To Walk Before God, Genesis 17:1—5

The Lord appeared before Abram when Abram was 99 years old. Imagine that:  a visit from God Almighty at 99!  How would you react if God appeared to you at your age?  Age doesn’t matter to God; you’re never too old or too young to have fellowship with God.  No matter what your age, you are always a child of God.

1.  The Revelation.  The words “I am God Almighty” are significant.  In Hebrew it reads “El-Shaddai.”  We might say it like this:  “I am God, I am all you need.”  God, our Father, the all sufficient One.  As one commentator has written, “This is a divine plaster large enough to cover any human sore.”  As son had been promised Abram, but here we are, many years into it and so far, no son.  And now Abram is pushing 100.  These words from God, though, are enough to lift Abram’s faith and renew his hope in God.

We have the same revelation from God, in the Person of Jesus Christ.  He is our El-Shaddai—our all-sufficient One, and there is enough in Him to meet our every need, both as sinners and servants.  If you are weary, downcast or just plain tired, look to Jesus, because He alone can restore your soul. 

2.  The Commission.  God told Abram, “[W]alk before me and be blameless.”  Where had Abram been walking before now?  Perhaps he’d been walking to close to Sarai, his wife.  Perhaps he had been walking to close to the world.  It’s easy to stray from the Lord; it can happen before you know it.  Perhaps Abram had been listened to the wrong advice from Sarai (Gen. 16:1—4).  This commission from God involved— 

• A changed life.  Abram was to walk before God continually.  In all things from now on, Abram was to live and act as one who lived in the immediate presence of God.  This is not a life of dread or fear or a dreary existence; it is a life of joy and a life of faith.  This changed life is the highest privilege of every Heaven-born son of God.
• A changed character.  God told Abram to “be blameless (perfect, KJV).”  This really means to be “whole-hearted,” or not having a double heart.  A double-hearted man seeks to please both God and man.  But a “perfect” man lives to please God.  All perfection comes from the Perfect One.  The highest human privilege lies in a whole-hearted life before God.

3.  The Submission.  How did Abram react to the Word of the Lord?  We are told that “Abram fell facedown.”  The best thing a person can do in answer to God’s high calling is a humble and broken spirit.  Abram did not boast in the face of God’s word, as other did.  Compare what Ruth said, “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth 3:5.  No, Abram simply bowed his face to the dust, and the Lord talked to him. 

A deep sense of ignorance and weakness brings a person into the right attitude so they can be taught by the Spirit of God.  God always speaks to the heart of a contrite individual.  When John fell at Christ’s feet he felt the touch of His gracious hand, and heard His comforting words, “Fear not” (Rev. 1:17). 

That humbleness of heart comes only from above; the great Creator re-creates it in us as we submit to Him. With that humble heart comes that calmness of spirit that bears the faintest whisper from the lips of the Holy Spirit.

4.  The Transformation.  “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham.”  Abram, the exalted, is changed to Abraham, the fruitful.  He has bowed with his whole heart to the will of God, and his character was changed.  That is the way it always is; complete surrender to God always brings about a complete change in nature.  Jacob became a prince and he prevailed when he yielded to the heavenly wrestler.  It is when we are crucified with Christ that Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20).  It is by yielding to the Holy Spirit that we are transformed into His holy and heavenly image.