21 But my agreement will be with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth a year from this time.
And he said, I will certainly come back to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife will have a son. And his words came to the ears of Sarah who was at the back of the tent-door.
And the Lord came to him in a vision and said, Do not go down to Egypt; keep in the land of which I will give you knowledge: Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham; I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth; Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws.
So she said to Abraham, Send away that woman and her son: for the son of that woman is not to have a part in the heritage with my son Isaac. And this was a great grief to Abraham because of his son. But God said, Let it not be a grief to you because of the boy and Hagar his mother; give ear to whatever Sarah says to you, because it is from Isaac that your seed will take its name.
And Israel went on his journey with all he had, and came to Beer-sheba, where he made offerings to the God of his father Isaac.
And he said, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses kept his face covered for fear of looking on God.
If only you would keep me safe in the underworld, putting me in a secret place till your wrath is past, giving me a fixed time when I might come to your memory again!
To do acts of mercy to our fathers and to keep in mind his holy word,
And he said to them, It is not for you to have knowledge of the time and the order of events which the Father has kept in his control.
For this is the word of God's undertaking, At this time will I come, and Sarah will have a son.
And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and yours is the heritage by the right of God's undertaking given to Abraham.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 17
Commentary on Genesis 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 17
This chapter contains articles of agreement covenanted and concluded upon between the great Jehovah, the Father of mercies, on the one part, and pious Abram, the father of the faithful, on the other part. Abram is therefore called "the friend of God,' not only because he was the man of his counsel, but because he was the man of his covenant; both these secrets were with him. Mention was made of this covenant (ch. 15:18), but here it is particularly drawn up, and put into the form of a covenant, that Abram might have strong consolation. Here are,
Gen 17:1-3
Here is,
Gen 17:4-6
The promise here is introduced with solemnity: "As for me,' says the great God, "behold, behold and admire it, behold and be assured of it, my covenant is with thee;' as before (v. 2), I will make my covenant. Note, The covenant of grace is a covenant of God's own making; this he glories in (as for me), and so may we. Now here,
Gen 17:7-14
Here is,
Gen 17:15-22
Here is,
Gen 17:23-27
We have here Abraham's obedience to the law of circumcision. He himself and all his family were circumcised, so receiving the token of the covenant and distinguishing themselves from other families, that had no part nor lot in the matter.