A Name and a Nation: When Identity Meets Destiny

Our Father Abraham Meets Destiny

“God said to Avraham, ‘As for you, you are to keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation by generation.’”

—Genesis 17:9 (CJB)

In Genesis 17, God does more than speak—He inscribes destiny into identity. Abram becomes Avraham, Sarai becomes Sarah. These are not cosmetic changes. They are re-creations. The addition of the Hebrew letter “hei” (ה)—a symbol of divine breath—marks a spiritual rebirth. Where Abram was “exalted father,” Avraham becomes “father of many nations.” Where Sarai was “my princess,” Sarah becomes “princess to all.” In both cases they graduated from the level of authority over a certain people group to the level of universality.

This moment is a hinge in salvation history. God establishes an everlasting covenant, sealed not only by promise but by circumcision—a physical sign of spiritual belonging. Yet before the sign comes the name. Before the act comes the identity. God is teaching that covenant begins in the heart, in the reshaping of who we are.

Rabbinic tradition sees the “hei” as the breath of life, echoing the Spirit that hovered over the waters in Genesis 1. Paul later affirms in Romans 4 that Avraham is the father of all who believe, Jew and Gentile alike. The covenant is not limited by bloodline—it is expanded by faith.

Sarah’s transformation is equally profound. Though barren, she is renamed before the miracle. God does not wait for her womb to open before calling her mother. He speaks destiny into being, and the body follows. This is divine pattern: speak, then shape; name, then fulfill.

In our own walk, we often wait for proof before we believe. But Torah Portion, Lech Lecha, teaches us to receive the name before the evidence. God calls us righteous, beloved, chosen—while we still wrestle with weakness. He breathes His “hei” into our identity, not because we’ve earned it, but because He’s faithful to fulfil it.

And while Isaac was the near fulfilment of God’s promise to Avraham, Paul reveals in Galatians 3:16 that the ultimate Seed was not many, but One—Messiah Yeshua. Through Him, all nations—Jew and Gentile—gain access to the covenant made to Avraham. Yeshua is the breath behind the name, the fulfilment behind the promise, and the Seed through whom the family of faith is born.

Through Yeshua, Let us walk in those promises made  - not the ones we’ve inherited from fear, failure, or the past. Like Avraham and Sarah, may we become what He speaks—vessels of promise and carriers of covenant.

Blesssings,

Leisa