“Abraham said to God, “If only Ishma‘el could live in your presence!” -Genesis 17:18 Let’s talk a little bit about Abraham pleading with God to let Ishmael be his heir. I think many of us tend to adopt a very condescending attitude towards Ishmael, if not outright demonize him because in our minds we associate […]

You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. -Genesis 17:11 Today I want to discuss the covenant of circumcision. In Hebrew it is called Brit Milah. In the first covenant God made with Abraham, Abraham didn’t have to do anything […]

 “I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you are now foreigners, all the land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.”-Genesis 17:8 One important lesson we can learn from Abraham’s life is the importance of adopting a heavenly perspective versus an earthly perspective.  The […]

Once God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and shortly afterwards commanded the rite of circumcision, it was from that juncture that Abraham became a Hebrew. However, there is a debate as to when the word “Hebrew” itself came into use. Concerning the meaning of the word Hebrew, the general scholarly consensus is that it means […]

Today we begin Genesis Chapter 17. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here. For the King James version, click here. A full 13 years has passed since Genesis Chapter 16. Outside of knowing that Hagar’s son Ishmael is now about 13 years old, we have no record of what transpired in that 13-year period. However, […]