Week of October 25, 2026
This Week in Sacred Scripture
GENESIS CHAPTERS: 15, 16, and 17
GOD’S COVENANT, THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH, AND THE SON OF PROMISE
(We are using the Douay-Rheims translation of the Bible in this study)
The Bishop’s Teaching
Last week, we followed Abram from his departure at God’s command through his journeys in the land of Chanaan. We considered his altars, his charity toward Lot, and his meeting with Melchisedech, whose priesthood points toward Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Genesis 15, 16 and 17 bring us more deeply into God’s covenant with Abram. The Lord renews His promises, receives Abram’s faith, and reveals that the promised heir will be born of Sara. We also encounter Agar and Ismael, whose lives unfold under God’s providence.
These chapters ask us to consider how we respond when fulfillment seems distant. Do we continue to pray? Do we allow uncertainty to disturb our charity? Are we willing to obey God while awaiting what He has promised?
Let us read with reverence, asking for a living faith, patience in trial, and gratitude for the grace we have received through Jesus Christ.
- READ
This week I ask you to read Genesis, chapters 15, 16 and 17 slowly. Notice God’s promises and commands, the passage of time, and the place of prayer and obedience in Abram’s life.
Genesis 15 begins with God’s reassurance: “Fear not, Abram, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great” (Genesis 15:1).
Pause over these words. God offers Abram His protection and gives Himself as his reward. Our prayers often concern particular needs, but our hearts must learn to desire God above every gift.
Abram remains without a child. The Lord promises him an heir of his own and directs him to look toward the stars. His descendants will be beyond his power to number.
Scripture then tells us: “Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice” (Genesis 15:6).
Read the covenant ceremony that follows. Abram prepares the animals as commanded. A deep sleep and darkness come upon him; God foretells his descendants’ bondage and deliverance. A smoking furnace and a lamp of fire pass between the divided pieces, and the Lord makes His covenant with Abram.
The promise includes a future that Abram will not live to see. We, too, must learn to fulfill today’s duties while entrusting the years ahead to God.
Genesis 16 brings us into the sorrow of Sarai’s childlessness. She gives her Egyptian handmaid, Agar, to Abram, hoping to obtain children through her.
Read this account with the circumstances of the patriarchal age. In The City of God, Book XVI, chapter 25, Augustine defends Abraham against the accusation that he took Agar out of lust or contempt for Sara. He understands the arrangement as directed toward obtaining children, at Sara’s request, within the circumstances of the patriarchal age. In On Marriage and Concupiscence, Book I, Chapter 9, he explains more generally that certain holy patriarchs were permitted several wives for the multiplication of offspring. This was a permission belonging to that earlier period.
That explanation should not be reduced to “a good intention makes anything permissible.” Augustine is considering both their intention and what he understood to have been permitted then.
What “divine dispensation” means here
The traditional explanation appears explicitly in the Supplement to the Summa Theologiae, question 65, article 2. It holds that God alone could permit this exception, for the sake of multiplying children who would be brought up in His worship. It describes the permission as communicated through divine inspiration. In article 5, it explains that the patriarchs’ relationships with these women were understood as marital relationships, despite their unequal social standing.
There is an important distinction here: Genesis does not record God explicitly telling Abram to take Agar. “Divine dispensation” is the traditional theological explanation of how such patriarchal marriages could have been lawful; it is not a quotation from God’s instructions in Genesis 16.
Why, then, does Christ restore marriage?
The Catechism explains that God gradually educated His people concerning marriage. It says that the patriarchs’ polygamy was “not yet explicitly rejected,” while the prophets prepared Israel for a deeper understanding of faithful, exclusive marriage. Christ brings this preparation to its fulfillment, restoring the original order of creation and giving spouses the grace to live it. Thus, the earlier permission did not make plurality of wives the fullness of God’s design for marriage.
You do not have to find the arrangement beautiful or easy to understand. The traditional explanation concerns why these patriarchs were not to be judged as Christians violating Christian marriage; it does not ask us to regard every feature of their household arrangements as something to imitate.
For Christians, the teaching is definitive: the Council of Trent, Session XXIV, canon 2, expressly rejects the claim that Christians may lawfully have several wives simultaneously.
When Agar conceives, she despises her mistress. Discord follows, and Agar flees after Sarai afflicts her.
The angel of the Lord finds her in the wilderness, directs her to return, and announces the birth of Ismael. The Lord has heard her affliction. Agar acknowledges the God who has seen her.
Consider both the wounds caused by contempt and the mercy of God toward the afflicted. Ask for charity toward those whose troubles are easily overlooked.
Genesis 17 opens when Abraham is ninety-nine years old. God commands him: “I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be perfect” (Genesis 17:1).
Abram receives the name Abraham, and Sarai receives the name Sara. God appoints circumcision as the sign of His covenant and promises that Sara will bear Isaac, with whom He will establish His covenant.
Abraham falls upon his face and laughs. Read that with the reverence of the Fathers: St. Augustine understands his laughter as joyful wonder at God’s promise.
