Joe Dude's Bible Thoughts: Genesis 17

Remember Abram and Sarai's attempt at fulfilling God's promise on their own? It was thirteen years from that time until God started fulfilling his promise HIS way. "Waiting on the LORD" is something good that we all need to learn how to do better -- especially in rush rush instant gratification western culture, where we want everything now now now. God will do things his way in his own time. I wonder how many doubted the promise of God to send a savior, until Jesus showed up on the scene to pay the price for our sins on the cross.

I wonder how many more doubt still the promise of his return where he will judge the world. After all, it's been almost two thousand years. Instead of doubting God, one is wise to remember the words of his servant, who wrote "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) Think on that for a minute -- if you are follower of Christ, why wouldn't you want him to come back? It would be the best news ever! Unless there was someone you loved who didn't believe in him. There, for their sake, you would ask the Lord Jesus to delay just a while longer, wouldn't you? God patiently waited for me to come to repentance, and I'm eternally grateful for it. If you reader are on the fence about Jesus Christ, don't delay! God will wait, but he won't wait forever -- if you feel that push on your heart to turn toward Jesus, do it now -- today is the day of salvation!

Okay, moving on -- verse 3. Abram fell on his face. I'm pretty sure that's what I'd do too. I know people who have said "when I get to heaven, I'm going to tell God ", thinking they're so much wiser than God that they can give him consuel. I've also heard people say, and have said myself, "when I get to heaven, I'm going to ask God ". Well, there's no arrogance there, but I still don't believe it's going to happen. Think about it, this is the creator of the universe -- a God of all kinds of crazy power and might. Isaiah saw a vision of him and was completely undone. Paul saw a vision of heaven and had no words to describe it. That's how we'll be before this holy and sovereign being that is so far beyond us, no questions asked -- absolutely floored.

Time for a name change -- Abram is now Abraham. I looked up Abraham on Wikipedia, a less than brilliant idea on my part. The biblical text pretty much says Abraham means "father of a multitude of nations" but scholars don't accept this. We're talking about God's Word here, not Pat the Bunny or Hop on Pop -- if the Bible says "A" means "B" then I'll wager that "A" means "B?!

I don't get the whole circumcision thing. I mean I get the idea of having some sign that sets you apart and the whole argument later in the New Testament about it meaning nothing without the proper heart change -- the same way baptism means nothing if you haven't been transformed by Jesus Christ. I just don't get why this particular sign was used. I'm not going to dwell on that too much -- when we start asking "Why did God..." we are headed for trouble. We can make some sane guesses about why God did some things, but the fact is, unless his Word explicitly tells us, we don't know the "why", and that's okay. I don't know why God made stinkbugs, but he did, and I'm okay with not knowing why.

There's something pretty sketchy here -- buying people with money. At this point I'd like to take one of those big old school Bibles and whack everyone in the head who used Bible passages like this to support slavery in America. From what I understand, "slavery" in the time of Christ was more like an employer/employee relationship. I'm not sure about during Abraham's time though -- but really, it doesn't matter. It seems that throughout history God puts up with all kinds of cultural crap (such as polygamy) without giving it the thumbs up. Remember when Jesus' disciples asked about the sin that caused the guy born blind? The two reasons they asked about came from two different beliefs in the culture at the time, and Jesus pretty much ignored both of them and just told it like it is.

It doesn't seem like a good idea to laugh at God. But really, how often do we hear him speak to us and shrug it off or ignore it? Probably a lot more than we want to admit.