Abram was 99 and the Lord appeared and said, “I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.” Abram fell face down and God said, “As for Me, My covenant is with you: you will become the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of nations. I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. I will keep my covenant between Me and you, and your future offspring throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing – all the land of Canaan – as an eternal possession, and I will be their God.” God further said his offspring and anyone living among them must be circumcised as a sign of the covenant. God said to call Sarai “Sarah”, and that God would bless her with a son by him. Abraham fell facedown and laughed asking how, and begging for Ishmael to acceptable to God. God said no, and that He would confirm His covenant with his son by Sarah as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring. Ishmael would be blessed and fruitful, but Isaac will be in the covenant God made with Abraham. Abraham then obeyed and had the males of his household circumcised.
God rejects Ishmael as the one through whom He would establish His covenant. God sets His people apart through the covenant sign of circumcision. As Genesis has moved forward, one question to keep in mind is, “Who will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Eve, the offspring who will crush the head of the serpent.” The savior of God’s people isn’t Seth, Noah, or Abraham, but God continues to extend that promise through people who He makes promises too, and Abraham is next recipient of that promise. God was working even then to preserve His people, to save them by faith in God and His Messiah alone, and to sustain a people through whom He will bring the Savior. Let God’s promise issue to the awe of your heart, that through faith in Jesus Christ you can become an heir to this promise.