Nothing of real significance happens in Abram’s life between the ages of eighty-six (16:16) and ninety-nine (17:1), indicating that Abram at times lived for over a decade with no recorded revelation from God. God now appears to him as El-Shaddai (see NIV note for 17:1), meaning either “God Almighty” or “God of the Mountain.” God’s self-identification is followed by a moral imperative: “walk before me faithfully and be blameless” (17:1). We observed in chapter 15 that all of the obligations of the covenant fell on God. Chapter 17 lends a bit of balance to that. Abram does not have license to live as he pleases. His behavior is to reflect the character of the one who called him.

In the course of conversation God tells Abram that his name will be changed from “Abram” (“father is exalted”) t…