In Genesis 17, God begins the whole rite of circumcision with Abraham and his descendants. We discussed yesterday that circumcision was a sign of the covenant that God was making with Abraham. Today, we are going to look at another aspect of circumcision that I think to be the most obvious.

Grand Canyon

Circumcision is more than just a sign of a pact, it is a painful separation of that which is good in order to gain that which is the best. The foreskin is a small rather insignificant part of the body, yet parting with it proves to be quite a task. God understands this, but He is immovable in His requirement of the Hebrews as we learn in Exodus 4:23-26.

And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

The translation of verse 23 is a bit obscure. My sources tell me that God could have been speaking of Pharaoh’s son or Moses’ son. I tend to believe that God is speaking of Gershom, the firstborn of Moses, because in the next verse, we see how God is prepared to take the life of the boy for Moses’ disobedience. Why would Moses disobey the command of the Lord to Abraham? Because it is PAINFUL! You try and listen to your son scream as you run the blade of the knife on his skin. It’s difficult. What’s more is that it’s tough to follow a God who would demand such a mutilating act. Isn’t God concerned about the physical health and well being of the child? Yes, but obviously He’s more concerned about the status of the covenant with His people.

The foreskin is a good thing. When God created man, He said, “It is good.” That meant all the parts of the man. Albeit the foreskin is good, in comparison to the need for the covenant, it is not worth considering keeping it. Moses learned that he had to trade the good thing for the best thing.

As we walk this Christian road, God will ask us to give up some good things. At this point of life, I do not have a cable or dish TV service. Is TV bad? Not necessarily. I feel like this is something God wants me to be separated from right now. TV is fun and good, but the best thing for me and my family is to have more time for each other and more time for God. As painful as it is, I have to let it go.

What has God asked you to give up in your Christian life that could be considered “good”? Was it easy to explain to other people why you made that decision?