Journey Through the Bible in a Year
Reading God's Word and learning more about His plan for my life each day!
Saturday, September 21, 2002
Introduction to Journey Through the Bible
A note about online study
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, in Your word Jesus promises that if we remain faithful and true, one day each of us will receive a new name. In today’s Scripture Abram and Sarai are given new names to demonstrate their new status before God. I pray that I may live each day in the power of Your Holy Spirit and that You will pour out Your Holy Spirit on me today so that I may be worthy of the new name You have reserved for me, and that I may show others the new life I have already received through Jesus’ great salvation. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
My Journey Verses for Today
Genesis 17:1-27
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to make you into a mighty nation." 3 At this, Abram fell face down in the dust. Then God said to him, 4 "This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of not just one nation, but a multitude of nations! 5 What's more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram; now you will be known as Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6 I will give you millions of descendants who will represent many nations. Kings will be among them! 7 "I will continue this everlasting covenant between us, generation after generation. It will continue between me and your offspring forever. And I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 Yes, I will give all this land of Canaan to you and to your offspring forever. And I will be their God. 9 "Your part of the agreement," God told Abraham, "is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised; 11 the flesh of his foreskin must be cut off. This will be a sign that you and they have accepted this covenant. 12 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. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will thus bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14 Anyone who refuses to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for violating the covenant."
15 Then God added, "Regarding Sarai, your wife – her name will no longer be Sarai; from now on you will call her Sarah. 16 And 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 will be among her descendants!" 17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. "How could I become a father at the age of one hundred?" he wondered. "Besides, Sarah is ninety; how could she have a baby?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "Yes, may Ishmael enjoy your special blessing!" 19 But God replied, "Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my everlasting covenant with him and his descendants. 20 As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will cause him to multiply and become a great nation. Twelve princes will be among his descendants. 21 But my covenant is with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year." 22 That ended the conversation, and God left Abraham.
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and every other male in his household and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, exactly as God had told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old at that time, 25 and Ishmael his son was thirteen. 26 Both were circumcised the same day, 27 along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants.
Reflecting on God's Word for My Journey
If you could have a new name, what would you want it to be?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word for My Journey
What are the terms of the covenant that God promises to establish with Abram, when He changes his name to Abraham? (17:1-16)
What is Abraham’s response to God’s promise? (17:17-27)
Understanding God's Will for My Journey
Why do you think that God changed Abraham and Sarah’s names BEFORE the promise of a son of their own was fulfilled?
What is the significance of Isaac’s name? (The name means “laughter.”)
Applying What God's Word Tells Me to My Journey
What one, specific action will you carry out today as a result of reading God’s interaction with Abraham in Genesis 17?
My Personal Journey Thought for the Day—“A New Name!”
In today’s Scripture reading Abram and Sarai get new names—Abraham and Sarah. We will also find that one of their descendants, Jacob, gets a new name from God—Israel. God changes people’s names in the Old Testament to indicate that they have a new life or a new role to play in their lives, because God has intervened. When we get to the last book of the Bible, Revelation, we will find that Jesus promises to give every believer who perseveres a new name. This name will be known only to the person and Jesus. Why all this focus on names? Because in the Bible a person’s name signifies that person’s identity, their purpose, the reality of who and what they are. God told Abraham to name the child He would give to him and Sarah “Isaac.” In Hebrew, the word “Isaac” means “He laughs” or “Laughter.” That’s because both Abraham and Sarah laughed when God told them that they would have a child. Abraham’s new name means “father of nations.” His old name meant “prince with God.” The new name Jesus gives us will have great significance, because it will identify us as Jesus sees us! Imagine that the God of the universe has selected a new name just for you, just for me. This is just one more indication of the intensity of God’s love for us and His desire to have a relationship with us that is real and personal! What’s in a name? When God gives it to you—everything!
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