Our Covenant Keeping God

Genesis 17 invites us into one of the most intimate covenant moments in Scripture, where God transforms Abram into Abraham and institutes circumcision as the sign of an eternal promise. What makes this passage so compelling is how it reveals God's relentless pursuit of relationship despite our failures. Abraham and Sarah had stumbled repeatedly—abandoning trust in Egypt, trying to manufacture God's promise through Hagar, creating consequences that echo through history. Yet God returns, not with condemnation, but with renewed commitment. The condition God sets is profound: 'Walk before me and be blameless'—or more literally, be 'all in.' This isn't about perfection but wholeness, complete devotion. The choice of circumcision as the covenant sign is startling in its intimacy, marking the most private part of life as belonging to God. It's a reminder that our covenant with God isn't compartmentalized—He desires access to every area, from our public personas to our most vulnerable spaces. Perhaps most beautiful is how God specifically names Sarah, transforming her from 'my princess' (Sarai—possessive) to simply 'princess' (Sarah—belonging to God alone). After years of feeling like baggage, watching Ishmael daily remind her of barrenness, Sarah is included by name in the promise. We too are known, named, and included in God's covenant family, even when we feel forgotten or disqualified by our failures.