Sarah had been hastening matters in a human way. Seeing the wealth poured out upon them, while she and her husband had grown old and had no heir except Eliezer of Damascus, she urged her husband to go in to her maidservant. This brought bitterness of soul upon her and upon her descendants after her. God, however, looked upon Abram’s faith, to enter with him into a new, everlasting covenant, with a sign established in the body of every male: circumcision. It was a way toward enjoying the new covenant that our Lord Jesus Christ would establish in His body upon the cross, reconciling us to His heavenly Father.
1. God’s Promise to Abram
Genesis 17:1-8
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly” [1-2].
God’s story with humanity is a story of continuous, renewed covenants. Through them He reveals His love for the human being and longs for us to receive this love with love. In all this, God seeks humanity neither because He lacks anything nor because He desires dominion. Rather, in His fatherhood He opens His arms to the human being and receives him as a son who enjoys fellowship in His glories.
At the beginning of human creation, before the fall, the covenant rested upon love without any outward sign. As God’s image, the human being responded lovingly to his Creator, longing for Him, running toward Him to hear His voice, and rejoicing to see Him. After the fall, however, humanity became inwardly troubled, and the curse came upon the earth so that it brought forth thorns and thistles. There was then an urgent need to establish a covenant between God and humanity, renewed from time to time. When the world was renewed through the waters of the flood, God declared: “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake”; and, “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you” (Genesis 8:21; 9:9), giving the rainbow in nature as the sign of the covenant.
Now, as the Lord enters into a covenant with Abram, He makes the sign permanent in the body of every male: circumcision. Through the generations, humanity continued to see in this sign a shadow of a greater covenant, which our Lord Jesus Christ would offer us in His body for reconciliation on an eternal level. Thus the prophet says: “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee” (Isaiah 55:3-5). This invitation for the Gentiles to enter the divine covenant was fulfilled when the Lord Christ offered His blood as a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25).
Saint Clement of Alexandria [268] sees that God did not merely ask Abram to enter into a covenant with Him, but offered Himself as a covenant to him. The Arabic wording cited here reads, “Behold, I Myself am a covenant with you” [4]. In Saint Clement’s eyes, the covenant is neither written nor spoken pledges; it is the acceptance of God Himself, in whom we find our peace, our satisfaction, and all that we need.
When we say that the Lord Christ offered His body and His blood, given for us as a new covenant for the forgiveness of our sins, He was offering Himself to us. In Him we find the Father’s good pleasure toward us, and in Him the Father finds our delight in Him. Thus, in Christ Jesus, the Father and humanity find their true joy. The Father sees us in His Son, justified by His blood, and we see Him as a heavenly Father opening His arms to us. Thus the Lord Himself becomes an everlasting covenant for us.
Saint Jerome comments on the Lord’s words, “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham” [5], saying:
“God called Abram Abraham. In Ur of the Chaldees his name was “Abram,” but in heaven he is called Abraham. His name was changed to Abraham when he became a star. [269]”
Saint Augustine sees the change of Abram’s and Sarai’s names, together with circumcision, as a sign of complete renewal. He says:
“What does circumcision mean except the renewal of human nature by putting off the old man? And what do the eight days appointed for circumcision mean except Christ, who rose after completing the week, that is, after the Sabbath? The names of the parents were changed, and everything was proclaimed anew. [270]”
2. The Sign of Circumcision
Genesis 17:9-14
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
“This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations … and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant” [9-14].
Circumcision had great importance, distinguishing Abraham’s children, the people of the covenant, from the Gentiles. Its importance appears in the Lord’s words about the uncircumcised male: “that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.” Circumcision was restricted to males because the woman was sanctified in the man if he was sanctified to the Lord. The absence of circumcision for women did not mean that God disregarded them or was unconcerned about making a covenant with them. Rather, He wished to affirm the unity of the human family, so that what the male performed was in the name of both, male and female. Evidence of this is that God commanded the circumcision of servants, those “born in thy house” and “bought with thy money” [13]. Servants could not be considered better than their masters’ wives. Rather, He wished to make the covenant with everyone, rich and poor, through the circumcision of every male. The author also states, from a medical perspective, that male circumcision is healthful, whereas female circumcision is harmful.
