Gen 17:1-10 | EE | STEP | Abram was 99 years old. The LORD appeared to him. The LORD said ‘I am God Almighty. Walk before me. And do nothing wrong.’

Genesis 17:1-10

God changes Abram’s name to Abraham

1 Abram was 99 years old. The LORD appeared to him. The LORD said ‘I am God Almighty. Walk before me. And do nothing wrong.’ ^{▼▼17:1 ‘Almighty’ means that God is the Lord of everything. He had power over everything. God says that Abram is his friend. He knows that Abram worships him. God knows that Abram does what is right for God.}

2 ‘I will fix my covenant. My covenant will be between me and you. I will make the number of your descendants grow.’ ^{▼▼17:2 God had told Abram this in chapter 15. But Abram and Sarai did not wait for God. So Abram used Hagar to have a son. Now God is fixing the covenant between them.}

3 Abram fell to the ground. He put his face to the ground. God said to him,

4 ‘This is what I will do. This is my covenant to you. You will be the father of many people.’ ^{▼▼17:4 Abram will have many descendants. They will live all over the earth, in many different countries.}

5 ‘Your name is not Abram any longer. Now your name is Abraham. This is because you are the father of many people. I will make this happen. 6 I will give you many descendants. These will make many different groups of people. Some of your descendants will be kings.

7 My covenant will be for all time. It is between me and you. And it will be between me and your descendants and their sons. (It will be for all time.) I will be your God. I will also be the God of all your descendants. 8 You are a foreign person here. This is the land of Canaan. I will give you all of Canaan. I give it to you and all your descendants. And I will be their God.

Circumcision

9 This is what you must do. You must do as I tell you. Then you will keep my covenant. You, and all your descendants must keep it. 10 This is my covenant with you and with all your descendants. This is what you must do to keep my covenant. This is for every male who lives with you. You must circumcise them.