Good Morning Friends,
God offered a marvelous gift to Abraham – an everlasting
covenant that would impact not just Abraham, but all of his descendants. In
addition to the everlasting covenant, God gave also offered Abraham and his
descendants an everlasting possession – the land of Canaan.
“God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my
covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you
be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of
many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and
kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting
covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations
to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole
land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting
possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.’”
(Genesis 17:3-8)
God asked Abraham and his household and his
descendants to enter into a sign of the everlasting covenant. God asked Abraham
to be circumcised and all the males in his house to be circumcised and all the
male descendants from then on to enter into the same sign of the covenant.
“This is my covenant with you and your
descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall
be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and you. 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. 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. Any uncircumcised
male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his
people; he has broken my covenant.” (Genesis 17:10-14)
Have you ever wondered why God asked for
circumcision as the sign of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants? It
is hard to see a connection between a relationship with God and circumcision.
Yet, that is what God asked.
And that’s the point – it is what God asked. Circumcision
had no meaning in itself that made it such a significant religious sign. It was
a matter of obedience to God – a matter of Abraham’s willingness to listen to
God and do whatever God asked him to do. It was about faith – trusting God
enough to follow Him.
And that is still the essence of a
relationship with God – not circumcision – but trusting God enough to follow
Him – faith!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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