Genesis 17:1-8 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD
appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be
blameless, (2) that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may
multiply you greatly." (3) Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
(4) "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a
multitude of nations. (5) No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your
name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of
nations. (6) I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into
nations, and kings shall come from you. (7) And I will establish my covenant
between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for
an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. (8)
And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your
sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will
be their God."
In verses 1-2 God issues Abram an impossible command, God tells Abram to be
perfect, to walk and live in complete sinless perfection and upon doing so, God
will then make His covenant with Abram. Abram is immediately disqualified, he
cannot do it for one day, never mind a lifetime. The covenant would be broken
before it even began. The only way Abram can enter into this covenant with God,
is if Abram is counted as perfect by God, if Abram is made righteous in God’s
sight. To our joy, we know that this had already taken place, for Abram in faith
had believed and trusted in the sovereign promises of God, believing that God is
able to do that which is impossible, that God and God alone is to be believed
upon, trusted and served. When Abram responded in faith and belief in Genesis
15, we are told that God from that point on counted Abram as righteous, as one
who is now pleasing and acceptable in God sight, as one who has recognised their
own inability and God’s ability to bring them salvation. The result of this all
is that God has entered into a covenant relationship with Abram, Abram is now a
part of the people of God, one under God’s favour, blessing and eternal
promises. This all serves to set the scene for the coming of Christ, the great
work he would do and the results of this great work for all who would
believe.
For those of us who believe in Christ, we have all had a Genesis
17:1-8
moment, when God did an impossible work in our lives, counted us as
righteous,
entered into a covenant with us, brought us into the people of God and
made us
His everlasting possession. The impossible demands of God, satisfied by
Christ and applied to us! What a good, gracious and glorious God we
serve!
Our good, gracious and glorious God, our hearts are filled with praise
today, for You have done the impossible in our lives. You have taken people who
are filled with sin and imperfections and counted them as righteous, made them
in Your sight as blameless and perfect. You have taken those who were estranged
from You and brought them into Your very own family, to live under Your blessing
for eternity. May Your receive all the glory, honour and praise, for You alone
are worthy of it. Amen.
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