God waits 13 years after Abram and Sarai tried to take matters into their own hands as to the fulfillment of the promise of God to give Abram an heir from his own body. Now, well past child bearing age, Abram being 99 and Sarai 89, The LORD appears to Abram and reiterates HIs Promise. However, God has now waited until they were helpless and hopeless as both of their bodies were infertile. But in this moment The LORD says I am El Shaddai (God Almighty). With Me all things are possible! Indeed, God will grow a nation from a centenarian and his postmenopausal 90 year old wife, because El Shaddai is the God of the Impossible! Not only does God reiterate that Abram would be the father of a great nation, but that nation would come through Sarai, his wife, not any other. Further he instructs Abram to walk before God and be tamim (a mature person). Then the LORD does something He would do many times over the ages, he changes their names! Yes, neither would ever forget that God alone made this nation! God then changes both Abram's and Sarai's names by adding the letter "heth" or "H", which is part of Jehovah's name, to create Abraham and Sarah. Finally, God also commands every male child born to Abram and his descendants, plus everyone then in his house, must be circumcised as a token to remind the men of their covenantal relationship with El Shaddai. |
