Genesis 17:7–8

Memory Verse

And I will establish My covenant between Me, and between you, and between your seed after you in their generations for a covenant of eternity, to be to you God and your seed after you. And I will give to you and your seed after you, the land you sojourn, all the land of Merchants for a possession of eternity, and I will be to them God (Genesis 17:7–8).

To understand the significance of this promise, it is useful to consider the meaning of the term “Canaan.” “Canaan” is a word that means “a merchant.” In Hosea 12:7, it is used of a merchant who has deceitful scales. In Proverbs, a virtuous wife is described as a woman who supplies sashes for merchants (Proverbs 31:24). God is not promising the land of Canaan; rather, this is a promise for the entire earth, the land of the merchants.

Previously, in Genesis 15:18–21, God gave Abram a covenant of land for his descendants. This is a covenant of land in this present world. Now, in Genesis 17, God changes Abram’s name to Abraham because he is the father of nations and gives him a covenant in eternity. This is not a modification or replacement of the covenant in Genesis 15. Once a covenant is made, it cannot be added to or annulled (Galatians 3:15). This is an entirely different covenant that will be enforced in eternity, after the new heavens and new earth are made (Revelation 21:1).