The Name Change

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE NAME CHANGE

Gen 17:1-8

17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." 3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 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 you. 8 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."

NIV

Who would not fall face down if God Almighty showed up and appeared to us? And yet, here we are with God Almighty, the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and we walk around as normal, doing our daily stuff, as if nothing special is happening, even in our religious world. Abram fell face down, and the great I AM, God Almighty, tells him to walk before him and be blameless. We know we are blameless because of the blood of Jesus, but we cannot be sure our daily walk is blameless, for we still struggle with the self and its flaws as we allow various temptations to influence our attitudes and behaviors. The LORD God Almighty confirmed his covenant with Abram and changed his name to Abraham. We know Abraham means father of many nations, but the facts surrounding a covenant are impressive. Historically, when two men made a treaty, or covenant, with each other, especially a blood covenant, they would exchange middle names, the middle letter of their name, cut their palms and bind them with two ropes. Within the language of Abram, God's name would have been spelled JHHW, unpronounceable, unspoken because that name is too holy, too righteous. However, when God Almighty appeared to Abram to confirm the covenant, he placed one of the middle letters of his name into Abram's name, making it AbraHam. That is so awesome, yet God Almighty, the great I AM, through his Son, Jesus, has made a new covenant with us, and the proof is that he poured out His Spirit upon us, filling us with his presence. Now we have the grace of God, his divine influence upon our hearts, and we should be reflecting that in our daily lives. God gave the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession to Abraham and his descendants, and He promised to be their God. We have the promise of Jesus, the promise of the Holy Spirit as an everlasting presence in our lives, but we are His possessions, and He is still our God. He changed our names from self to son, or sinner to saint.