Chapter 17:
| Calvin
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Revelation Exodus
Genesis 17
This chapter contains articles of agreement betwixt the great
Jehovah, the father of mercies, and pious Abram, the father of the
faithful. Mention was made of this covenant, chap. xv, 18. but
here it is particularly drawn up. Here are,
I. The circumstances of the making of this covenant, the time and
manner, ver. 1. and the posture Abram was in, ver. 3.
II. The covenant itself, in the particular instances.
1. That he should be the father of many nations, ver.4. 6. and in
token of that his name was changed, ver. 5.
2. That God would be a God to him and his seed, and would give
them the land of Canaan, ver. 7, 8. and the seal of this part of the
covenant was circumcision, ver. 9-14.
3. That he should have a son by Sarai, and in token of that her
name was changed, ver. 15, 16. This promise Abraham received,
ver. 17. And his request for Ishmael, (ver. 18.) was answered
abundantly to his satisfaction, ver. 19-22.
III. The circumcision of Abraham and his family, according to
God's appointment, ver. 23-27.
Verse 1. And when Abram was ninety nine years old - Full thirteen
years after the birth of Ishmael. So long the promise of Isaac was
deferred;
1. Perhaps to correct Abram's over-hasty marrying of Hagar.
2. That Abram and Sarai being so far striken in age, God's power
in this matter might be the more magnified. The Lord appeared
unto Abram - In some visible display of God's immediate glorious
presence with him. And said, I am the Almighty God - By this
name he chose to make himself known to Abram, rather than by
his name Jehovah, Exod. vi, 3. He used it to Jacob, chap. xxxv,
11. They called him by this name, chap. xxviii, 5; xliii, 14; xlviii,
3. It is the name of God that is mostly used throughout the book of
Job, at least 30 times in the discourses of that book, in which
Jehovah is used but once. After Moses, Jehovah is more
frequently used, and this very rarely. I am El-Shaddai. It speaks
the almighty power of God, either
(1.) As an avenger, from |wrv| he destroyed, or laid waste; so some:
and they think God took this title from the destruction of the old
world: Or,
(2.) As a benefactor, |v| for |rva| who, and |yr| it sufficeth. Our old
English translation reads it here, very significantly, I am God All-
sufficient. The God with whom we have to do, is self-sufficient;
he hath every thing, and he needs not any thing. And he is enough
to us, if we be in covenant with him; we have all in him, and we
have enough in him; enough to satisfy our most enlarged desires;
enough to supply the defect of every thing else, and to secure us
happiness for our immortal souls. But the covenant is mutual,
walk before me, and be thou perfect - That is, upright and sincere.
Observe,
[1.] That to walk before God, is to set God always before us, and to
think, and speak, and act, in every thing as those that are always
under his eye. It is to have a constant regard to his word, as our
rule, and to his glory, as our end, in all our actions. It is to be
inward with him in all the duties of religious worship, and to be
entire for him in all holy conversation.
[2.] That upright walking with God is the condition of our interest
in his all-sufficiency. If we neglect him, or dissemble with him,
we forfeit the benefit of our relation to him.
[3.] A continual regard to God's all-sufficiency will have a great
influence upon our upright walking with him.
Verse 3. And Abram fell on his face while God talked with him - Either,
1. As one overcome by the brightness of the Divine glory: Daniel
and John did so likewise. Or.
2. As one ashamed of himself, and blushing to think of the
honours done to one so unworthy. He looks upon himself with
humility, and upon God with reverence, and, in token of both,
falls on his face.
Verse
4. The promise is here introduced with solemnity: As for me, saith
the Great God, Behold, behold and admire it, behold and be
assured of it, my covenant is with thee. And thou shalt be a father
of many nations - This implies,
1. That his seed after the flesh should be very numerous, both in
Isaac and in Ishmael, and in the sons of Keturah. And the event
answered, for there have been, and are, more of the children of
men descended from Abraham, than from any one man at equal
distance with him from Noah, the common root.
2. That all believers, in every age, should be looked upon as his
spiritual seed, as the father of the faithful. In this sense the apostle
directs us to understand this promise, Rom. iv, 16, 17. He is the
father of those, in every nation, that, by faith, enter into covenant
with God, and (as the Jewish writers express it) are gathered
under the wings of the divine majesty.
Verse
5. In token of this, his name was changed from Abram, a high
father, to Abraham, the father of a multitude. This was to confirm
the faith of Abraham, while he was childless; perhaps even his
own name was sometimes an occasion of grief to him; Why
should he be called a high father, who was not a father at all? But
now God had promised him a numerous issue, and had given him
a name which signified so much; that name was his joy.
Verse
7. And I will establish my covenant - Not to be altered or revoked;
not with thee only, then it would die with thee but with thy seed
after thee; and it is not only thy seed after the flesh, but thy
spiritual seed. It is everlasting in the evangelical meaning of it.
The covenant of grace is everlasting; it is from everlasting in the
counsels of it, and to everlasting in the consequences of it; and the
external administration of it is transmitted, with the seal of it, to
the seed of believers, and the internal administration of it by the
Spirit to Christ's seed in every age. This is a covenant of
exceeding great and precious promises. Here are two which
indeed are all-sufficient, that God would be their God. All the
privileges of the covenant, all its joys, and all its hopes, are
summed up in this. A man needs desire no more than this to make
him happy. What God is himself, that he will be to his people:
wisdom to guide and counsel them, power to protect and support
them, goodness to supply and comfort them; what faithful
worshippers can expect from the God they serve, believers shall
find in God as theirs. This is enough, yet not all.
