This passage is loaded.
God reveals more about himself. He is to be recognized as El Shaddai - God Almighty. Supreme God. God All-sufficient. Think about the paradigm shift for a second in a world of gods manipulated by magic, God says to Abram, "I am Self-complete, Self-contained, Self-powerful . . . I am not choosing you because I need you but because you need me. Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life."
God is God and we are not.
Now the almighty self-sufficient God desires to enter into covenant relation with Abram and all he can do is eat dirt (fall on his face). At age 99 - the promise of many nations, thirteen years after Abraham took things into his own hands by having a child with Sarai's handmaid, Hagar (mistake Judaism is still hurting over).
A name change from Abram to Abraham (father of multitudes) who at this point has one "illegitimate" son - not by law but by God's plan. That's faith isn't it? 99 years old and practically childless now called father of multitudes.
An everlasting covenant - "I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you."
Then the cause of so much grief - even today. "I am giving you this land . . . It will be your descendants possession forever." When other peoples and nations do not recognize the authority of El Shaddai, then by what authority does this land belong to Israel?
And finally - the seal of the covenant is circumcision. A people set-apart by God, morally and physically. Any male not circumcised is cut off from the community. (So this whole San Francisco vote on making circumcision illegal is HUGE.)
This then is one more thread in the story of God's story. Creation. Sin. Flood. and now Abraham and a covenant people - set apart for God's plan to redeem humanity. El Shaddai will save the world by choosing one, insignificant family to become a nation. what does this say about God?
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