The importance of circumcision in the Old Testament also appears in the fact that, whenever the people offered repentance, their return to God was proclaimed through three things: circumcising every male who had not previously been circumcised, reading the Law, and keeping the Sabbath.
Circumcision occupied such a strong place in Jewish thought that the Jews were called “the circumcision.” When they accepted faith in the Lord Christ, some considered it necessary for Gentiles to be circumcised before entering Church membership. For this reason the apostle Paul devoted many chapters in his epistles to affirming that, in Christ Jesus, bodily circumcision is unnecessary; what is needed is circumcision of the spirit. Circumcision is fulfilled through baptism, by putting off the old man and receiving the new man, who is according to the image of his Creator (Colossians 3:9-10).
Circumcision takes place on the eighth day after a child’s birth because the number 8 points to “eternal life,” or “the other life.” The number 7 refers to our temporal life, the seven days of the week; the eighth therefore means entering what lies beyond our temporal life. Circumcision is thus a passage into eternal life, putting off love of temporal things and accepting the work of the eternal Christ and His heavenly kingdom.
Although the people concerned themselves with bodily circumcision, the Lord urged them toward the spiritual circumcision of the heart and the circumcision of the ear (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4). The following are some words of the Fathers concerning spiritual circumcision, which touches our whole life.
“God’s people receive the sign of circumcision inwardly, in their heart, because the heavenly sword cuts away what is superfluous in the mind, that is, the foreskin of impure sin.”
“It was in the purpose of the God of the Law that circumcision should be of the heart, not of the flesh, in the spirit and not in the letter (Romans 2:29). Thus Moses said, “Circumcise the hardness of your hearts” (Deuteronomy 10:16, Septuagint wording). [271]”
Tertullian
“Your ears are circumcised if they do not listen to insults or to the words of blasphemers and slanderers; if they are closed to sinful accusation, falsehood, and anger; if a person “stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood” (Isaiah 33:15); if they are not opened to hear lewd songs and the passions of the theaters, do not seek base things, but turn away from every passing temptation. This is the circumcision of the ear that the Church offers her children. In my opinion, this is the ear of which Christ spoke when He said, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9). No one can hear the Lord’s pure words, the words of wisdom and truth, with an ear that is neither circumcised nor pure.”
“When we refrain from slanderous speech, hold our tongue, and restrain it, we possess a circumcised mouth.”
“When we burn with sensual desires, or, briefly stated, when we commit adultery in our hearts (Matthew 5:28), we are uncircumcised in heart. When we welcome heretical thoughts within us and stir up blasphemous thoughts in our hearts against the knowledge of Christ, we are uncircumcised in heart. But when we preserve the purity of faith with an upright conscience, we are circumcised in heart and deserve to hear the words, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).”
“We may say that our hands, feet, eyes, senses, and touch also need circumcision. For the man of God to be entirely perfect, all his members must be circumcised. The hands refrain from stealing and killing and stretch out to do the Lord’s work. The feet should be circumcised, so that they do not run to shed blood (Isaiah 59:7), nor go to the counsel of the ungodly (Psalm 1:1), but aim only at reaching our Lord and attaining Him. The eyes must be circumcised, so that they do not envy their neighbors’ good things or look upon a woman to lust after her (Matthew 5:28). Thus, whether we eat or drink or do anything, we do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). See how the apostle seeks circumcision even in the sense of taste!”
“In truth, when our members serve unrighteousness, they are uncircumcised and are not in covenant with God. But if they serve righteousness unto holiness (Romans 6:19), the promise given to Abraham is fulfilled in them. [272]”
Let us, then, who have received spiritual circumcision by the Holy Spirit in the waters of baptism, strive to remain circumcised in all our members and in our inward life, so that we may enjoy the divine promise and be in an everlasting covenant with God.
