Contemplative Bible Reading

Genesis 17:3-5 (New Living Translation)

³ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, ⁴ “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! ⁵ What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.

Let’s consider the meaning of the names:

Abram: exalted father.

Abraham: father of many.

God is changing Abram’s name to “father of many.”

Wait a minute. Abram had no kids. The name change didn’t change family status as for years he still didn’t have any kids. Father? Father of who?

Pause a moment or a few hundred years and Abraham’s descendants number in the millions. That’s the trouble with God sometimes. What we expect in a moment sometimes take a few hundred years. What’s the difference? It’s only a matter of time.

God, please help me understand time more like you understand it.