Circumcision is a cutting; cut off, cut down. It was required by God for Abraham to show his commitment to God (above) and all his descendants, Israel.
From Abraham's son Isaac came the people of Israel and eventually Jesus. Oh, first Abraham fathered the son, Ishmael, who became the precursor to Islam but this union was not ordered by God. It was an action not of faith but of doubt and acting out without trusting God. He definitely gave Abraham the promise that his descendants, an eventual great nation, would come from his loins with his wife, not her maidservant. [God said] "...for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” (Genesis 21:12b-13)
So Israel is a very small but great nation in the eyes of God, which seems to be hated by some. Yet others tend to be sympathetic to the Islamic cause. A little more on this later...
Circumcision also means setting oneself apart from others, to be cut off. Abraham was to do this too, as we as believers are...division and covenant between God and those who walk with Him. Abraham was told to leave the country where he lived and settle in a land to which God directed him, which he did. He was to separate himself and his family from those in the land.
In Abraham's day circumcision was a physical sign of devotion to God. Proof that they agreed with His covenant. Today that circumcision, through Jesus, the descendant of Abraham and Isaac, is of the heart. We allow this circumcision of our heart to prove our devotion to God the Father. The heart being circumcised is of a spiritual nature. And we are also told that God's Word cuts deep: For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Circumcision and cutting. Important in a desire to know this God.
And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)
(Old Testament)
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh--(Philippians 3:3 ESV) (New Testament)
That you may live and not be confident of the flesh. We are to trust in God, not man. Set apart. Faith in what is unseen vs. what is seen, God vs. man. If we allow our hearts this circumcision, God's covenant, will be with us. That same covenant as with Abraham.
So if we have allowed this circumcision of our hearts, we are counted as part of the very people God calls His own, Israel. This same covenant God referred to with Abraham becomes ours. It also means realizing the importance of this tiny nation and its people. If we do not support His people, His nation, we really are not part of His covenant. There is
blessing and cursing that comes with that.
blessing and cursing that comes with that.
There are some who hate Israel. If you look closely, some might be of the line of Ishmael and a jealousy and hatred of a people God chose as His own over another who believes they should have received God's blessing way back when. If you know the whole story you can see His words are specific regarding inheritance and covenant.
The Jewish people, as hard as some might find it to hear, are God's chosen. Jesus was in the line of Isaac, not Ishmael. Yet any descendant of Ishmael may also become part of the covenant if they choose to believe in Christ. That being said, anyone would be welcome into the kingdom. It's our choice to make.
John 4:22-24 -You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment