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| 1 And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect. |
And when – About the year 1900 BC. R5178:3
The LORD appeared – Jehovah appeared. E67
The Almighty God – "He is to be feared above all gods." (1 Chron. 16:25) E68
And be thou perfect – Do your best to be perfect. R5244:1
God could not set an imperfect standard, although he clearly states in his Word that none can attain perfection in the flesh under present conditions. R3939:1
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| 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. |
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| 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, |
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| 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. |
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| 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee. |
Be called Abram – High Father. R3935:3
Abraham – Father of a multitude. R3935:3, R5169:3 Representing God in a figure. R5909:5
Of many nations – Represented in the many tribes of Israel. R4389:6
All who love righteousness and truth. OV154:2
All the nations of the earth. F119; R4454:3, R3945:2; CR59:6; Q171:T, Q622:T
"In becoming thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves." R5909:5
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| 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. |
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| 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. |
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| 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. |
Give unto thee – Stephen implied that Abraham will yet receive that land. R5182:5
Thy seed after thee – An implication that the Ancient Worthies will pass to the spirit nature. R5182:5
The land of Canaan – Not a heavenly Canaan, but an earthly one. C244
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| 9 And God said unto Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. |
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| 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. |
Be circumcised – It was obligatory upon every Jew, and still is. R2158:1
Symbolizing a cutting off, a separation, from the flesh--its aims, hopes and desires. R3022:3, R5170:1, R2032:3
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| 11 And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you. |
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| 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner that is not of thy seed. |
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| 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. |
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| 14 And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. |
Cut off – An argument against Anglo-Israel concepts. R2086:1
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| 15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. |
Said unto Abraham – Type of Jehovah. F170
But Sarah – Type of the Abrahamic covenant. F170
The name signifies Princess. R5169:6, R4371:6
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| 16 And I will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be of her. |
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| 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? |
And laughed – The name Isaac means "Laugther," symbolizing the glad tidings of great joy yet to come through the anti-typical Isaac. R3952:3
The name also symbolizes our joys in the Lord in the present time. "We brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise." (Gal. 4:28) R2861:5
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| 18 And Abraham said unto God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee! |
O that Ishmael – Type of natural Israel. F170; R5178:2
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| 19 And God said, No, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. |
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| 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. |
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| 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. |
With Isaac – Type of Christ. F170
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| 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. |
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| 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. |
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| 24 And Abraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. |
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| 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. |
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| 26 In the self-same day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. |
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| 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house, and those bought with money of a foreigner, were circumcised with him. |
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