“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe …” (Rom 4: 11, NKJ)
A covenant is essentially a contract in which two parties agree on certain things. In God’s covenant with Abraham, for example, God promised many things to Abraham, but He required only one thing from him: “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.” (Gen 17:1). What does it mean? Rom 4:3 (LB) explains it as follows: “For the Scriptures tell us Abraham believed God, and that is why God cancelled his sins and declared him not guilty.”
In the original Hebrew the word walk means: “to seize every opportunity”. To walk before God as Abraham did therefore means to embrace every opportunity that God brings along your way and to move in it.
The Abrahamic covenant opened the way for all Israelites to enter into covenant with God (Acts 3:25). Instead of God having to go through the same covenant procedure with each member of the Jewish nation, He instituted circumcision. “This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” (Gen 17:10-11). This “seal” through circumcision becomes the showbread of God’s covenant with the Israelites. So, for example, when Joseph’s brothers did not recognise him as their brother but as an Egyptian royal authority, he called them together. Gen 45:1 tells the story: “Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Make everyone go out from me!’ So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.” The only clear mark that Joseph could show to distinguish himself as an Israelite in Egypt was circumcision – it is his covenant bread that he showed them, when he made himself known to them!
- Sela: Ponder how you are marked in God and try to find out what represents your spiritual circumcision.
- Read: Judg 8; Ps 98; Acts 8
- Memorise: Acts 8:39
- Going deeper: Read Chapter 4 in Arthur Pink’s The divine covenants.
