Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 (NRSV)
Read Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 17When 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. Verse 2And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." Verse 3Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him,
Verse 4"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. Verse 5No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. Verse 6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
Verse 7I 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.
Verse 15God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. Verse 16I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
Devotion
In the Bible, when someone's name is changed, it marks
a change in their life story, usually instigated by an
encounter with God. After wrestling with God, Jacob
becomes Israel (Gen 32). After encountering Jesus,
Saul becomes Paul (Acts 9). In this story, God makes
a covenant with Abram and Sarai and renames them
Abraham and Sarah. And the covenant is this: that in
their old age, they will have a son; that they will be the
ancestors to a great nation; and that God will "be God to
you and to your offspring after you" (17:7).
It is an astounding promise, and indeed, Abraham falls on
his face with laughter at the thought that he and Sarah
could have a child. But the God who makes that promise
is, as Paul later says, one "who gives life to the dead and
calls into existence the things that do not exist" (Rom
4:17).
In this Lenten season, we remember that it is that same
God who gives us life and calls us into existence through
baptism. In that gracious encounter, God has claimed us
and named us, too, with a new name: Christian.
Prayer
God of new beginnings, be with us on our journeys as you
were with Abraham and Sarah and all our ancestors in the
faith. Amen.