God promised once again to give the whole land of Canaan to Abraham and to his seed as their eternal possession (Gen. 17:8). This land was the good land (Exo. 3:8; Deut. 8:7-10), a type of the all-inclusive Christ. Since Christ is eventually realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b), in the New Testament age the Spirit as the realization of Christ in our experience is the good land (see note 142 in Gal. 3) for us to inherit God as our inheritance unto eternity.
In this covenant God required Abraham and his seed to be circumcised (Gen. 17:10-11). This was an evidence of God’s making a covenant with Abraham in order to confirm His covenant. While God was faithful to His covenant, Abraham was not faithful because he had used his natural strength with Hagar to produce Ishmael, rather than begetting a son through Sarah according to the grace of God’s promise (Gen. 16). Therefore, God required him to be circumcised, that his flesh, his old man, and his natural strength might be put off. Thus, the all-sufficient God might come to visit him and to enter into him to be his all, that by God’s grace he might give birth to Isaac through Sarah for the fulfillment of the covenant which God made with him.
God also changed the name of Sarai, Abraham’s wife, to Sarah, who would bear a son for Abraham and who would be a mother of nations, of whom kings would come (Gen. 17:15-16). “Sarai” means “my princess” and “Sarah” means “princess.” To change Sarai to Sarah means to change “my princess” to “princess.” By “my” being removed, she was changed from being narrow to being broad, thus becoming a mother of many nations. Furthermore, God blessed Sarah so that Abraham would have a son of her. At that time Abraham’s body had become old, even as good as dead, and Sarah had lost her function. Now that they had become nothing, God promised that Sarah would bear Isaac. This means that the birth of Isaac was not the result of Abraham and Sarah’s energy; it was absolutely the result of God’s gracious visitation.
After God made a covenant with Abraham the fifth time, Abraham learned to know grace for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Following this, he was ushered into a glorious stage of his experience—living in fellowship with God. In this stage God did not appear to Abraham as the God of glory or as the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth, nor did He come to him as El-Shaddai; He came to visit him in the form of a mortal man to be his friend (James 2:23; Isa. 41:8; 2 Chron. 20:7) and to have sweet fellowship with him. In such a sweet fellowship with God, Abraham received revelation from Him regarding the birth of Isaac and the destruction of Sodom. On the one hand, God confirmed the promise regarding the birth of Isaac, that Sarah would give birth to Isaac at the time of life, at the appointed time (Gen. 17:21; 18:10-14); on the other hand, He caused Abraham to learn of His concern about Lot and to intercede for Lot according to the divine revelation. After this, Abraham journeyed again toward the south, repeating his old failure (Gen. 20:2; 12:11-13) and exposing his hidden weakness (Gen. 20:11-13). Yet in a shameful intercession (Gen. 20:17-18) he experienced God’s twofold answer. Not only did God heal Abimelech’s wife and maidservants so that they bore children, but He also visited Sarah according to His earlier promise and caused her to give birth to Isaac at the appointed time (Gen. 21:1-2). After Isaac grew up, God tested Abraham, telling him to offer to Him Isaac, whom He had given him in grace (Gen. 22:1-2). Abraham obeyed immediately because he believed that God was able to raise him from among the dead, from whence he also received him back in a figure (Heb. 11:19; Rom. 4:17). This was the highest point of his living in fellowship with God and of his obedience to God by faith, thus bringing satisfaction to God. Hence, God came to make a covenant with him the sixth time.
God promised Abraham that He would bless him greatly (Gen. 22:17). In speaking of the covenant made the first time we said that this blessing eventually is the promise of the Spirit and that the Spirit is the consummation of the processed Triune God, the very God Himself. Therefore, God’s intention was to give Himself to Abraham as the great blessing.