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.
I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.
Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. Genesis 17:1-6
God appeared. He appeared at a pivital moment in history to reassure Abram of His promises. Abram would have a son (Isaac) whose descendants would be kings (David and Jesus), and he would father many nations. To commemorate the event, God changed his name. I find it interesting that earlier God communicated with Abraham “with a Word” and in a vision. “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.” Genesis 15:1 But this time, God appeared. Of course, we know God appeared as the Son who walked upon the earth 2,000 years ago so that we could “see” what God is like. Sometimes seeing helps our believing, even though we do walk by faith.
What promises of God am I holding onto today? Do I need Him to appear? Will He do it through other people or directly?
God, I thank you for the Bible, I “hear” your voice in its pages. I am grateful for “visions” and that “still small voice” that guides me. I thank you for the abiding presence of Your Spirit as well. You have not left us alone. You appeared and You are still showing up regularly in my life. For that I am grateful. Today is a big day. Would You show Your mercy and grace to me, protect me from those that would malign my family, but more than that, I pray Your Name would be honored.