Origen sees that, if we confess Christ Jesus with our lips but do not manifest His covenant in our flesh through our practical life, we become like those Jews who boast of bodily circumcision yet deny Him by their works. [273]
He also comments on the divine saying, “and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant,” as follows:
“If we can succeed in bringing balance among our members and establishing unity between them, so that all our movements agree with the Lord’s Law, then the Lord’s covenant will be in our flesh.… Consider how the Lord’s covenant works in the body and is fulfilled in it. If we put to death our members which are upon the earth (Colossians 3:5), we fulfill the Lord’s covenant in our body. If I am “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:10), Christ’s covenant will be in my body. If we endure with Him, we shall also reign with Him. In this way I manifest His covenant in my flesh. [274]”
3. Sarah Receives the Blessing
Genesis 17:15-17
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Just as Abram had his name changed to Abraham, Sarai also received a change of name to Sarah. Abram was a man honored in the Lord, for “Abram” means “an honored father.” When, however, he entered into the covenant of circumcision with God in the name of the whole Church, he was called “Abraham,” that is, “father of a multitude” [4]. Sarai’s name meant “my princess.” Now that she bore motherhood toward believers, her name was called “Sarah,” that is, “princess.” She no longer belonged to Abraham alone as “my princess”; all believers now cherish her as their mother and as a princess for all.
For the first time, God explicitly declares that Abraham’s heir will come from Sarah his wife: “And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her” [16].
Abraham could scarcely contain this promise: “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” [17]. His laughter does not signify unbelief; it expresses the intensity of his wonder at God’s work with him, raising offspring for an old man who had reached a hundred years and for his barren wife, ninety years old. His faith is shown by his falling upon his face in thanksgiving.
Abraham did not doubt God’s promise. Rather, as the apostle says: “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:18-20).
Sarah’s womb, her inward parts, was under the sentence of death, while he was an old man. Yet against hope he believed, hoping in God’s promises to raise living offspring from this death. Hence some believed that Sarah’s womb was like stones, lifeless and unable to bear children; yet God raised children to Abraham from the stones. Perhaps this is why Saint John the Baptist told the Pharisees and Sadducees, “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matthew 3:9). Saint John Chrysostom says concerning this:
“This comparison arose from the birth of this people through Isaac, who was given to Abraham through Sarah’s barren womb, as though it had been turned to stone. [275]”
4. Isaac and Ishmael
Genesis 17:18-22
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
“And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!” [18].
Abraham never complained against God when he knew that all his wealth would be inherited by a foreigner. When Hagar gave birth, he regarded her son as his heir. Now, when that son had reached thirteen, the promise came that he would have a son by Sarah. Abraham did not doubt the matter, although he considered it so exceedingly great that he laughed. Now he prays to God, expressing his contentment with the heir God had given him through the maidservant.
God, who took account of Abraham’s circumstances, since this was the first time he had received such a promise of having a child at his age, with his wife aged and barren, once more assured him: “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him” [19]. He confirmed the promise and specified the son’s name, removing from Abraham’s thoughts the idea that the natural son, born according to the strength of nature, the flesh, would be the heir. The heir would be the son of promise, whom the flesh could not have begotten according to nature. Nevertheless, because of Abraham’s prayer for the first son, God promised him temporal blessings and that He would make him a great nation.
Saint Augustine compares the two sons, saying:
“Here are more precise promises concerning the establishment of nations in Isaac, that is, in the son of promise, where grace, rather than nature, is indicated. For the promised son was given to an aged man and an aged, barren woman. Although God is at work even in natural birth, when nature’s weakness or failure becomes apparent, God’s part becomes manifest and grace is revealed all the more. [276]”
Isaac, then, represents the one born according to the spirit, through renewal by God’s grace in the waters of baptism, rather than the one born according to the flesh. Thus, if our souls still walk according to the flesh, we need someone to cry to God as Abraham the patriarch did: “O that these might live before You! May they enjoy the new birth by Your grace and become a new ‘Isaac’!”
If God gave Abraham “Isaac” as a son, whose name means “laughter,” since Sarah laughed with some doubt and Abraham laughed out of overwhelming wonder, then our new man, whom we received in the waters of baptism, is the true Isaac. We receive him as laughter because of the greatness of the gift bestowed upon us!
5. Circumcision Carried Out
Genesis 17:23-27
23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. 24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Abraham entered into the covenant with God. He was circumcised, together with Ishmael and every male in his household. Circumcision was a seal of the covenant.
Notes and References
[268] Strom. 1:29.
[269] On Ps. hom. 56.
[270] City of God 16:26.
[271] Adv. Marc. 5:14.
[272] In Gen. hom. 3:5, 6.
[273] Ibid. 3:7.
[274] Ibid. 3:6, 7.
[275] See The Gospel According to Matthew, 1983, chapter 3.
[276] City of God 16:26.