2018-07-06
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m directed by the Holy Spirit to write today about circumcision. We know that circumcision was first instituted by God in the time of ancient Jewish men as a physical act denoting commitment to the Covenant of the Law. It is the removal of the foreskin of the penis, and it had health benefits by helping to prevent infections resulting from sexual activity and lack of cleanliness. God promised to give the Jews many descendants, some of whom will be kings. He also promised to give the Jews the Promised Land, in which they were then foreigners. This land was Canaan, which eventually became Israel. God further instructed Jews to circumcise all males at the age of 8 days. It was understood that this covenant should be kept forever by Jews (and later, by all other believers). This applied to all males of ancient Jewish households, which included the family, their slaves, and foreigners living there. [GN 17: 1-12]. Abraham was obedient to God and was himself circumcised at age 99. Moreover, the males of his household also were, including Ishmael (his son of the flesh with Sarah’s maid, Hagar). Ismael was age 13 at the time [GN 17: 23-27].
By the time Christ came on the scene, the Jews were still practicing circumcision on 8-day old males, but it’s significance was understood to mean an outward sign of an inward transformation accomplished by the Holy Spirit. Jews today still practice it. Furthermore, it points to the eternal nature of the covenant itself. By Paul’s time, he felt it necessary to write, in RO 2 (written in 56 AD), about the hypocrisy of Jewish men, who were physically circumcised but were judgmental and stubbornly non-repentant concerning their intolerance, unkindness, hard-heartedness, and lack of humility. God came out against the suffering caused by their unrighteousness and told them glory and honor would come only to those who obeyed the covenant and were good. In this “teaching moment,” God demonstrates that Jews and Gentles all were judged by the same standard [RO 2: 1-11]. It’s at this time that God makes clear that Gentiles who obey the law, even though it hasn’t been given to them officially, are classed with obedient Jews. This approach is taken to both thoughts and actions [RO 2: 12-16]. The unrighteous Jews teach others about the law, but don’t keep it themselves. Outright legalism on their parts was and still is the net result. Another way of expressing the legalism is emphasis on form over content of their thinking and behaving. This behavior caused Paul, influenced by the Holy Spirit, to write in RO 2: 28-29, “After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing. Rather, the real Jew is a person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God’s Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.”
EX 13: 43-48a outlined some rules for partaking of the Passover meal (seder). No foreigner, or temporary resident could take it, but male slaves who are circumcised members of the Jewish household may partake. The entire meal must be eaten in the home where it is prepared. (I think there is an exception when the family is too small to eat the entire animal sacrificed, and then, the remaining portion may be shared with a Jewish neighbor). Circumcising an 8-day old male is again mentioned in LV 12: 3a. In a segment of the Scriptures where God is telling the people they can be blessed by obedience to the Covenant or cursed by disobedience to it, [DT 30: 1-6]. (Remember, Deuteronomy refers to “retelling the story a second time). DT 30 discusses conditions of restoration by God after disobedience. You have a choice between restoration from once again obeying God’s Covenant, or curse in refusal to do so, God tells the Jews who are scattered (living in dyaspora).
Fast forward to Paul’s epistle to the Galatians after the crucifixion of Christ. This was the time when the early church was in a controversy over the necessity of physical circumcision. Some of the members were formerly traditionally Jewish and others were former Gentile Pagans. The Judaizers were trying to say that all must return to the lifestyle of traditional Judaism (keeping the Kosher diet, males getting physically circumcised, and celebrating the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday). Others were objecting to this. It was Paul’s need to settle this matter. His did this by saying, in GA 5: 6b (written in 48 AD), “…It is faith that matters through love, not works.” So, the group went on to practice what was comfortable to each one. PHIL 3: 2-3 (written in late 61 AD), was a chance taken by Paul to urge unity in the church. He uttered, “Do not do anything out of selfish ambition or a desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering the other better than yourselves.” This is not the only place in the Scriptures where humility, tolerance, and a new perspective from Christ on ancient practices in the church are mentioned.
PRAYER: O Lord, the basic teaching about treating each other with kindness, tolerance of differences, and being humble are brought up many times in the Scriptures. You had the difficult task of gradually civilizing mankind. We are born with sin and must learn to acknowledge our sinfulness. For gaining eternal life, we must participate in the Covenant of Grace given by Christ. For mankind, by their obedience to God, can overcome their sinfulness. You have promised to give us a population, land, and a King. We can always count on You to keep Your end of this great Covenant. We must keep our end, which is to genuinely discover and confess our sins, stop the thoughts and behavior that is sinful, and profess Christ’s Lordship over our lives. Once we do this, we must live by our covenant-promises and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Common sense, spiritual humility before God, and obedience to Your teaching will lead to us gaining eternal life. We express our thanks and praise for all You are and all You do, in Christ’s holy/mighty name. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to continue this discussion of circumcision with writing about the perspective we gain in “circumcision of the heart” by Christ found in COL 2. If space permits, I’m to begin a discussion of transgressions. The status of our heart-attitudes, our faith in Christ, really is what matters. If we are saying one thing and doing other ones, then we are no better than those hypocritical Jews to which Paul addressed RO 2. Our human nature wants to tell us we are doing nothing wrong. But, God sees anything and everything we think and do [HE 4: 12-13]. I have dealt with people who are like this, the kind that treat you with politeness and apparent gentleness to your face and stab you in the back. My experience with living awareness of God’s teaching is that it gives you discernment that is necessary to ability to perceive who is genuine and who isn’t. God deserves all the credit for that! Beforehand, I was gullible and foolish, falling into every evil trap set for me. By no means am I perfectly able even now to avoid every trap, but there has been some improvement in this area from my youth. I would wish that everyone reading this devotion would be pulled into loving learning God’s word as I have been. It is such a huge blessing [2 TIM 3: 16-17]! Thanks and praise to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2018. All Rights Reserved.
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