Abraham obeyed God and had himself and all the men in his household circumcised and they all agreed to do it, including Ishmael. In the flesh, there’s no reason for circumcision, but if you believe in God, there’s every reason for it. Actively trusting God’s words — called “faith” and “belief” — is what makes one righteous.
People find it easy to criticize Sarai and Abram for their impatience in waiting for the son God promised them, but our insight is simply nothing more than hindsight. We aren’t any smarter or more faithful to God than they were.
Apostle Paul used as illustrations the two women, Sarai and Hagar, and the covenants God made with their sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Once you transgress a covenant, you have no hope, unless Someone better than you steps in with a second, better covenant.
The mysterious covenant God enters while Abram sleeps is prefigures a time when Israel was captive in Egypt yet not consumed by it.
If we consider ourselves his “children” by having similar trust in God, we should follow his way. Lot chose the easy way, but that was not Abram’s way. Why did Abram go to war? Who are these kings? What is the story behind the story? Does God have anything to do with this?
The seemingly strange account of Abram and Sarai faking out Pharaoh is a microcosm of the later Exodus account. Abram and the descendants of Israel initially were welcomed and exalted, but then they were seen as a curse and told to leave, sent away with many gifts and riches.
Just as Nimrod tried to unite people into one nation whose evil inclinations are propelled by endless innovation, people will try to unite again. Just as God confounded Nimrod’s confederation, God will confound the Babylonian confederation again. This is one of the lessons of the book of Revelation.
Like with the names of the descendants of Noach’s son Yafet, those of his son Ham are testimonies of what God has done, is doing and will do to prepare for the coming of God’s Kingdom. That kingdom clashed with the first human kingdom, that of Nimrod.