Genesis 17:1–3: “When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.’ Then Abraham fell on his face, and God talked with him . . .”

October 2nd, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In Genesis 16, God appeared to Abraham and made a covenant with him. In chapter 17, God appeared to Abraham again and commanded him to “walk before [Him] and be blameless.” With covenant comes responsibility to walk with God and obey Him. If we are to have a close, intimate relationship with God, we also have to “walk before Him.” The idea here in the original Hebrew language is: “live your life in the presence of, or in front of, the face of God.” Another translation reads, “live in My presence with integrity.” How did Abraham respond to this? “He fell on his face.” Good move. Abraham did the right thing when God appeared to him. What else can you do when God shows up, but humble yourself and worship Him?

As believers, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. As Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God.” So in that sense we are always in the presence of God. When we realize that, we begin to live differently. Paul also tells us that our lives can become “a living sacrifice” of praise and worship (Rom. 12:1). Like Abraham, the right response to being in God’s presence is worship and obedience.

The second part of this command, “to be blameless,” sounds hard, impossible even. But this word blameless literally means “innocent.” We believe Abraham fell on his face because his memory was working fine. Abraham remembered his delayed obedience in Haran, his time lying before Pharaoh, and his lack of faith in the “little” infidelity matter with Hagar. He must have wondered how he was ever going to be blameless? The only response he could give was to humble himself before God, confessing and repenting of his sins, and then get back up and walk with Him again by faith. We have the same problem; we cannot possibly be blameless, but for us, the New Covenant is based on the finished work of Jesus Christ who is blameless. God Almighty has made a way for all those who keep repenting, confessing, and trusting in Him.

“LORD, we fall on our faces again and ask Your forgiveness and cleansing in Jesus name.”