Understanding Circumcision In The Light Of The Scripture




_Jeremiah 4:4 KJV:_
_Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings._

When God made His promise to Abraham, He gave him the covenant, and a token of the covenant between Him and Abraham and his children which they must always keep in all their generations. Note something here, there is the promise, and their is the covenant with the token which He told them would be in their flesh.

_Genesis 17:9-11 says, And God said unto Abraham, “Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.”_ The circumcision is the covenant between God and Abraham and his seed, the cutting of the foreskin of the male children is the token of the covenant between God and Abraham, for as long as they cut the foreskin of the male children which is the sign of the covenant, they keep the covenant, and that is when the promise can be fulfilled in their lives.

What really is circumcision and what exactly does God wants to achieve with the circumcision?

Circumcision is beyond the cutting of the first skin, and what God actually wants is the obedience of the people, and their willingness to do whatever He wants.

By the desire to obey God at all cost, and setting our hearts to do whatever the Lord says irrespective of the pain, we become set apart and unique children of God, qualified to enjoy the blessings of Abraham.

When Abraham obeyed God and circumcised himself and all the males in his house, he proved that his whole heart belonged to God, and was willing to go to any length pleasing the Lord; to Abraham, it was beyond the cutting of the foreskin, it was a desire for the Lord, which made him willingly gave himself to God completely, to do everything God instructs, which is exactly what God wants; but the children of Israel didn’t know this, they focus on the outward sign, the token, which is the cutting of the foreskin, ignoring the most important aspect of the covenant, which is giving God the whole of their hearts, and willingness to do everything He says irrespective of the pain and the sacrifice required.

Circumcision is more a thing of the heart than of the physical cutting of the foreskin, that’s what circumcision means, so when the children of Israel continued to walk in their own way, God had to talk to them, letting them know what exactly they are expected to do, which is to circumcise their hearts, He says to them according to _Deuteronomy 10:16, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.”_

God wants everyone of us to circumcise his or her heart to Him by taking away the foreskin of the heart, that is taking away the desire for things that are contrary to His will and plan for our lives, which could make us continue to disobey His instructions, and be totally given to His will, willing and ready to follow Him to any length, and desiring Him alone, this is the real circumcision which we must all do before we can become the real people of God and enjoy the blessings of Abraham.

Confession

_My precious Father, I declare that my life is yours, everything that I am and have is all yours; I am willing and ready Lord to follow you, and to do whatever you tell me to do, all the days of my life, in Jesus name. Amen._

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