Friday, May 30, 2008
Genesis 17:15-22 (NIV)
15 God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." 17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" 19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. [d] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
It must feel like a face-to-face conversation for Abraham, as God comes down to meet him throughout. It's interesting to see the name changes throughout the chapter, where Abram becomes Abraham and Sarai changes to Sarah. Regardless of the meanings of the names, the changes show that God has now entered their lives and want to be their Lord. It's quite similar as Saul's name changed to Paul in NT. Paul also underwent dramatic transformation, from being a persecutor of Christ to a follower of Christ...I also wonder why God establishes His covenant with Isaac rather than with Ishmael. Could it be because Ishmael is the son of a maidservant while Isaac is born of a God-chosen woman Sarah?
These name changing examples throughout the Bible make me think that being transformed by faith not only requires changes on one's inside (invisible) but also changes on one's outside (visible). Name changing appears on its surface to be just a superficial idea, but perhaps it actually conveys the notion that being transformed requires a COMPLETE change ("extreme makeover").
There's incredible power in naming. Adam was given power to name the animals. When we name something, we endow it and definite it. People had a much greater appreciation for the power of language long ago. It's something I've often thought about.
Hey, so the feminist in me noticed that Abraham laughed when he heard about Sarah having a baby. Doesn't Sarah laugh, too, and then get turned mute for it? But then again, didn't that also happen to John the Baptist's father as well? I suppose we should never take God's powers lightly. It's easy to scoff, but anything is possible for Him. I know this intellectually, but do I really know it? Deep in my heart and every day? Wouldn't we all live differently if we were truly reminded of the Awesomeness of God?
Post a Comment