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
If I don't pass this test, I'll have to take an extra semester of classes. A student shared this painful news with me, fear hijacking her otherwise chipper voice. She had grown up surrounded by promises that hard work and dedication ensure success, yet things were looking hopeless.
Similarly, Abram and his wife Sarai had done everything "right." They had even uprooted themselves to follow the leading of God; but for what? Even in the face of God's promise that Sarai would have a child, it seemed foolishly impossible. And as we read later in Genesis, they do lose hope and try to take matters into their own hands. But through it all, we hear that God's promise endures. No matter what we face, one thing is certain: We are not alone. We walk in God’s garden, claimed and called by the one who spoke creation into existence.
Prayer
Lord of creation, breathe peace into our lungs. Guide us to set our fears and shortcomings down before you, taking up trust in their place. For as you called forth Abram and Sarai, and later granted them new names as the father and mother of your chosen people, so too you call and send us. Amen.