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9 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant." ~ Genesis 17:9-14
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 17 where the Lord is drilling down on reassuring the faith of Abraham to whom He gave a new name. Along with giving to Abraham a part of His name, God gave to him a new revelation wherein He reaffirmed His never-ending covenant with him. This was important since previously Sarai and Abram attempted to help God. They were trying to solve a problem they felt was far too hard for God. Abram and Sarai felt they had the solution to the problem, so Abram took Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, for a wife. Of that union was born Ishmael, Israel's continual thorn in the flesh even until this day.
In v.9 of today's passage we read, "And God said to Abraham: 'As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.'"
God continually reminded Abraham of His commitment to him and his descendants. The responsibility that Abraham and his descendants had to the covenant was to access the blessings that were to come to them through the promise. There were certain things that they had to do to access these blessings. Notice I did not say "earn these blessings." As is consistent throughout the Scriptures, we cannot earn God's favor. But, we are responsible to access these blessings through our applied faith in the God of the Bible. And, the more we are defined by God by obeying Him, the more we will see the wisdom of inviting His culture into our lives. This was the point behind the practice of circumcision.
In v.10-12 of today's passage we read, "10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant."
Here, God gave to Abraham a new object lesson which was to be a continual reminder of His unfailing love for him. God prescribed circumcision for Abraham and his physical descendants, the Jews, and He has not put a stop to it; it is still a practice in Judaism even to this day. Many scholars feel that circumcision was the origin of today's wedding ring. The act of circumcision was performed by a metal or stone knife which cut around the foreskin leaving a circular scar. So a man and a woman, standing before their witnesses, place a metal or a stone ring upon each other's fingers, indicating that two hearts are giving themselves to each other.
The point of this new practice of circumcision is seen in Jeremiah 4:4 where we read, "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts." Circumcision has always been more than a physical change, it was has always been an object lesson to remind those of faith in the God of the Bible of His never-ending love for us. Our understanding of such love produces an internal change in our hearts. As the Apostle John writes in 1 John 4:19, "We love Him because He loved us first."
Not everyone who is circumcised can enjoy the blessings from the Abrahamic covenant. And, not everyone who has not been circumcised is excluded from the Abrahamic covenant. As is evident throughout the Scriptures, it is the object of our faith that saves us, nothing else. It is only the God of the Bible who saves us by His grace. Salvation is a free gift for anyone willing enough to humble themselves to receive the free gift. Muslims circumcise their children, but they are not inheritors of the promise. The object of their faith is Allah who is not the God of the Bible.
God prescribed circumcision to be performed on the newborn children on the 8th day of their lives. The number 8 in the Bible consistently signifies "new beginnings." There were 8 people on the Ark of Noah, all of which entered the new beginning which was a picture of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. God brings up this covenant with Abraham 8 times and the 8th occurred when the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
God prescribed the circumcision to be done on the 8th day so that the baby would not hemorrhage to death. God knew that it takes the body of a new born eight days to build up enough potassium so that the blood would coagulate. If it were done earlier than the 8th day, the baby would hemorrhage to death. This is why we must give careful attention to the details God has given to us in His word.
In v.13-14 of today's passage we read, "13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."
God meant for circumcision to be a sign of humility and His instrumentality in the lives of the Jews. In time, it became perverted into a mark of superiority and favoritism. Those who bore it began to look on others as "Gentile dogs" and to be self-righteous and proud over their supposed favored position before God. Thus the spirit of anti-Semitism which troubles the world so today was born of the spirit of anti-Gentilism which preceded it. This does not justify either, of course.
The repetition here in these two final verses of the circumcision was given to denote the absolute necessity of doing it and the care to be followed in the practice. There was to be no uncircumcised male in each home, including any servants that may have been there. Every male born in the house and every male who came into the house as a servant was to be circumcised. The ultimate purpose of circumcision had a greater fulfillment in the assurance of our salvation that would one day be procured by the person of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Circumcision was a reminder to the believer in the God of the Bible to keep looking forward to the Messiah who would be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
