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Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, God appeared to Abram to further develop and establish the covenant he made with him in chapter 15
God changed his name from Abram to Abraham and his wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah
Although Sarah has been childless for many years God states that he will bless her with a son, and she will produce “nations” and “kings of people”
Abraham believed Ismael would be the son to inherit him but God stressed that this covenant would be linked specifically to Isaac and through Isaac to future generations
Thus Abraham was circumcised with all the males in his household as a sign of acceptance of the covenant and the terms
In the second lesson, Apostle Paul teaches about the purpose and function of the promise and the law
The promise was made to Abraham 430 years earlier before the law was given to the Israelites at Sinai
The law given does not take away the covenant/promise previously established by God
The promises were spoken to Abraham and his “seed”, not “seeds”, (Gen 13:15, 17:8) meaning to one person, who is Christ
The law given through Moses to the Israelites also involved angels who served as mediators. This implies that both Israel and God had obligations under the covenant mediated by Moses.
God would bless Israel if they obeyed his commandments, but the promise given to Abraham was one-sided in its obligation; God made a commitment, and he would fulfill it.
The law was later added to show the wrong things people do, and the law does not work against the promise.
The law could not make people right with God, but righteousness comes through faith in Christ Jesus, the “Seed.”
And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law to be our guardian.