Sunday, May 24, 2020

A New Name (Gen. 17:3-6)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08/01/2006

My Worship Time                                                                                  Focus:  New Name

Bible Reading & Meditation                                        Reference:  Genesis 17:3-6

            Message of the verse:  “3 Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, 4‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.  5 ‘No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.  6 ‘I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.’”

Verse three shows the humility of Abraham as he bows down before the Lord.  Remember that it had been thirteen years since the Lord had spoke to Abraham, and now Ishmael would be close to thirteen years of age.

In verses four and five God changes Abram’s name to Abraham, this means the father of many or of a multitude, while Abram means exalted father.  Abraham and Sarah had only one son at this time and the son was not even Sarah’s so this all took a great deal of faith to believe what the Lord had just told him.

When you look at this covenant that the Lord had made with Abraham it is truly amazing, for it is still in effect today, even though many would not believe so. 

Abraham is the father of both the Jews and the Arabs, and is the father of the nations listed in Genesis 25, and he is also the spiritual father of all believers who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.  (See Gal. 3:6-9)  6  Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU."9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Galatians 3:6 is a quotation from Genesis 15:6 and it tells me that Abraham truly had a lot of faith in God, and his faith can be seen throughout the entire Bible at different places.  The things that were promised to Abraham are still happening, and will continue to happen all the way through the time when this earth is around.  Abraham is my spiritual father, and that makes me very happy, for he is a wonderful example of how to walk by faith, and by learning his story and the things that it teaches will make me a better follower of the Lord.

The Word of God has been very refreshing to my as I read and studied it this morning.

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to learn contentment, continue to follow the Lord, and continue to live a life that will be pleasing to the Lord.

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