Transformed - February 7 Readings: Genesis 17, God Consecrates His Chosen

The Story of the Bible from Creation to the Cross to Eternal Glory

In 72 daily readings, we will examine the overall story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, seeking to get the big picture of God's work through Jesus Christ in this sinful world.

Today's Reading: Genesis 17 

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless. 2 I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”

3 Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: 4 “As for me, here is my covenant with you: You will become the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. 7 I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. 8 And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession, and I will be their God.”

9 God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant. 10 This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you, which you are to keep: Every one of your males must be circumcised. 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Throughout your generations, every male among you is to be circumcised at eight days old—every male born in your household or purchased from any foreigner and not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or purchased, he must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as a permanent covenant. 14 If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

15 God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her name. 16 I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?” 18 So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to you!”

19 But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father twelve tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will confirm my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” 22 When he finished talking with him, God withdrew from Abraham.

23 So Abraham took his son Ishmael and those born in his household or purchased—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. 26 On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his household—whether born in his household or purchased from a foreigner—were circumcised with him.

Through the Bible Reading: Exodus 29-30, Matthew 24:1–14, Psalm 20, Proverbs4:20-22    

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Context 

God's work follows a consistent pattern. He chooses a people (or person) as his own and then changes that person so that he can use that person in the work that he is doing in this world. In our sin we are unusable, so he transforms us. In Genesis 17, the God who chose Abram transforms him into a new man that he can use. He chooses, changes, then uses. That's how God works.

Devotional: Transformed

"Well, pastor, of course, Uncle Buford was a Christian. When he was 9 he went forward in an evangelistic service and he was baptized. Now, he never went to church or gave much thought to God, but he was a nice man and 'once saved, always saved,' right?" 

We have created a category of Christianity that the New Testament knows nothing about, a category of believer that the Old Testament would find foreign. It is the person who has had an encounter with the Living God of Heaven and whose life remains pretty much the same thereafter. This invention category of Christian makes a profession of faith and is forgiven of his or her sin, receiving a guaranteed place in heaven. But between here and there everything remains the same. He remains what he was. She lives as she always did. No interference from above.

In the Bible, when someone encountered God, life was dramatically changed.

In Genesis 17, God calls Abram into a covenant relationship with him and then everything changes. God signifies this in two ways. First, he changes both Abram's and Sarai's names. Abram becomes Abraham, the "father of many nations." Sarai becomes a "princess" - that's what Sarah means. God's involvement in their lives radically alters them. Think how many times God changed the name of someone after the encounter. Meeting God changes lives, changes hearts, changes destinies. If God hasn't changed your life then you need to seriously question whether you've had a real encounter with the Living God.

God also instituted a sign of the covenant, a symbolic act known as circumcision. It symbolized two things. First, it was a mark that a man was set apart for God. There should be, in each of our lives, an unmistakable mark that we belong to him. It ought to be obvious to the world! But it also symbolized cleansing, the removal of sin. Israel belonged to God and could no longer live like the world.

We who have been redeemed by Christ have received what the NT calls the circumcision of the heart. We have been taken into the family of God, identified with Christ, sealed by the Spirit - we belong to him, set apart as a holy people. And as a people of God, we must conform our lives (by the Spirit's power) to Christ not live according to the ways of the world. We belong to him and must live to glorify him according to the righteous character of Christ.

It is pretty much impossible to make the case for the "unchanged redeemed" category of Christian that seems to be so common today. The word of God does not allow it. We cannot decide who is saved and who is not, but truth must conform to the Scriptures.

We are the redeemed of Christ and we belong to him. We've not only been saved, but we've been circumcised in our hearts, set apart for God and called to walk in purity. The ways of the world can not longer be our ways. The values of the world can no longer shape ours. We must be shaped by the power of the Christ who died for us, rose as Lord of all, and dwells in us by the Holy Spirit. 

Father, I thank you that you have made me holy in Christ. Help me to live out every day what you have made me in Christ. 

Think and Pray:

Think through some of the major figures of biblical history, both OT and NT. How did their lives change when they encountered God? Think of Noah. Moses at the Burning Bush. Think of Saul of Tarsus. Consider others as the Spirit guides your mind. What changes did God make?
Are you walking in holiness and seeing the transforming power of Christ in your life daily?