Probably one of the most obvious reasons for the existence of circumcision in the Bible is the fact that it creates a clear distinction between circumcised and uncircumcised men. Perhaps a good illustration would be to imagine a group of Hebrew and Egyptian boys skinny-dipping in the Nile. Well, don’t think about it too long. The point shouldn’t take too long to understand.
Yellow duckling with black ducklings
If purely for the sake of being different, doesn’t circumcision seem to be a tad drastic? A little overkill? Hundreds of other avenues could have been considered for the sign of the covenant–clothing style and uniforms, hairstyles, tattoos or other body markings, food or linguistical distinction such as accents or language. Of course, all of these dissimilarities were used by God to differentiate the Jews from the other nations, but they were not the quintessential sign. These actions followed the rite of circumcision. Indeed, it would be extreme except that the whole idea of circumcision is to create a permanent, irreversible difference. A Hebrew may choose to eat pork. He might put a tattoo of the Ten Commandments on his chest. He can change any of these behaviors. Yet, he cannot change what happened to him at the most intimate part of his body. To do so would cause disease and infection to set in and eventually, death.
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ… Colossians 2:11 NIV
Although it’s true that as Christians we are not required to perform physical circumcision on the males in the church, it is, however, a requirement that all believers undergo a spiritual operation in which the sins, desires and proclivities of the old, sinful nature must be cut off. This is a painful separation of old habits and thought patterns. It hurts. It’s difficult. But it should be required, encouraged and demonstrated in every believer’s life. Like the circumcision of the body, this circumcision occurs to a part of us which is so intimate that it could never be reversed. After the Holy Spirit has run the edge of His blade against my heart and sliced off those things to which I once held to so fiercely–earthly gain, recognition, success, comfort–then I will irrevocably be different than my unbelieving peers, forever.
Have you experienced this painful process of spiritual circumcision in your life? What did God ask you to give up in order to be different?
I’ll be the first to say that I’ve experienced this painful process, and it continues to occur in my life to this day. It devastated me when I felt the Holy Spirit tell me as a young man about to graduate high school that I was not to go to college to be a medical doctor. I was crushed. That had been my dream for years. It was a good thing, but God wanted the best thing for me.
Instead, God led me to go to Christ for the Nations, to which I did not want to go. He wanted to launch me into pastoral ministry. My dream of being a doctor was really about my intense desire to be respected, admired and rich. To take it away was to make me different from all of my colleagues who were chasing their dreams of success.
Now that I’m on this side of things, I realize that it was best for me. I am happy and know that I would not have found this joy in the other life that I was pursuing. God has been faithful!
Good point, but Egyptian men practiced circumcision before Abraham. God asked Abraham to have his descendants loss their foreskins to remember the promise God gave to Abraham. It was a pledge between God and Abraham that will make his descendants remember God’s promises.
I’m glad I’m a gentile and is not circumcised. But I would not put down a Jew, because they still keep to Gods word and obey.
People back then knew who was a descendant of Abraham and not, because men and boys did things naked like wrestling, swimming, fishing, and other things when the women aren’t around. Today people can see if we have circumcised hearts by the way we live and love others through Christ.