Genesis 17.
Despite the drama
between the boy’s mom and Abram’s first wife, Abram the Hebrew loved his son,
his only child: Ishmael. So, in Genesis 17, when God appeared to Abram
promising that this time next year he and Sarai would have new names and a new
baby boy, Abraham’s initial response was, “Nah.
Nevermind.”
And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael
might live before You!”
(Genesis 17:18)
Abraham tried to
laugh off God’s offer. Well, actually it’s more like Abraham fell out laughing AT
the idea of turning a 100 year-old man and a 90 year-old woman into new
parents. (Genesis 17: 17).
God didn’t think it
was funny. And, it wasn’t an offer. It was a covenant. And this was not a negotiation.
For all of Abraham’s
ha-has, God was so serious that He imposed a special ritual to show how very
much He meant business. “Abraham,” God
said, “Take a sharp rock and cut skin off your penis.”Laughter abruptly cuts off.
“I’m sorry, Lord,
what?”
The mark of the
non-negotiable covenant held by the descendants of Abraham and Sarah would be
circumcision.
“And,” God said, “the
uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin,cut off from his people; he has broken My
covenant.” (Genesis 17:14)
that person shall be
“Cut off.” Get it? Circumcision was God’s way of saying,
“Remember My covenant or I’ll cut off more that.”
But wait. There was more.
In Genesis 12:2 God
promised Abram that he would be the father of a great nation. In chapter 17, right after changing his name
to Abraham, God said, “I have made you a father of many nations” (Genesis 17: 4).
Christians and Jews
revere Abraham as the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, who was the
father of the 12 patriarchs, who were the fathers of the 12 tribes of
Israel. Isaac was the promised child
whose line would receive, record, and remember the law and the prophets.
What advantage then has the Jew, or what is
the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because
to them were committed the oracles of God. (Romans 3:1-2)
The covenant of the
Word of God and of the incarnate, Living Word of God ---- Jesus--- rested with
Isaac, but the promises of nation-sized greatness and favor was good for all
Abraham’s kids. And Abraham had lots of
kids.
Ishmael, his oldest
son, begat 12 tribes of his own, each of which became a nation (Genesis 25:
12-18). After
Sarah died, Abraham remarried and had 6 more sons by Keturah. One of them founded the Midianites (Genesis
25:1-4). Isaac’s other son, Esau,
founded the Edomite nation (Genesis 36).
True to His word, God, made Abraham and Sarah the patriarchs of multiple
nations.
A couple of lessons:
1)
We have
the free will to accept or reject God’s offers of grace, but some of those
offers are non-negotiable. There may be
certain things in this life that God has decided you ARE going to do ---- or
else. There are some things in this life
that God has decided you or I will do and there is no “or else.”
Jonah didn’t want to preach to
the Ninevites. He was willing to drown
to avoid preaching to the Ninevites.
Jonah would rather have died in the desert sun than preach to the
Ninevites. Jonah preached to the doggone
Ninevites.
Figure out what the non-negotiable are in your
calling from God, and do them because
God isn’t going to let it go.
2)
Abraham
had assumed he would be remembered by one nation through one son. God preserved Abraham’s name through many
sons who fathered many nations.
On the way to fulfilling your
non-negotiable mission, God can do great things for and through you. AFTER
you have run your race and finished your course, God can do even more great
things for and through you.
Instead of waiting for that ONE magnificent thing
you’re going to do, do all your things magnificently.
Don’t just leave a
legacy. Leave legacies.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T.
Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in
Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth
Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Subscribe to my
personal blog www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves
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