Men in the Bible: A Man of Considerable Goodwill
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. – Genesis 17:24-27
Our meditation today shall center on the character of Abraham. He was a man of great and considerable goodwill. Why was this so?
When God told Abraham to circumcise himself and all males in his household as a sign of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants, Abraham was already 99 years old at this time. Imagine the kind of pain he must have endured for days, if not weeks, after cutting his foreskin. His whole body must have been shaking in pain, seeing that there were no pain relievers and anesthesia in those days.
As if that was not bad enough, God also asked Abraham to circumcise all the male members of his household as well. Imagine how easy it was for Abraham to inform his 13-year-old son, Ishmael, and the other male adults and youths in his house about what he was going to do to them. Circumstance them all by cutting off the foreskin of their penises. Even the most loyal of the men in his household must have been alarmed at the announcement.
On a good day, such an announcement was enough for all the males in the house to conspire to kill their master for what he was about to do to them, or, less extreme, they might have run away from the house and town to go settle down somewhere else.
However, interestingly, we did not find any account of such an occurrence. From the young Ishmael to all the male servants, everyone calmly waited their turn to be administered the painful cutting of circumcision. There was no complaint, no cursing, no revolt. Everyone cooperated and calmly endured the pain.
Let’s bear in mind that the circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his children. There was no talk of the slaves and servants being partakers. So what might Abraham have told his staff to make them cooperate? That no one rebelled and rallied the others to resist the inhuman treatment Abraham was about to subject them all to.
If there is anything, this shows that Abraham had a considerable goodwill with his staff and members of his household, such that no one refuted him or rejected his overtures for them to be circumcised, but they all bore the pain with grace. If he did not enjoy goodwill in their eyes, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for him to get them all to participate.
The esteem with which they all regarded him helped to make the exercise bearable and the experience less stressful for everyone, Abraham more than anyone, as he would be grappling with his own pain whilst trying to rally them for their own circumcision.
That was classic goodwill!
Selah!
Also read
- Understanding God: He is NOT Omnipresent
- The Benefits of Wisdom: Truthfulness
- Major and Minor
- 11 Reasons You Will Not Hear A Fan Give
- Through It All, God Was With Us
You can now partner with the Daily Dew Ministry by clicking here
