When
Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am
El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.
I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you
countless descendants.”
At
this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is
my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations!
What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you
will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I
will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations,
and kings will be among them!
“I
will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from
generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be
your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire
land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants.
It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”
Then
God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant.
You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the
covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be
circumcised. You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the
covenant between me and you. From generation to generation, every male
child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not
only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household
and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. All must be
circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Any
male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for
breaking the covenant.”
Then
God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be
Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. And I will bless her and give you a
son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of
many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”
Then
Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How
could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have
a baby when she is ninety years old?” So Abraham said to God, “May
Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
But
God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will
confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. As for Ishmael, I will bless him
also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply
his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make
him a great nation.But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be
born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” When God had finished
speaking, he left Abraham.
On
that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household,
including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them,
cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him. Abraham was ninety-nine
years old when he was circumcised, and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. Both
Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day, along with all
the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought
as servants. All were circumcised with him.
~ Source : Genesis 17:1-27 [Holy Bible -NLT] taken from
https://www.biblegateway.com
No comments:
Post a Comment