Verse
8. And I will give thee Canaan for an everlasting possession - God
had before promised this land to Abraham and his seed, ver. 18.
But here, it is promised for an everlasting possession, as a type of
heaven, that everlasting rest which remains for the people of God.
This is that better country to which Abraham had an eye, and the
grant of which was that which answered the vast extent of that
promise, that God would be to them a God; so that if God had not
designed this, he would have been ashamed to be called their God,
Heb. xi, 16. As the land of Canaan was secured to the seed of
Abraham, according to the flesh; so heaven is secured to all his
spiritual seed for a possession truly everlasting. The offer of this
eternal life is made in the word, and confirmed by the sacraments,
to all that are under the external administration of the covenant,
and the earnest of it is given to all believers.
Verse
10. The token of the covenant, is circumcision, for the sake of
which the covenant is itself called the covenant of circumcision,
Acts vii, 8. It is here said to be the covenant which Abraham and
his seed must keep, as a copy or counterpart, it is called a sign and
seal, Rom. iv, 11, for it was.
1. A confirmation to Abraham and his seed of those promises
which were God's part of the covenant, assuring them that, in due
time, Canaan should be theirs: and the continuance of this
ordinance, after Canaan was theirs, intimates, that that promise
looked farther, to another Canaan.
2. An obligation upon Abraham and his seed to that duty which
was their part of the covenant, not only to the duty of accepting
the covenants and putting away the corruption of the flesh, which
were primarily signified by circumcision, but in general to the
observation of all God's commands. They who will have God to
be to them a God, must consent to be to him a people. Now,
(1.) Circumcision was a bloody ordinance, for all things by the law
were purged with blood, Heb. ix, 22. See Exod. xxiv, 8. But the
blood of Christ being shed, all bloody ordinances are now
abolished. Circumcision therefore gives way to baptism.
(2.) It was peculiar to the males, though the women also were
included in the covenant.
(3.) Christ having not yet offered himself for us, God would have
man to enter into covenant, by the offering of some part of his
own body, and no part could be better spared.
(4.) The ordinance was to be administered to children when they
were eight days old, that they might gather some strength to be
able to undergo the pain of it.
(5.) The children of the strangers were to be circumcised, which
looked favourable upon the Gentiles, who should, in due time be
brought into the family of Abraham, by faith. Here is,
(1.) The promise made to Abraham of a son by Sarai, that son in
whom the promise made to him should be fulfilled, that he should
be the father of many nations, for she also shall be a mother of
nations, and kings of people shall be of her, ver. 16. Note,
[1.] God reveals the purposes of his goodwill to his people by
degrees. God had told Abraham long before, that he should have a
son, but never 'till now that he should have a son by Sarai.
[2.] The blessing of the Lord makes fruitful, and adds no sorrow
with it; no such sorrow as was in Hagar's case. I will bless her,
with the blessing of fruitfulness, and then thou shalt have a son of
her
[3.] Civil government and order is a great blessing to the church. It
is promised not only that people, but kings of people should be of
her; not a headless rout, but a well modelled, well governed
society.
Verse 15. Sarah shall her name be - The same letter is added to her name
that was to Abraham's. Sarai signifies my princess, as if her
honour were confined to one family only: Sarah signifies a
princess, viz. of multitudes.
Verse
17. Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed - It was a laughter
of delight, not of distrust. Now it was that Abraham rejoiced to
see Christ's day, now he saw it and was glad, John viii, 56, for as
he saw heaven in the promise of Canaan, so he saw Christ in the
promise of Isaac, and said, Shall a child be born to him that is an
hundred years old? - He doth not here speak of it, as at all
doubtful, for we are sure he staggered not at the promise, Rom. iv,
20, but as wonderful, and that which could not be effected but by
the almighty power of God.
Verse
18. And Abraham said, O that Ishmael might live before thee! -
This he speaks nor as desiring that Ishmael might be preferred
before the son he should have by Sarah, but as dreading lest he
should be forsaken of God, he puts up this petition on his behalf.
The great thing we should desire of God, for our children, is, that
they may live before him, that is, that they may be kept in
covenant with him, and may have grace to walk before him in
their uprightness. God's answer to this prayer, is an answer of
peace. Abraham could not say he sought God's face in vain.
Verse
20. As for Ishmael, I have heard thee; I have blessed him - That is,
I have many blessings in store for him.
1. His posterity shall be numerous; I will multiply him
exceedingly;
2. They shall be considerable; twelve princes shall he beget. We
may charitably hope that spiritual blessings also were bestowed
upon him, though the visible church was not brought out of his
loins.
Verse
21. He names that child, Isaac - Laughter, because Abraham
rejoiced in spirit when this son was promised him.
Chapter 17:
| Calvin
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Revelation Exodus
This version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible is a derivative of an electronic version, Copyright 1997, by Sulu D. Kelley. All rights reserved. Used by permission. It may not be modified or used commercially without permission of Wesleyan Heritage Publishing and Sulu Kelley. A special thanks to Mr. Kelley and Wesleyan Heritage Publishing for permission to create and post this version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible.
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalm
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
