[:en]Thoughts from Genesis 17[:]

[:en]When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and made this covenant with Abram:

“You will be the father of many nations.  No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.  I ill make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will com from you.  I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after.  The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God” (vs. 4-8)  Your wife Sarai’s name will be Sarah.  I will bless her and give you a son by her.  I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations, kings of peoples will come from her” (vs. 15-16)  Your wife Sarah will bear you a son to be called Isaac.  I will establish  my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him (vs. 19) And as for Ishmael, I will surely bless him.  I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his number.  He will be the father of 12 rulers and I will make him into a great nation. (vs. 20)

Covenants Abraham had to keep:

  1.  Every male among you shall be circumcised.
  2. You are to undergo circumcision
  3. Every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised including a foreigner

On that day, Abraham, his son Ishmael and all those male born in his household were circumcised.  He was 99 years old while Ishmael was 13 (vs.24-25)

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