Reading: Genesis 17: 1-14

Acts 7:

8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision 

The Hebrew word mul means to circumcise or to cut off (the foreskin of the male organ). In this scene, the Lord (Adoney) who has already initiated, cut, a covenant earlier with Abram whom He newly rebranded as Abraham is now giving circumcision as a sign of His covenant with him, his friend. There is much emphasis on the words covenant and circumcision so much so that if one is interchanged for the other, the meaning will still be the same. The word covenant appears eleven times in the passage of Genesis chapter seventeen. It’s almost synonymous with the word circumcision in each case.

A nation, Egypt, was already practising circumcision before Abram. Of course, this is not surprising. The adversary has always tried to preempt God at every turn. For example, God, in His manifestation to Moses ordered for a Tabernacle so that He might dwell with Israel. Just before Moses was through with God, the evil one had moved the people to set up a god which they claimed brought them out of Egypt. The god came down to dwell with them. It’s a classical case of preempting to spite. Yet, each move of God is highly dense with knowledge that the enemy cannot decode it, though he may run with the exterior. He certainly didn’t know the depth of the wisdom packed in the practice of circumcision.

Now, circumcision is a calling to absolutely rely on God and trust Him to be faithful to His covenant. If this truth be further examined, circumcision is an aid to faith in God. A remembrance and evidence of this sign means that the circumcised one is God’s own property with whom He has a distinct relationship. And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who come to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6). Circumcision goes beyond mere cutting of the foreskin, it’s a symbol of faith in the Lord Adoney. If anyone knew the meaning and potency of this thought, David was it in all his life. He was super conscious of his circumcised status. He, on encounter with the philistines’ Goliath, asked a rhetorical question: ….who is this uncircumcised philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? (1 Samuel 17:26).  Again, when he was brought to the notice of Saul, the king, as one ready to confront the giant, the differing spirit of faith in him, bouyed by his knowledge of circumcision- relationship with God, spoke boldly and testified how God had helped him to kill fierce animals of bear and lion before then. So sure of his God of covenant signified by circumcision, he added a rider, this uncircumcised philistine will be one of them (slain beasts), because he has defied the armies of the living God (1 Samuel 17: 36). What distinguished David from Goliath – known to the former and unknown to the latter – in the presence of God was circumcision.

Israel as a nation was set up by God as a house built on a hilltop, a light to the world. And faith in God, here signified by circumcision, set them apart from all other nations. It’s a life of national revelation made peculiar to them alone. They failed to know however that the true strength of circumcision was in faith in God and not the ritual; they failed to realise that this had greater depth than could be ascertained. This speaks of relationship involving the heart with God; faith is a thing of the heart. Circumcision is a life of cutting off the sinful or carnal nature in the heart. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart...( Jeremiah 4:4). Israel refused to outgrow the physical rite and failed to acknowledge that the Lord Adoney was not like the dumb gods of the nations known to operate on formulae. Even after the revelation of Jesus Christ as the true circumcision and covenant, the Jewish believers in Christ still held tenaciously to the old thought of the physical act of cutting the foreskins as salvation. They went from Judea to Antioch and taught the Gentile believers, Unless you are curcumsised according to custom taught in Moses you cannot be saved (Act 15:1).

Circumcision symbolises the complete renouncing of the self-life, a total reliance on the living God. In spiritual encounters, we put out perpetual confidence and faith in the Lord. We are sure and have victory as we stand on circumcision which is an act of faith.

This new Ife in Christ Jesus means cutting off, in the heart, from the sinful or carnal nature. In him (Christ) you were also circumcised; in the putting off of sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hand of men but with circumcision done by Christ having been buried with him and raised with him through your faith in the power of God ( Colossians 2:11). The circumcised life doesn’t put trust in the flesh, the sinful nature, that is, and all that excites it. It’s a translation into true worship, the living worship of God made possible through the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3).  Because circumcision is of the heart, by the spirit, not by the written code, the praise due to the heart-circumsised men or believers is from God and not from men 

One other thing, circumcision in ancient Israel was the mark of divine possession. It meant that God had utter lordship and ownership over the believers, this time, the israelites. To be under a master is to understudy and grow to be like him. Again, this is a thing of the heart! The heart is represented by the forehead in the physical anatomy of the body. We speak here of those that have been sealed. The sealed have the authority and mark of ownership of God on them. Just as circumcision put the mark of exclusive ownership of God on Israel so does it to the believers in Christ. This is not a physical rite but spiritual and angelic. It’s a thing that has been going on for over two millennials now.  .…until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God (Revelation 7:3).

Father, thank You for the circumcision of the heart, for Your seal of ownership put on us. It’s impossible to thank You enough for this grace. Thank You Lord for adopting us into Your family. It’s so great to be identified with You.

Father, thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ in whom we are successfully everything You designed us to be

Thank You Lord for this