Monday, May 9, 2016

Genesis 17:9-14 Circumcision. The Symbol Of The Covenant

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. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Brit milah [circumcision] is sometimes referred to as the covenant of Abraham, who circumcised himself in order to become a Jew. The timing of Abraham’s act had a special two-fold significance.

1. Abraham was 48 years old when he came to know his creator. Yet he was not commanded to circumcise himself at that time and waited until he was much older–99 years of age. Why?  That answer can be found in the Mishnah. "In order not to close the door upon proselytes, however advanced in years." It doesn't matter, how old your are or what you have done, in your life, as long as you come to God.

2. The Talmud says that it is a symbol of your stepping out in faith. Actually, there is no explicit commandment in the Torah requiring circumcision for proselytes. However, in the B'rit Hadashah, the New Testament, Baptism is the new circumcision, a symbol of your leaving the old person behind, and stepping into a new life, through the Messiah, Y'shua.

As for the eighth day circumcision, it turns out, a newborn babies vitamin K and Prothrombin production, which is vital to making blood clot, thereby preventing a baby from bleeding out, occurs or maximizes, on the eighth day. An amazing tidbit of information, that shows God as the designer of us all.

If a man doesn't go through circumcision or immersion, baptism, according to the law, then where is the faith? If you aren't willing to step out and perform a simple act of obedience unto God, then what will your life, with the Messiah, be like? Circumsion or Baptism is your first step in your Walk With God.