God gave His promises to Abram, and brought him to his new identity as Abraham. The covenant, however, had two sides. Abraham, though ninety-nine, had a part to play. “You shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants,” the LORD said. Then He directed Abraham regarding his part of the covenant. Already declared righteous before God on account of his faith, and having received the promises, only a seal of the covenant remained.
Abram Proclaimed Righteous
God proclaimed Abram as righteous earlier. When God identified Himself as Abram’s shield and great reward, He promised him descendants as the stars, with an heir that would come from his own body. He believed God’s word and worshipped Him.
Abram Receives the Promises
Abram had received the promises. He is in the land promised to his descendants. He has become rich. He has experienced God through sacrifice and has become father to Ishmael to be the father of many nations. Though he never realized in full the fulfillment as God promised, he did realize them by faith. Now God asked him to seal it.
The Seal
In this situation, God told Abraham to seal the covenant by circumcision. Already declared righteous before God on account of his faith, and having received the promises, circumcision became a sign of the covenant between Abraham and God. God’s instructions were clear in what He required. It affected all his male descendants.
Already declared righteous before God on account of his faith, and having received the promises, God required circumcision to seal it.