DEVOTION
GENESIS
CIRCUMCISED
Gen
17:9-14
9
Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and
your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant
with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every
male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it
will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to
come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including
those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner — those who
are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your
money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an
everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised
in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
NIV
We
have arrived at a passage where God delivers the response or action of Abraham and
his people to the covenant God has made with him. God will keep his side of the
covenant, and Abraham must keep his. This is the circumcision of the flesh.
This was not an easy experience for a grown man, as we all can imagine, having
to cut away the foreskin thus exposing the most tender and sensitive portion of
the flesh. Yet this in all reality is not about physical circumcision, but it
is a lesson which God will bring to them when he delivers the law through
Moses.
Deut
10:14-17
14
To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth
and everything in it. 15 Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and
loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it
is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any
longer.
NIV
We
can see the intent of God in having Abraham circumcise the flesh of every male
in his family, and establish this practice for all his descendants to follow as
a sign of keeping the covenant with God. Here we see God telling them the need
to circumcise their hearts, therefore, and to no longer be stiff-necked. This
is about an attitude of rebellion toward God, or rather about being
self-centered instead of being God-centered. We know it is impossible to
actually cut away the foreskin of the heart, but the intent here is that they
needed to expose their heart to God. In the physical the exposed portion of the
flesh was for the purpose of a very intimate act. When they exposed their heart,
circumcised their heart, it was for the purpose of a very intimate relationship
with God. This is not just for the
physical descendants of Abraham.
Rom
2:28-29
28
A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely
outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and
circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written
code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
NIV
It
is clear this act of circumcision was intended to show the need of the
circumcision of the heart. This applies to all of us today, both male and
female alike. What we have to also remember is that God counted Abraham’s faith
as righteousness before he was circumcised in the flesh. Therefore the argument
is not about circumcision in the flesh, but about the heart. The Lord makes
this extremely clear through Paul.
Rom
4:7-17
7
"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are
covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against
him."
9
Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We
have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10
Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or
before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received the sign of
circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was
still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not
been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And
he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who
also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he
was circumcised.
13
It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that
he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by
faith. 14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the
promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law
there is no transgression.
16
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be
guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring — not only to those who are of the law
but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
17 As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He
is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed — the God who gives life
to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
NIV
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