A STUDY IN GENESIS
Today, we examine chapter 17 of Genesis. This chapter has rich depth that we will be in for a few weeks. Nevertheless, we should start with the basics that many people miss. Verse one identifies something rather remarkable that the human race tends to miss.
Genesis 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I [am] Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.”
We see that God came to Abram. This typology is the same for you and I. We cannot save ourselves even though we might try. We need Jesus Christ to come and rescue us. We can say, thankfully, that He has provided salvation for those who would accept Him. We can be rest assured in that God does what He says He will do. His actions prove just that. Time and time again, God comes to man, man cannot come to God. But verse one is not done here. Examine what God says to Abram.
The New King James translation states “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I [am] Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.” While the New American Standard states, “Now 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.” The Christian Standard Bible translates it this way, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless.” And finally, the King James Version translates it this way, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”
Now why am I showing you the translations? It is not to have a scholarly discussion regarding the translations, but rather to identify the true meaning of what God is saying here. We can be sure that God is saying that He is God. And next God is telling Abram to be without sin. I believe all these translations are correct. God is calling Abram to a life of perfection, God is calling Abram at that moment to be perfect in His presence. We know from Genesis 15 God saw Abram as a saved individual. Genesis 15:6 “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” It was not the law that saved him, that would come 430+ years later. This was faith in a coming Messiah. This was faith in God coming to man.
What does this mean to us today? As previously stated, it means that God must come and save us, but after salvation we are called to live a life of perfection and righteousness. We all know we fail due to our natural state, however God’s actions on the cross and resurrection identify us in the eyes of God as perfect. So when God says, “be perfect” we can say, “we will try” and we should give it our all, but we can be rest assured in His work is what will finish the job. This is why chapter 17 does not end here but continues. Next week we will continue in the chapter and see what God is promising to Abram.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL