Circumcision. Few topics can divide believers quite like this one can. From the arguments for the biblical validity of continuing this practice to arguments of the physical over scriptural nature of it and even how to perform it. This discussion can be heated, emotional and sadly sometimes even hurtful. I hope today to be helpful in showing why I believe as I do, what I see scripture teaching, and then to compare the Word of Elohim to what is in our fallen world in order for believers to put this mitzvot into practice.
So let us first look at who circumcision was given to as this is a common objection. We see it first mentioned in Genesis 17:1, "I am establishing my covenant between me and you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be God for you and your descendants after you. This shows us that not only was this command given to Abraham, but that it was for all descendants, forever. Does that restrict it to only those naturally born as his descendants? Not according to scripture which repeatedly marks all Believers as descendants of Abraham; such as Galatians 3:29, Also, if you belong to the Messiah, you are seed of Avraham and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:7, Be assured, then, that it is those who live by trusting and being faithful who are really children of Avraham. Or Romans 4:16, The reason the promise is based on trusting is so that it may come as God's free gift, a promise that can be relied on by all the seed, not only those who live within the framework of the Torah, but also those with the kind of trust Avraham had - Avraham avinu for us all. (Father for us all). This inclusion of non natural born children of Abraham is not new, even Abraham himself recognized this as we see further on in Genesis 17. Verses 9-14 say, God said to Avraham, "As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. Here is my covenant, which you are to keep. between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be circumcised. You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Generation after generation, every male among you wish eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaved born within your household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you. The slave born in your house and the person bought with your money must be circumcised; thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who will not let himself be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin - that person will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my covenant." So as we can see it was anyone among Abraham's people even from the beginning, their nationality was irrelevant. Many commonly, mistakenly, think that circumcision is restricted to Moshe, but this was a man who even forgot to circumcise his own son before recording the Law with Adonai on Sinai! (Exodus 4:24-26). Joshua 5:5 shows us, For although all the people who left Egypt had been circumcised, all those who had been born in the desert on the way as they went on from Egypt had not been circumcised. But who is all who left Egypt? Was it only those of native born Israel? No, as Exodus 12:38 shows us, A mixed crowd also went up with them, as well as livestock in large numbers, both flocks and herds.
Thus we can clearly see that circumcision was never left to only the natural born descendants of Abraham, but to all believers who are not children of Abraham as well no matter their heritage. We should then obey the mitzvot, Leviticus 12:3, On the eighth day, the baby's foreskin is to be circumcised. In doing so we follow the model of not only the patriarchs as seen in Acts 7:8, And he gave him b'rit0milah. So he became the father of Yitz'chak and did his b'rit-milah on the eighth day, and Yitz'chak became the father of Ya'akov, and Ya'akov became the father of the twelve patriarchs. But we do as Yeshua himself was done, Luke 2:21, On the eighth day, when it was time for his b'rit-milah, he was given the name Yeshua which is what the angel had called him before his conception.
Many claim adults are then to be circumcised when we are saved much as we are to be immersed shortly after we are saved, and they will turn to mass repentance times in scripture in which many adults were circumcised, like with Abraham, Moshe and then in Joshua 5:8, when all the nation had been circumcised, every one of them, they stayed where they were in camp until they had healed. Or how in Genesis 17:14 it shows how even the slaves had the choice to be circumcised, so that it was entirely optional but that if they weren't they would be cast out, free or slave, away from the people. They will use this to state that we should do the same, but is circumcision really a defining factor to if we are a part of God's people, Israel?
Many claim adults are then to be circumcised when we are saved much as we are to be immersed shortly after we are saved, and they will turn to mass repentance times in scripture in which many adults were circumcised, like with Abraham, Moshe and then in Joshua 5:8, when all the nation had been circumcised, every one of them, they stayed where they were in camp until they had healed. Or how in Genesis 17:14 it shows how even the slaves had the choice to be circumcised, so that it was entirely optional but that if they weren't they would be cast out, free or slave, away from the people. They will use this to state that we should do the same, but is circumcision really a defining factor to if we are a part of God's people, Israel?
For that we must turn to the ever misused Galatians. The same letter that is spoken of when Kefa says in 2 Kefa 3:16, Indeed, he speaks about these things in all his letters. They contain some things that are hard to understand, things which the uninstructed and unstable distort to their own destruction, as they do the other scripture. We must be careful not to distort Galatians to Lawlessness, anything against the Law of Elohim. In Galatians 2 we see Circumcised and Uncircumcised being used as terms for the different people groups, the circumcised being the Jews and uncircumcised being the Gentiles. This goes all fine and well until we see Kefa being chastised for submitting to the pressure of those who felt all believers Must be circumcised to the point of not dining with the uncircumcised gentiles. In Galatians 2:16 he then goes on to say, even so, we have come to realize that a person is not declared righteous by God on the ground of his legalistic observance of Torah commands, but through the Messiah Yeshua's trusting faithfulness. Therefore, we too have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua and become faithful to him, in order that we might be declared righteous on the ground of the Messiah's trusting faithfulness and not on the ground of our legalistic observance of Torah commands. For on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, no one will be declared righteous. The problem was not with circumcision itself, but with the faction of people stating if one was not circumcised, then one was not saved. This is the doctrine so valiantly faught against by Paul, not the circumcision itself. Most commonly first turned to however is what we see in Galatians 5:2-3, Mark my words - I, Sha'ul, tell you that if you undergo b'rit-milah the Messiah will be of no advantage to you at all! Again, I warn you: any man who undergoes b'rit-milah is obligated to observe the entire Torah! This can certainly sound very definitive when standing alone, but scripture does not stand alone. So firstly, I would remind you that Sha'ul can not then be speaking against obeying the command to circumcise our sons, as he even took a Nazarite Vow in Acts to show he would never teach against the Torah and to do so would make him a false teacher, but that he was still speaking against doing so for the sake of works based righteousness. Sha'ul goes on to clarify this in the verses immediately after. 4-6, You who are trying to be declared righteous by God through legalism have severed yourselves from the Messiah! You have fallen away from God's grace! For it is by the power of the Spirit, who works in us because we trust and are faithful, that we confidently expect our hope of attaining righteousness to be fulfilled. When we are united with the Messiah Yeshua, neither being circumcised nor being uncircumcised matters; what matters is trusting faithfullness expressing itself through love. Thus we can clearly see that circumcision is not a matter of salvation, that the uncircumcised would not be kept from God's grace because of the sin of their parents. I believe Galatians 6:12-16 puts it very well, It is those who want to look good outwardly who are trying to get you to be circumcised. The only reason they are doing it is to escape persecuption for preaching about the Messiah's execution-stake. For even those who are getting circumcised don't observe the Torah. On the contrary, they want you to get circumcised so that they can boast of having gained your adherence. But for me, Heaven forbid that I should boast about anything except the execution-stake of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! Through him, as far as I am concerned, the world has been put to death on the stake; and through him, as far as the world is concerned, I have been put to death on the stake. For neither being circumcised nor being uncircumcised matters; what matters is being a new creation. And as many as order their lives by this rule, shalom upon them and mercy, and upon the Isra'el of God. So too we can see how Elohim affirms that circumcision is not salvific in Acts 10:45, All the believers of the circumcision faction who had accompanied Kefa were amazed that the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh was also being poured out. This also then was a part of what was going on in Acts 15, when the Jerusalem council then decided the starting points for all gentile born coming into the faith, leading them to purge themselves of past pagan traditions first as they began to learn how to follow Elohim in the synagogues after.
Yet we can clearly see Sha'ul himself then affirm that circumcision of an adult can happen rightfully as well, Acts 16:3 says, Sha'ul wanted Timothy to accompany him; so he took him and did b'rit-milah, because of the Jews living in those areas; for they all know that his father had been a Greek. This was then done to help further Timothy's testimony to people who expected a certain thing, in no way an act of trying to earn salvation nor a sin if he had not done so.
Indeed then to not be circumcised is not cause to be cast out, Genesis 17:14 must then have been a case of a situational command as such a mitzvah is never given to all the people but once to one man, and never stated as a broad command. Indeed Colossians shows how we are all together in 3:11, The new self allows no room for discriminating between Gentile and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, foreigner, savage, slave, free man; on the contrary, in all, the Messiah is everything.
What is of upmost importance then is that as believers we are circumcised of the heart, that we are tailoring our hearts to follow Elohim first and foremost. This is not a Brit Hadasha concept as many would dismiss it as, but found even in the Tanahk. Jeremiah 9:24-25 (25-26) says, "The days are coming," says Adonai, "when I will punish all those who have been circumcised in their uncircumcision - Egypt Y'hudah, Edom, the people of Amon and M'av, and all those living in the desert who cut the edges {of their beard}: "For although all the Goyim are uncircumcised, all the house of Isra'el have uncircumcised hearts."
Then the question often falls to, but what of Pesach? Many have heard of what is stated in Exodus 12, namely verse 48, If a foreigner staying with you wants to observe Adonai's Pesach, all his males must be circumcised. Then he may take part and observe it; he will be like a citizen of the land. But no uncircumcised person is to eat it. But does this become a lasting ordinance? I don't think so. Much of what was stated for the first Passover is not the lasting ordinance by God but simply for the first; things like putting the blood over our doorposts, dressing a certain way etc. These are shown as changed when we can see how in Exodus 12 Israel was told to be speedy, to rush, but in Exodus 23, Lev 23 and Deuteronomy 16 the command is to recline, relax. Not one of those areas which lay out the Torah of Pesach speak to a necessary circumcision so how then can we justify that it is a requirement for the Holy Day in perpetuity? I simply can not see it as consistent to the text.
Now, when it comes to the modern issues we often hear argument that would even throw words such as mutiliation and abuse around when we are seeking to be obedient to Elhohim's mitzvot. To understand this more fully I think a bit of history in circumcision is helpful. There is a large difference between modern circumcision and what was done in biblical times, today's version is more severe, taking more flesh. This came about larely due to the Hellenistic culture around the Jewish people for so long. With their sports often played naked it was then somewhat obvious who the Jew vs the Gentile was and this became an issue of discrimination. As the b'rit-milah still left more foreskin it became common for men to use stretching methods on what remained in order to appear uncut at all. Shortly there after, seeing men seeking to look as though they were not born within the covenant, different teachers began to cut more and the birth of modern circumcision took over. Today it can be difficult to find someone who will perform a b'rit-milah, but they are out there and choosing between the two styles is a choice for the parent to make in observing this Law.
I hope that this has been benefitial to you in seeing the value of following God's Torah in circumcision, to circumcise our sons on the eighth day from their birth. So why then is this so vital? In this circumcision and immersion are alike, yet also very different. Both are out signs of our covenant with Adonai, but circumcision is the sign of us keeping that in our children, of them being born in the covenant, while immersion is the sign of us being prepared as the Bride of the Messiah; an adult choice to commit our lives to the Messiah and keep the covenant.
So in closing I will leave you with Philippians 3:1-16. In conclusion, my brothers: rejoice in union with the Lord. It is no trouble for me to repeat what I have written you before, and for you it will be a safeguard: beware of the dogs, those evildoers, the Mutilated! For it is we who are the Circumcised, we who worship by the Spirit of God and make our boast in the Messiah Yeshua! We do not put confidence in human qualifications, even though I certainly have grounds for putting confidence in such things. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for putting confidence in human qualifications, I have better grounds:
- b'rit-milah on the eith day,
- my birth belonging to the people of Isra'el,
- A Hebrew speaker, with Hebrew speaking parents,
- in regard to the Torah, a Parush,
- in regard to zeal, a persecutor of the Messianic Community,
- in regard to the righteousness demanded by legalism, blameless.
But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of the Messiah, come to consider a disadvantage. Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in the comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having the righeousness which comes through the Messiah's faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust. Yes, I gave it all up in order to know him, that is, to know the power of his ressurection and the fellowship of his sufferings as I am being conformed to his death, so that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead. It is not that I have already obtained it or already reached the goal - no, I keep persuing it in the hope of taking hold of that for which the Messiah Yeshua took hold of me. Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, I keep persuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God's upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua. Therefore, as many of us as are mature, let us keep paying attention to this; and if you are differently minded about anything, God will reveal this to you. Only let our conduct fit the level we have already reached.
Now, when it comes to the modern issues we often hear argument that would even throw words such as mutiliation and abuse around when we are seeking to be obedient to Elhohim's mitzvot. To understand this more fully I think a bit of history in circumcision is helpful. There is a large difference between modern circumcision and what was done in biblical times, today's version is more severe, taking more flesh. This came about larely due to the Hellenistic culture around the Jewish people for so long. With their sports often played naked it was then somewhat obvious who the Jew vs the Gentile was and this became an issue of discrimination. As the b'rit-milah still left more foreskin it became common for men to use stretching methods on what remained in order to appear uncut at all. Shortly there after, seeing men seeking to look as though they were not born within the covenant, different teachers began to cut more and the birth of modern circumcision took over. Today it can be difficult to find someone who will perform a b'rit-milah, but they are out there and choosing between the two styles is a choice for the parent to make in observing this Law.
I hope that this has been benefitial to you in seeing the value of following God's Torah in circumcision, to circumcise our sons on the eighth day from their birth. So why then is this so vital? In this circumcision and immersion are alike, yet also very different. Both are out signs of our covenant with Adonai, but circumcision is the sign of us keeping that in our children, of them being born in the covenant, while immersion is the sign of us being prepared as the Bride of the Messiah; an adult choice to commit our lives to the Messiah and keep the covenant.
So in closing I will leave you with Philippians 3:1-16. In conclusion, my brothers: rejoice in union with the Lord. It is no trouble for me to repeat what I have written you before, and for you it will be a safeguard: beware of the dogs, those evildoers, the Mutilated! For it is we who are the Circumcised, we who worship by the Spirit of God and make our boast in the Messiah Yeshua! We do not put confidence in human qualifications, even though I certainly have grounds for putting confidence in such things. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for putting confidence in human qualifications, I have better grounds:
- b'rit-milah on the eith day,
- my birth belonging to the people of Isra'el,
- A Hebrew speaker, with Hebrew speaking parents,
- in regard to the Torah, a Parush,
- in regard to zeal, a persecutor of the Messianic Community,
- in regard to the righteousness demanded by legalism, blameless.
But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of the Messiah, come to consider a disadvantage. Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in the comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It was because of him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah and be found in union with him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having the righeousness which comes through the Messiah's faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust. Yes, I gave it all up in order to know him, that is, to know the power of his ressurection and the fellowship of his sufferings as I am being conformed to his death, so that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead. It is not that I have already obtained it or already reached the goal - no, I keep persuing it in the hope of taking hold of that for which the Messiah Yeshua took hold of me. Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, I keep persuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God's upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua. Therefore, as many of us as are mature, let us keep paying attention to this; and if you are differently minded about anything, God will reveal this to you. Only let our conduct fit the level we have already reached.
no, I keep pursuing it in the hope of taking hold of that for which the Messiah Yeshua took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, 14 I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God’s upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua. 15 Therefore, as many of us as are mature, let us keep paying attention to this; and if you are differently minded about anything, God will also reveal this to you. 16 Only let our conduct fit the level we have already reached.