Daily Devotion – February 26, 2021 – Pastor Erick Thompson
Genesis 17:1-7
The Sign of the Covenant
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
When we read Genesis 17 carefully, we hear God telling Abraham to “walk before me, and be blameless.” This is followed by God’s promise, “I will make my covenant between me and you…” On the face of it, God’s covenant seems contingent. Yet, as we read through the Old Testament, we find that God’s promise is not contingent at all. Rather, what we learn is that God keeps God’s promises, no matter what. I believe God’s complete fatihfulness surprises us; we’re used to people reacting to us based on our behavior. If we said we’re going to do something and we don’t do it, we wouldn’t be that surprised if someone changed their mind about what they promised to do for us. So, to hear that this promise is eternal and does not depend upon what we do is surprising to say the least.
The other surprise is what a covenant like this will do to people. For Abraham, his whole identity is changed. He is no longer Abram, but is now called Abraham. This transformation speaks to the power of the covenant. We are changed by the power of God’s promise. I remember when I finally decided to become an ordained pastor. I had finished seminary, but was still uncertain about where my path would take me. A friend’s father, who was a pastor himself, invited me to help lead worship on Pentecost Sunday. I knew that his invitation had no strings attached, and so I accepted. Living in that freedom, knowing that nothing more was expected of me other than assisting, I finally understood what God’s promise meant for me. I knew God called me to be a pastor, but I finally realized that however I answered God’s call, my baptismal covenant would be unchanged.
God’s call and promise both come to all of us, but it is the covenant that conveys real power into our lives. As God says in Genesis, “As for me…” The meaning here is that God has decided, once and for all, what God will do. As for God, this much is certain, we have been given a blessing beyond measure.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us in difficult moments to see how you are constant, help us to understand how your covenant changes our whole identity so that we may live the life you intend for us. Amen.
