Thirteen years after the Lord met Abram, He again visited him. Abram was ninety-nine and his body was as good as dead. The Lord told him that He is the “I am” and that He is the Almighty. The Lord had shown him earlier the gospel in the stars and promised him that the whole world would be blessed in his Seed. Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be – Gen 15:5. (The Hebrew root for “number” here comes from a book or a scroll. There was a story there that God wanted Abram to take note of. And there was something about this gospel in the stars. Abram believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness).

The Lord gave him a new name Abraham – a father of many nations. He said that in a year, Abraham would become a father to a son. God-initiated activities prosper and bring glory to Him! He also gave Sarai a new name Sarah. God also instituted the practice of circumcision (surgical removal of the foreskin of the male child) as a mark of the covenant He made with Abraham and all his descendants. Descendants of Ishmael and Muslims in particular and the religious Jews worldwide still follow this practice. It was a personal visible unforgettable everyday reminder of the covenant the person has entered into with God – that he would believe in the promise of God that God gave to their father Abraham.

What is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet! – Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. The word of God advocated naming children meaningfully – every name in the Bible or its root has a meaning. The name of a child influences him / her a lot. It is an irony that this one thing that one owns is used by others more than oneself. It certainly has a serious bearing on the person and makes a great impact on one’s personality. Individuals tend to become what they are addressed as, because, it remains an inspiration to the owner. Modern-day names are becoming more and more meaningless. We also hear of children being named weird names (sometimes even special characters like # and ! marks). In this perverted world, it is better to name our children with gender-specific names so that they will retain their gender identity all along their lives. While parents have all the right to choose the names for their children, they must also take into consideration the environment that they live in and the languages that their children might get exposed to so that no offensive-sounding names are chosen. Naming children or changing names and English spellings of names based on Numerology is of occult origin and must be avoided at all costs. There is no conclusive proof that choosing or modifying a name based on Numerology has improved the quality of life of people. This is, like astrology, another deception of the enemy of mankind, the devil.

About three months later, the Lord appeared to Abraham again. He said that Abraham would become a father to a son that Sarah would beget him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. – Gen 18:11. So, Abraham as well as Sarah were apprehensive. Then the Lord said Is any thing too hard for the Lord? – Gen 18:14.

Abraham was a great example of showing hospitality. He welcomed and fed strangers (angels in human form and even Christ) – a trait the Thamizhar have inherited and show it even today as “virundhombal” (but is losing sheen rapidly). Later, this is indicated as a Christian grace. Heb 13:2.