Abraham also prays for Ismael. God promises to bless him, while distinguishing the covenant to be established with Isaac.
The chapter ends with Abraham’s obedience. He carries out God’s command concerning circumcision that very day.
Notice this prompt response. We often cannot know what tomorrow will bring, but we can obey the commandment or fulfill the duty God has already made clear.
2. WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES
Abram’s faith must be understood according to the Church’s teaching on grace and justification.
The Council of Trent teaches that faith is the beginning of human salvation and the foundation and root of justification. Nothing preceding justification, whether faith or works, merits the grace of justification. God’s grace comes first and enables our free response (see Session VI, chapters 5 and 8).
The same Council teaches that justification includes the forgiveness of sins and the sanctification and renewal of the inward man. God truly makes us just through the merits of Jesus Christ. Faith, hope, and charity are infused together; faith without hope and charity does not unite us perfectly to Christ (see Session VI, chapter 7).
Those who have been justified must keep God’s commandments and grow in the grace they have received. God assists them to do what He commands (see Session VI, chapters 10 and 11).
Let this teaching shape our examination of conscience. Do I ask for God’s help and then cooperate with it? Does my profession of faith bear fruit in repentance, fidelity, and charity?
The history of Sarai and Agar also requires a Catholic understanding of marriage. The Church recognizes the gradual preparation of God’s people under the Old Law. Our Lord’s teaching reveals the original unity and indissolubility of marriage, and polygamy is incompatible with that unity (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 1610, 1614-1615 and 1664).
Pray for husbands and wives, especially those carrying the sorrow of infertility, division, or disappointment. Such suffering calls for tenderness, fidelity, and patient assistance.
The sign of circumcision directs our attention toward the New Covenant and the sacrament of Baptism. Through Baptism we are freed from sin, reborn as children of God, and incorporated into Christ and His Church (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1213).
Baptism truly forgives original sin and, in those capable of personal sins, all sins committed before Baptism. It gives the new life of grace. Infants also need this rebirth, and the Church baptizes them in her faith (see sections 1250-1253 and 1263-1266).
Give thanks for your Baptism. Pray for the parents and godparents entrusted with the Christian formation of children. Ask for the grace to live faithfully as a member of Christ’s Church.
3. SCRIPTURE ILLUMINATES SCRIPTURE
Read Romans 4:1-25 alongside Genesis 15.
St. Paul returns to Abraham’s faith and explains that he received circumcision as a sign and seal of the justice of faith he already possessed. Abraham’s relationship with God began before that outward sign.
The Apostle also directs us to Abraham’s confidence in the God who gives life to the dead. The promise concerning Isaac was received amid the weakness of old age. God’s power sustained this hope.
At the chapter’s conclusion, St. Paul turns our attention to Jesus Christ, delivered up for our sins and risen for our justification. Abraham’s history prepares us to place our faith in the saving work of Our Lord.
Then read James 2:14-26.
St. James also cites Abraham’s faith, showing how it cooperated with his works and was brought to perfection through obedience. The faith that saves is living and fruitful.
We will encounter Abraham’s offering of Isaac in a later reading. Already, however, St. James helps us understand the obedience of Genesis 17. Faith must enter into our actions. A willingness to speak about religion cannot replace the duties of charity.
Next, read Galatians 4:21-31.
St. Paul explains Agar and Sara in relation to the two covenants. Isaac, born through God’s promise, helps us understand the inheritance given through grace. The Apostle directs Christians toward the freedom received in Christ and the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother.
Receive this spiritual interpretation while remembering that Genesis recounts the lives of real persons. Ask for the freedom of a heart that serves God willingly and loves what He commands.
Finally, read Colossians 2:9-14.
St. Paul speaks of a circumcision made without hands and immediately connects the Christian’s new life with burial and resurrection with Christ in Baptism. Through Our Savior we receive forgiveness and life.
Read these words prayerfully. The grace of Baptism calls us to turn away from sin and to live in union with the risen Lord.
4. THE FATHERS
The Fathers help us read these chapters with reverence for Abraham and attention to the mysteries God was preparing.
St. Augustine explains that Abram’s request for a sign in Genesis 15 does not contradict his faith. He seeks understanding concerning what he already believes. Augustine compares this with the Blessed Virgin Mary’s question at the Annunciation concerning how God’s word would be fulfilled (see The City of God, Book XVI, chapter 24).
This can guide our prayer. Bring difficulties before God with humility, asking for light and the grace to obey.
In discussing Agar, Augustine rejects the accusation that Abraham acted from lust. He understands the patriarch’s conduct in relation to the desire for offspring and the circumstances of that age (see Book XVI, chapter 25).
Augustine also understands Abraham’s laughter in Genesis 17 as joyful wonder. He sees the promised birth and the changed names as pointing toward the newness of grace (see Book XVI, chapter 26).
St. Irenaeus teaches that circumcision was given as a sign and that it prefigured a spiritual circumcision. He connects it with St. Paul’s teaching in Colossians and with the call to remove hardness of heart (see Against Heresies, Book IV, chapter 16, section 1).
