ESOCS Devotional 2 January 2025 – The Covenant of Circumcision
MEMORY VERSE: “…. Every male child among you shall be circumcised…” Genesis 17:1
TEXT: GENESIS 17:14-END
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.
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
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Circumcision is the act of cutting off the foreskin of a man. It is a practice, which the Almighty God enjoined upon Abraham and his descendants. The rule was that a male child should be circumcised when he was eight days old. To Abraham, God said: “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…” (Gen. 17: 10-12).
God was so strict about it that He ruled that every uncircumcised male child should be cut off from his people for having broken His covenant (Gen. 17: 14.) On the self-same day that God spoke to Abraham, he took Ishmael, his son, who was 13 years old and all other males in his household and circumcised them. Also, he, who was then 99 years old, had himself circumcised in obedience to the Lord’s instruction (Gen. 17: 23-27).
Since that time of Abraham, circumcision has not only become a necessary condition of Jewish nationality but also an act in which the Hebrew take particular glory. When Jesus Christ was born, He too was circumcised the eighth day (Lk. 2: 21). Other nations whose males were not circumcised were regarded by the Jews as unclean people, otherwise known as the gentiles. Thus, uncircumcision became synonymous, by implication, with heathenism, paganism or infidelity.
Beyond identification as one belonging to God, Paul tells us in Colossians 2:11-13 that circumcision had a deeper spiritual meaning. Circumcision symbolizes through the removal of the foreskin, the removal of the flesh or sinful nature from the heart. The flesh is to be cut away so that it is no longer our source of guidance and strength (Jer. 4:4; Rom. 2:28-29).
Dearly beloved, as we make the second step into this year, our Creator invites us to the circumcision of a sanctified heart. Why not give it a second thought!
CHALLENGES
- Have you circumcised your heart, removed the stone in it and filled it with the word of God?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord, sanctify us in your truth, your word is truth, in Jesus name. Amen!
FURTHER READING: Genesis 1:21-end; Matthew 1:1-17; Lk. 3:1-20
ESOCS Devotional 2 January 2025
