Slices
Prepare
Are you expecting microwavable solutions to your slow-cooker problems? Slow down today. Do you find it difficult to wait for God? Use today’s reading as a slow-down space.
Bible passage
The covenant of circumcision
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.’
3 Abram fell face down, and God said to him, 4 ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.’
9 Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner – those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.’
Explore
There has been a 13-year gap between the end of the last chapter and the start of this one. Abram and Sarai have been waiting, without encouragement or result. All that happened during those years was daily life. Following God does not need to be a succession of spectacular events. It is more likely a succession of ordinary days filled with plain living while waiting for God’s purposes to be fulfilled.
God renews the covenant previously made to Abram that he will be the father of a nation (vs 4–8), and gives him and Sarai new names (vs 5,15). A special sign is put in place for the male children of the community – a reminder that with each succeeding generation, God remains faithful to his promise to be their God (v 8). Most Christians do not continue with this physical ritual, but some traditions celebrate continuity with it, through the baptism of their infant children as a sign of welcome into the covenant community. Slowly, over time, with each succeeding generation, God builds and blesses his people.
Respond
‘God, grant me the patience to trust you when I feel that you are moving too slowly for my agenda. Grant me the faith to see you at work when what I perceive is inertia. Thank you for telling me to “slow down”. Amen.’
Deeper Bible study
‘I’ll fear not what men say, / I’ll labour night and day, / to be a pilgrim.’1 Give us a pilgrim spirit, Lord, and help us to walk the pilgrim way.
When people went on pilgrimage in the Middle Ages they wore a badge which identified them as travellers on a sacred journey seeking an encounter with God. In this chapter, Abram and his descendants are given a badge by God which distinguishes them from other people and marks them out as pilgrims.
There is a change in the nature of the text, in that God ‘appeared’ (v1) to Abram and dominated the narrative by stipulating the covenant relationship. There is no dialogue: Abram remains silent and ‘face down’ (v3) before the glory of the Lord and his summons to absolute obedience. What is crystal clear in the repeated demand for faithfulness and justice is that this chosen people are to practise a distinctive way of life which will act as a rebuke and a magnet to the surrounding nations. Although the focus in this passage is overwhelmingly on Israel, the wider purposes of God for ‘nations’ and ‘kings’ remains in view as the ultimate outcome of the covenant established here – a fact reflected in the change of Abram’s name (vs 5,6).
Circumcision, which was widely practised in the ancient Near East, is given a new significance as the mark and sign of the distinctive nature and calling of this covenant people. Much later in the Old Testament, following the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile in Babylon, this practice came to assume great importance since it reminded the people of Israel of their true identity. Circumcision became not merely a sign of ethnic identity but the badge of a people who confessed their trust in the promises of God. Visible religious symbols have the power to sustain and renew faith – but they can degenerate into empty forms. Brueggemann comments: ‘like circumcision, baptism has potential either as an energising symbol for faith or a negative alternative to faith’.2
If you are a baptised Christian, how does that sign of identity actually work in practice for you today?
1 John Bunyan, 1628–88, ‘He who would valiant be’ 2 Walter Brueggemann, Genesis: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, John Knox Press, 1982, p155
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Numbers 24,25; Matthew 21
Pray for Scripture Union
Back in late February, local mission partner Re:generation held an evening in Harrow on protecting children from knife crime. Pray that this will have a lasting impact bringing hope and peace in a broken world.