Ask God to soften whatever has become hardened within you. A grudge long defended, a correction repeatedly refused, or a duty habitually neglected can close the heart to grace. Bring these things honestly before Our Lord.
5. FULFILLED IN CHRIST
What do Genesis 15, 16 and 17 have to do with Jesus Christ?
The promised line through Isaac prepares the people among whom Our Savior will be born. The covenant draws us onward toward the Redeemer and the blessing that reaches the nations through Him.
The passage from promise to fulfillment also teaches us patience. God’s saving work unfolds across generations. Our own place in His providence may involve years of prayer, quiet duties, and sacrifices whose fruits we cannot yet see.
Some of us are praying for the return of a loved one to the Faith. Others carry a sickness, an uncertain future, or grief that has become difficult to explain. These chapters invite us to remain faithful within that waiting.
We must distinguish what God has promised from the particular outcome we desire. He has not promised every earthly consolation. We may ask confidently for our needs while submitting their fulfillment to His wisdom.
Begin with the duty before you. Pray when prayer feels dry. Speak gently when you are tired. Keep your promises. Make restitution when you have wronged someone. Seek sacramental Confession when you have sinned.
Remember the grace of your Baptism. You belong to Jesus Christ. Let that belonging shape the use of your time, the care of your family, and your conduct when no one is watching.
When you assist at Holy Mass, bring your unanswered prayers before Our Lord. Unite your burdens to His sacrifice and ask for the grace to accept His holy will.
Prepare carefully for Holy Communion. Examine your conscience, receive the Sacrament of Penance when needed, and approach Our Savior with reverence and love.
Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ask for a heart ready to receive God’s word and obey it. May the Lord deepen our faith, sustain our hope, and preserve us in charity until we reach our heavenly home.
Read
Read Genesis chapters 15, 16, and 17.
Read alongside them:
- Romans 4:1-25
- James 2:14-26
- Galatians 4:21-31
- Colossians 2:9-14
CARRY THESE WORDS WITH YOU
“I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be perfect.” (Genesis 17:1)
REMEMBER
God is faithful to His promises. His grace enables us to believe, obey, and grow in holiness. Through Jesus Christ we receive the new life of Baptism and are called to persevere in faith, hope, and charity.
Reflect
God directs Abram to look toward the stars. When I cannot see how a difficulty will be resolved, do I continue to pray and fulfill my duties? Have I made my willingness to obey depend upon receiving the outcome I desire?
Abram believes God. Do I receive all that God has revealed and that His Church teaches? Where does my conduct need to become more consistent with the Faith I profess?
The household suffers from contempt and discord. Have disappointment or wounded pride made me harsh toward someone? Is there a person whose sorrow I have overlooked because I am absorbed in my own?
Agar is seen and heard in her affliction. Do I bring my trouble honestly before God? Do I make time to listen to someone who is lonely, burdened, or easily forgotten?
Abraham obeys God’s command that very day. What act of obedience have I postponed? What can I do today to respond more faithfully to grace?
Finally, remember your Baptism. Do I give thanks for the gift of sanctifying grace? Am I nourishing the life of my soul through prayer, the sacraments, and works of charity?
This week, fulfill one duty you have delayed, offer one hidden act of charity for someone who is suffering, and thank God each morning for the grace of your Baptism.
Pray
Almighty and eternal Father,
You spoke to Abram and taught him to trust Your promises. You guided his life through years of waiting and prepared through his descendants the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Increase our faith. Help us to believe all that You have revealed and to receive with humility the teaching of Your holy Church. Let the truths we profess govern our thoughts, words, and actions.
Preserve us from discouragement when prayer seems unanswered. Teach us to distinguish Your promises from our own expectations and to submit our desires to Your wisdom.
Give us patience in the duties of each day. When we cannot understand what lies ahead, strengthen us to do the good that is already within our reach.
Bless husbands and wives. Comfort those who suffer from infertility, heal divisions within families, and preserve all who are married in fidelity and charity.
Look mercifully upon the afflicted. Console those who feel forgotten, sustain those who labor without recognition, and give us generous hearts toward people in distress.
Remove contempt, resentment, and hardness from our hearts. Help us to ask forgiveness when we have wounded others and to forgive those who have wounded us.
We thank You for the grace of Holy Baptism, through which You have made us Your children and members of Christ. Help us to renounce sin and remain faithful to the life we have received.
Bless parents, godparents, priests, and all who teach the Faith. Give them perseverance and wisdom as they help souls to know and love You.
Lead us to sincere repentance and worthy reception of the sacraments. Grant us a deeper love for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and for Our Savior truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.
Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for us the grace to hear Your word, keep Your commandments, and persevere in faith, hope, and charity.
Bring us at last into Your presence, where every holy longing will find its fulfillment in You.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Next Week
Genesis Chapters 18, 19, and 20
God’s Promise, Mercy, and Judgment
