Little man had the snip today. Of course, it made us go to the crazy instances in the Bible--
*Abraham being 99 and Ishmael 13 (Gen 17) when God pronounced the sign/external reminder of the covenant;
*God almost killing Moses and Zipporah's circumcision intervention (Ex 4:24).;
*The progression of events upon entering the promised land--
-crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3),
-memorial stones (4) the entire nation of Israel being vulnerable before their enemies, but reestablishing the covenant sign of circumcision and the celebration of Passover in Gilgal (look that city name up in Hebrew if you want a good laugh),
-the commander of the Lord's army stating that He was for the Lord
- then the spectacular fall of Jerichoall of the spectacular victories took place after spectacular submission and obedience.
This external sign that we, uh... celebrated... and commemorated with our son today is to remind us that the Lord demands radical obedience, radical memory of what He's accomplished, and in response to His glory, radical dependance upon His grace to sustain and protect.
Yet, it has even greater significance in view of what Jesus does with a heart. Even the outward sign of circumcision is gospel-centered, finding it's fulfillment and purpose in Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament, God always pointed the physical sign of circumcision as a forerunner of the spiritual circumcision that takes place through the Gospel.
Check out some of these verses that emphasize the heart:
Leviticus 26:40
Deuteronomy 10:12
Deuteronomy 30:4
Jeremiah 4:4
Jeremiah 9:25
Ezekiel 44:6
And in the NT, Paul uses circumcision to show some self-righteous, tradition loving, prideful Jews that depending upon the law for their righteousness has made them worthy of the wrath of God too:
25 For circumcision indeed is of value nif you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if oa man who is uncircumcised keeps pthe precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded2 as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law qwill condemn you who haverthe written code3 and circumcision but break the law. 28 For sno one is a Jew twho is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one uinwardly, and vcircumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. wHis praise is not from man but from God.
It's always been about the heart.
In Romans 2, those that put their faith in the externals of dead religion were told that they missed the point; they were without excuse. Yet, verse 2 of Romans 2 says that the kindness of God leads to repentance. I pray that the Lord allows you to have a true-circumcion, one that takes place through the New Covenant of the cross. You see, it's always been about the heart.
So, Josiah's first circumcision was outwardly administered today, but the second circumcision can only be administered by God on the inside of his heart through the New Covenant applied by the Holy Spirit. We pray that this happens. I'm so thankful to the Father for yet another picture of His grace bestowed upon us in Jesus.
PS-God's design is magnificent. He originally commanded circumcision to take place on the 8th day, which is exactly when a babies body produces large amounts of vitamin K. The vitamin helps the blood to clot more quickly. Little man had to have a vit. K shot when he was born in order to prep him to be circumcised before leaving the hospital. Yeah, we call that being fearfully and wonderfully woven together by God (Psalm 139)!
