4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. (Genesis 17:4-6)
Whenever God chooses to reveal from His Word, it simply connects now!
I will elaborate on why Abraham was given the name change, but before that I will reinforce a point I have elaborated in an earlier blog why the hype over gematria is extra-biblical.
This came out fresh from my morning devotion from Genesis 17: God reinforced in me again in Genesis 17:1 that He used the word תִּשְׁעִים instead of the gematria-style numbering system which was introduced as man's creation for the number 99.
In other passages of the Tanakh, the numbers were never written the way gematria would have it put. You can go to the books of the Historical and Prophetic Books of the Tanakh to see how the years of the kings were recorded. God never used the Gematria numbering system even for the years.
Gematria was devised much later out of convenience to give the Jews a numbering system that they could use. This was subsequently adopted by Jewish scholars to assign the chapters and verses of the Tanakh to help them to find the references quickly.
We are Children of Abraham
In the second part of the passage, God opened my eyes to see how the name Abraham came about. Although accurate, the nuances in the original text have somehow gone missing when it was translated into English.
Here, we see God giving a new name to Abram אַבְרָם. The name Abraham is, in fact, a superimposition of two words.
אַב־הֲמוֹן
אַב in Hebrew means 'father' and הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם means 'a multitude of nations.'
The name, אַבְרָהָם (Abraham) is, therefore, correctly translated as 'the father of a multitude of nations.' In the Hebrew text, the meaning of the name is clearly explained. This interpretation is consistent with the Hebrew text; in fact, it is clearly explained that the name Abraham means just that! There is nothing mystical about it or that God breathed the letter ה into Abram's name!
God's promise to Abraham was once again given in Genesis 17. In verses 4-5, we see God promising that Abraham would be the father of a multitude of nations, not just one nation. This clearly shows the all-inclusiveness of all nations in Adonai's grand plan for mankind.
“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
“No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Saved By Grace through Faith
How is this possible then?
For us who believe in Jesus, it is made possible on account of faith, not works of the Torah.
We have the account of Abraham being reckoned by God as righteous because of his faith in the LORD (Genesis 15:6):
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
From Paul's own writing, we read in Romans 4:2-3:
εἰ γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἔχει καύχημα, ἀλλ̓ οὐ πρὸς θεόν. τί γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
As Gentiles, we are now considered the children of Abraham, sharing the same promise or co-heirs of the promise that was given to Abraham.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:9).
Nowhere are we told to be grafted to the house of Israel or be aligned with Israel. Instead, we are told in Romans 11 that it is together with a remnant from the house of Israel, we who are the goyim (גוִיִם or other nations) are now partakers of the promises given to Abraham.
We are culturally distinct from Israel because we are not descendants of Jacob. The descendants of Jacob adopted Jacob's new name, Israel. We are the descendants of other nations (or the goyim), not and will never be Israel. Our identities are clearly different from the Jews and God sees us not as Jews but the goyim; yet in Christ, both the remnant of Israel and us are being made one new man (Ephesians 2:14-15).
Therefore, as the Jerusalem Council had clearly mandated (read Acts 15), we are we never told to live like the Jews or follow the Jewish rituals (its new moons, different kinds of Sabbath and the religious feasts which I have written in a number of blog posts. This is a summary of it all). In fact, I asked this very question Paul asked, "Are those who want to follow the Torah placed under a curse?"
If we are now saved by grace through faith, and we are co-heirs of the same inheritance promised to Abraham, despite of our position as the goyim (or other nations), let us continue strive to abide in Christ.
Paul sums it very well in Galatians 3:16-18:
τῷ δὲ Ἀβραὰμ ἐρρέθησαν αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ. οὐ λέγει· καὶ τοῖς σπέρμασιν, ὡς ἐπὶ πολλῶν ἀλλ̓ ὡς ἐφ̓ ἑνός· καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου, ὅς ἐστιν Χριστός. τοῦτο δὲ λέγω· διαθήκην προκεκυρωμένην ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ μετὰ τετρακόσια καὶ τριάκοντα ἔτη γεγονὼς νόμος οὐκ ἀκυροῖ εἰς τὸ καταργῆσαι τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν. εἰ γὰρ ἐκ νόμου ἡ κληρονομία, οὐκέτι ἐξ ἐπαγγελίας· τῷ δὲ Ἀβραὰμ δἰ ἐπαγγελίας κεχάρισται ὁ θεός. (Galatians 3:16-18)
The New American Standard Bible translates it as:
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
In our zest to align ourselves with God, let us not be deceived by all winds of doctrines now creeping into our churches. Some have been teaching that we need to align ourselves with the house of Israel and follow the Jewish religious practices and the Torah in order to please God.
This is the leaven of the Pharisees and the Saducees that Jesus condemned strongly and Paul opposed vehemently in many of his epistles to the Gentile churches. The Torah is no longer written on stone tablets, but the Spirit in writing it on our hearts of flesh create in us a desire to live a life that is pleasing unto the Lord. Let us therefore live by the Spirit not by the services (ἔργων νόμου, which is equivalent to the word עֲבֹדָה in Hebrew) according to the Torah.
This section on "What about Israel?" Updated on April 13, 2025:
What about Israel?
And, what about Israel in God's covenant to Abraham? This has always been a puzzle to me. Would someday the whole of Israel be saved as some would claim? Or, has Israel been totally abandoned?
The answer is in the next few verses (Genesis 17: 7-10). While verses 4-6 of God's covenant was an inclusive part of God's plan for His church (made of both Jews and Gentiles), the next few verses refer to Israel specifically.
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.Genesis 17: 7-10
Paul expounds this very well in Romans chapters 9-11.
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. (Romans 9: 6-8)
In this section of Romans, Paul expounds that Israel is not named after Abraham, but Isaac. But, the offspring of Abraham are, in fact, more inclusive, and not all Jews, except those who, like Abraham, believed in the Messiah who was promised a few thousand years ago.
Therefore, not every Jew will be saved. In fact, if God has destroyed those who rebelled against Him during Moses' time, He would do the same if they choose to harden their hearts against the Christ whom they crucified.
Israel is therefore the branches of the olive tree that have fallen to the ground in order for the believing Gentiles to be grafted in. We are like the branches from the wild olive tree that are grafted into the cultivated olive tree, not as part of Israel itself (the branch that came through Isaac) but as children of Abraham because like Abraham, our faith in God's grace is what brings to us justification.
The remnant of Israel will be those who believe in Christ. Together, Jew or Gentile, we become the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What Paul said is clear about a remnant of Israel who will be saved. Many of them will suffer the same fate as those who do not believe in the Messiah. As Paul puts it:
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:3-4
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. Romans 10: 29-31
From here, you will realise that Israel will never be abandoned (Romans 10: 29), but those who believe, like us, they will be saved. The criteria is spelt out here in (Romans 10:8-13):
- The word of faith proclaimed
- If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
- And believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;“and this will be my covenant with themwhen I take away their sins.”
As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. (Romans 11:25-32)
You should read Romans 9-11 once again to fully understand God's covenant with Abraham - the inclusivity of Gentiles and the exclusivity of Israel -- but now, we are ONE body in Christ. This was the mystery that Old Testament prophets were looking forward to unfold, but we are now witnesses of this fulfilment of God's wonderful plan through Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Note: It is worth listening to a series of lectures by Dr Lee Chul Woo on the book of Hebrews:
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