Genesis 17

Following the Hagar/Ishmael debacle, God reiterates His covenant with Abram, perhaps thinking that this time it'll get through the man's thick skull. Not only that, but, just as a lowly Magikarp evolves into a formidable Gyarados, Abram becomes Abraham. His wife receives a similar upgrade, becoming Sarah.

However, God's blessings for Abraham don't come without their conditions. There's a nasty little snip--the unkindest cut of all--that he and the other males of his clan must endure as a sign of their faithfulness. In Western culture, most guys who are circumcised have the process done soon after birth, so they probably don't remember the trauma. But Abraham, Ishmael, and the other members of the household will probably remember it...for the rest of their lives.

Why did God choose such a harrowing procedure as a demonstration of one's faith? Although there are some possible health benefits to circumcision, I (as you'd expect) don't have the answer. There's another possible hypothesis, for which I'll make an analogy. When musical artists perform, they provide the venue with a "rider" that lists their requirements, such as technical equipment, instruments, transportation, booze, In-N-Out burgers, etc. Van Halen used to specifically ask for a bowl of M&M's with the brown ones taken out. It's not that the band members were eccentrically finicky (at least in this regard); it was a test to see how carefully the venue paid attention to the rider's specifications. Well, perhaps circumcision was like God's version of the brown M&M's--it proved how serious people were about their faith and that they were paying attention to the genuinely important matters. Many of the laws in Leviticus might have served this purpose as well. Or maybe not; the moment I think I know God's mind is the moment he pulls the rug out from under my sorry feet.

Abraham must also be "blameless" and walk "faithfully" with God. While I suppose Abraham does end up meeting the latter requirement, he doesn't end up being entirely blameless--he'll make at least one more mistake before he kicks the bucket. Yet God, in His unfailing grace, ends up giving Abraham the blessings anyway. (Or maybe the word "blameless" has a different connotation in Hebrew and I'm totally off base.)

How often do I make promises to God and end up breaking them? Not very often, technically. Because I know I probably won't end up keeping my word, I don't make promises in the first place. I cop out, thinking, "Well, God, I'll try, but I'm not making any promises"--which, of course, just as bad, and probably worse in some ways. If I know with such certainty that I won't be able to keep a promise to God, are any of my words to Him worth anything? I can't just keep taking advantage of His grace, because that's not how this works. If I truly value God, I should trust Him enough to let Him work through my strengths and support me in my weaknesses.