Abram Is Named Abraham
1When 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. 2I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”
3At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4“This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5What’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. 6I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!
7“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. 8And 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.”
The Mark of the Covenant
9Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12From 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. 13All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”
Sarai Is Named Sarah
15Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah.* 16And 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.”
17Then 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?” 18So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
19But 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. 20As 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. 21But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” 22When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.
23On 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. 24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. 26Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day, 27along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. All were circumcised with him.
January 7 Reflection & Worship
The God You Can Know
THE BEST WAY TO FACE LIFE’S CHANGES IS TO FACE THE UNCHANGING GOD.
LOOK BACK Congratulations! You’ve taken an exciting step in your spiritual walk through God’s Word. Already you’ve read about God’s masterful creation of the universe, the first sin and its spread throughout humanity, Noah and his boat, the tower of Babel and the scattering of the nations, and God’s promise to Abraham to make him a father of a nation special to God.
But now let’s pause and refresh ourselves as we walk through the pages of Scripture. About every seventh day you’ll have the opportunity to catch up on your reading from the week if you need to. But more than that, you’ll have a chance to look back at what you’ve been reading, look up at God and consider what he wants to say to you through his Word, and look ahead at what’s to come.
Don’t hurry through these seventh-day devotionals. Instead, take the opportunity to rest in God’s presence, because you’re not just reading through the Bible this year—you’re walking with God himself.
LOOK UP If you believe what popular culture says about God, you might conclude that he is watching you from a distance. But if you believe what you read in the book of Genesis, you’ll conclude that God is nearby and that he takes a personal interest in your life. And you’ll be right.
After all, look at the divine fingerprints clearly visible on the lives of Adam (who walked with God in the cool of the evening), Noah (who rode high above the floodwaters in a boat built with the aid of a blueprint from heaven—and notice in Genesis 7:16 who shut the door), and Abram (selected by God to be the father of nations and the channel of blessing to the entire world). That’s not the picture of a distant, detached deity, but of a powerful yet personal God of Creation who not only made you but also wants to guide and provide for you each day of your life.
LOOK AHEAD Even though you have only just begun to read through the Old Testament, pause for a moment to read an important verse from the New Testament. In it you will find one of the most compelling reasons to keep reading each and every day.
In Hebrews 11 you’ll find enshrined the names of many of the heroes of faith you will be meeting “up close and personal” over the next few months. But notice the last half of verse 6: “Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
The God of Creation is not an impersonal cosmic force but a personal, promise-keeping Friend and Guide. When God seems far away and it feels as if he is watching you from a distance, you can be confident it was you, not he, who moved. The one who put the galaxies in space and is big enough to rule the universe is looking for people who earnestly desire to seek and find him.
The God who showed himself strong to Adam, Noah, and Abram thousands of years ago is still alive and well today, and he is the same God you will meet each day in the pages of his Word as you journey through The Daily Walk Bible. If you’re not in the habit of doing so, why not begin keeping a journal to record your observations, insights, and any applications you’ve made? By the end of the year, you’ll have a treasure chest of memories about your daily time with God—whether in the cool of the evening or the quiet of the morning, or sometime in between.