171 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things, 2 And I will make an agreement between you and me, and your offspring will be greatly increased. 3 And Abram went down on his face on the earth, and the Lord God went on talking with him, and said,
4 As for me, my agreement is made with you, and you will be the father of nations without end. 5 No longer will your name be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of a number of nations. 6 I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.
7 And I will make between me and you and your seed after you through all generations, an eternal agreement to be a God to you and to your seed after you. 8 And to you and to your seed after you, I will give the land in which you are living, all the land of Canaan for an eternal heritage; and I will be their God. 9 And God said to Abraham, On your side, you are to keep the agreement, you and your seed after you through all generations. 10 And this is the agreement which you are to keep with me, you and your seed after you: every male among you is to undergo circumcision. 11 In the flesh of your private parts you are to undergo it, as a mark of the agreement between me and you. 12 Every male among you, from one generation to another, is to undergo circumcision when he is eight days old, with every servant whose birth takes place in your house, or for whom you gave money to someone of another country, and not of your seed. 13 He who comes to birth in your house and he who is made yours for a price, all are to undergo circumcision; so that my agreement may be marked in your flesh, an agreement for all time. 14 And any male who does not undergo circumcision will be cut off from his people: my agreement has been broken by him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 17:1-14
Commentary on Genesis 17:1-6
(Read Genesis 17:1-6)
The covenant was to be accomplished in due time. The promised Seed was Christ, and Christians in him. And all who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abram, being partakers of the same covenant blessings. In token of this covenant his name was changed from Abram, "a high father," to Abraham, "the father of a multitude." All that the Christian world enjoys, it is indebted for to Abraham and his Seed.
Commentary on Genesis 17:7-14
(Read Genesis 17:7-14)
The covenant of grace is from everlasting in the counsels of it, and to everlasting in the consequences of it. The token of the covenant was circumcision. It is here said to be the covenant which Abraham and his seed must keep. Those who will have the Lord to be to them a God, must resolve to be to him a people. Not only Abraham and Isaac, and his posterity by Isaac, were to be circumcised, but also Ishmael and the bond-servants. It sealed not only the covenant of the land of Canaan to Isaac's posterity, but of heaven, through Christ, to the whole church of God. The outward sign is for the visible church; the inward seal of the Spirit is peculiar to those whom God knows to be believers, and he alone can know them. The religious observance of this institution was required, under a very severe penalty. It is dangerous to make light of Divine institutions, and to live in the neglect of them. The covenant in question was one that involved great blessings for the world in all future ages. Even the blessedness of Abraham himself, and all the rewards conferred upon him, were for Christ's sake. Abraham was justified, as we have seen, not by his own righteousness, but by faith in the promised Messiah.