. One can explain that “My covenant is already present within you,” and this is indeed true, because this external circumcision serves a noble purpose — it provides proof of the circumcision of the heart and its purity. Without doubt, even before the physical circumcision, Abraham already had a pure and circumcised heart. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “I know that My covenant is already with you because you are pure of heart. However, since I now want to make you a father of many nations, I need to provide an explanation to all the people of the world as to why I am appointing you as the father of many nations. This is to publicize your virtue and the purity of your heart before all the nations, through this external circumcision which testifies to the purity of the heart, so that your generations will know that I justly made you a father of many nations.” This is what is meant by And I will establish My covenant between Me and you — meaning, that same internal covenant of the heart which was previously hidden between Me and you, and which all the people of the world did not know about, I am now raising as a banner of that covenant so that all the people of the world will know of it. This is what is meant by for an everlasting [leolam] covenant — meaning, that covenant which was between Me and you will now be a covenant for the entire world, as all the people of the world [haolam] will know of it and reflect upon it.’

The sage Steinsaltz writes: ‘This is a new status, and therefore your name shall no longer be called Abram, with its simple meaning of lofty [ram] father [av]. But rather, your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. As part of the covenant, the name given to him by his parents was exchanged for a name chosen by God. The meaning of this name is far more complex, and the verse itself explains it: The father of a multitude [av hamon], or the lofty father of a multitude. I will establish My covenant, a private, personal connection between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an eternal covenant, to be your God and for your descendants after you. The God and King of the universe, who created the entire universe with all of the planets and stars, now established a personal, family covenant with Abraham and his descendants. This covenant expresses a unique relationship with them, different from His relationship with the rest of humanity, other creatures, and worlds. As part of this covenant, I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your residence, the entire land of Canaan, for an eternal portion. Here God repeats His earlier promise, thereby declaring that this covenant does not replace the Covenant between the Parts as a new spiritual arrangement. Rather, it exists in addition to the previous covenant. And He added an additional promise: I will be their God. From this point onward one finds the phrase, God of Abraham. From now on God is not only the Creator of heaven and earth (14:19, 22), but also our God, the God of Abraham’s descendants.’