13 years pass between the events of chapter 16 and the start of chapter 17. This is a good reminder that we’re not getting a diary or all-inclusive history here, we’re getting highlights that have some importance in understanding God, His promises and His interactions with His creation. Abram is 99 and God appears to him bearing commands and promises. Interestingly, God uses the name “El Shaddai” to describe Himself, translated in the ESV as “God Almighty” and likely meaning something close to “He who is sufficient.” In response, Abram falls on his face in submission and reverence.
The commands are to “walk before me” and “be blameless”. Although there’s room for debate on exactly what it is to mean to walk before God, certainly the connotations is one of loyalty or fealty. The command to “be blameless” is a little more interesting because the implication is that, whatever that standard is, Abram is not currently hitting it. I doubt it is a coincidence that we find this command happening directly after Abram has gone along with his wife’s plot to craft a human outside of the proper bounds as well as his subsequently absolving himself of the matter and turning Hagar over fully into the hands of his jealous and irritated wife.
Regardless, being blameless reflects the types of folks God wants to worship and serve him (or to go before him.) This same description is given to Noah. Broadly, we shouldn’t miss that God makes demands upon his people on how to conduct themselves in His service. As we’ll see throughout the Biblical story, our faithfulness doesn’t seem to hinder God from keeping His side of the promise, however we do see Him continually calling His people into righteousness and sometimes forcing the matter where His people have become blind and rebellious.
God’s promise remains one pertaining to “seed” and “land” and the promise is both for Abram and his offspring (v.7). God still proclaims Abram will be the father of many and great nations, kings will come from his line and the world will be blessed. Further, the land of Canaan will be given to them and God will be with them. This all sounds great, but at this point certainly it’s getting harder to believe. Abram (now Abraham) is nearly 100 years old, he’s heard these promises before. They keep getting grander and grander and the hope that they will come true gets farther and farther away.
As a sign of this covenant, Abraham and his male descendants, as well as any other male who works for/belong to him must be circumcised. You don’t do it, you break the covenant.
God continues and makes the promise that Sarai, now Sarah, will be blessed and will provide Abraham with his own son. Similarly, nations and kings shall come from this chosen line. Abraham, in his first act of fealty under his new name, falls again to his face, but this time to hide the fact that he was laughing at God’s promise because, given Sarah’s age, it is an outlandish one. The verb for “laughter” is spelled the same way as the word that will be the name of this promised son, Isaac.
Abraham asks that Ishmael might “live before you” or “before your face”. It’s not quite clear what Abraham is getting at in the context of the conversation. It seems like he is trying to transfer these great promises to Ishmael in correction to God’s confusion and the age of both he and his wife. This is silly, of course, coming specifically off of a clear and distinct affirmation of Sarah being the mother of these promised nations and kings.
God rejects this foolishness, restates the promise and provides the name of the son. However, like with Hagar, God has not forgotten Ishmael, he will indeed be blessed and will father 12 princes (instead of kings). However, this big promise, the chosen line through which God will work in the world, will be through Sarah and Isaac and it will occur a year from then.
Abraham obeys and cuts penis on all the dudes in his family, including Ishmael even though his line was not the chosen one. I find this interesting. I might have further thoughts on this. Carry on, though.