Today we will look at two forms of our word. The first one is the original name that comes from the root word אָב father with the word רָם exalted added to give us אַבְרָם Abram, whose name means exalted father. It is used 61 times in the Old Testament. The second form has an ending attached to the name אַבְרָהָם Abraham. It is used 174 times in the Old Testament. This ending means populous, so the root exalted father becomes populous father, father of a multitude, or chief of a multitude. This is exactly what God says it means when he changes Abram’s name. Genesis 17:5 No longer will you be called אַבְרָם Abram; your name will be אַבְרָהָם Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. Adam and Noah’s name identified what God had called them to do with their lives as we have seen previously. God has been working in their lives even from the very beginning guiding them into their purpose. Today we see the same things with Abram. This is a pivotal time in Abram’s life as his parents were used by God to name him exalted father and now God emphasizes and energizes his name by changing it. He goes from exalted father to chief of a multitude. God knows Abram’s future and can speak with authority into Abram’s life of what will happen even when it looks impossible. In verse one we see how absurd this is. Genesis 17:1, 3-4 When אַבְרָם Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him … אַבְרָם Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the אָב father of many nations. This is crazy how in the world is a man who is 99 years old with a wife who is 90 years old have a baby when they haven’t been able to for all these years. I’m sure Abram must have disliked his name exalted father after almost a hundred years without being able to have any children. But this is our God at the point in our life when we don’t think we will be able to live into our purpose God shows up and changes things. And things are going to change for Abram and Sari who have been waiting a long time for God to accomplish what he promised them. They changed so much we find Abraham in Hebrews chapter 11 listed alongside those who lived as people of faith in God. Hebrews 11:12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
