A Painful Reminder - Genesis 17

God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.  This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.  And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.   And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.   A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.   But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant." (Genesis 17:9-14 NASB)

This is not a guy’s favorite topic.  It hurts just to consider it.  That God would use such a practice makes a painful point, but doesn’t necessarily make it clear.  This is something that is not unheard of in the time of Abraham, but it is not common by any means.  The medical reasons aside for such a practice (that would not be common knowledge in that day, if anyone knew of them) it is one that put the person practicing it in a small sub-group of people.  That may be part of God’s point.

Circumcision is mentioned in Scripture 87 times.  Of those 32 are in the Hebrew Scriptures, and this is the first reference.  So, in a sense, the law that became such a distraction for the Jews really started with the covenant between God and Abraham.  Using the criteria for what constitutes a law in Scripture, this command to keep this “sign of the covenant” fits in nicely.  It has both a reason and a consequence tied to it.

First, the reason is to be a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham.  Every male in the household, slave or free, is to have this sign.  Abraham made the covenant, but every male in the house carries the mark of it.  There are several things that make this not only interesting, but also important as a law to be used by Christ-followers in a modern setting (but don’t panic!).

Second, the consequence is really severe.  If a male refuses the sign, then that person is cut off from the household (or his people).  One of the interesting items in this passage is the flipping back and forth between second person singular (Abraham) and second person plural (everyone affected by this: his household and descendants).  So the consequence becomes an ethnic consequence as time goes on.

My observations that make this both interesting and important to modern Christ-followers stem from elements of the setting then; obvious elements.  This isn’t a sign to everyone else around the household/people.  It’s a “private” sign.  Only the household and members of Abraham’s descendants are aware of it.  The covenant of which this is a sign was that God would give Abraham descendants and the land of Canaan.  His part was this circumcision element.

This isn’t the first covenant that God enters into with Abraham, but it the first one where God requires anything but faith on Abraham’s part.  He and the males of his household will carry about the sign that this land will be given to the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, who had no children.  Every male would know and have a reminder of what God was doing through this man and his descendants.

Where I see the importance for Christ followers is in the importance of the covenant we are under.  Ours, like Abraham’s, has been ratified by a huge act on the part of our Savior.  But what is our mark?  What is it that we use to pass this covenant on down to our children?  Unlike Abraham’s covenant with the Creator, our Savior did not make this covenant with us and our descendants, but with persons.  I don’t receive my salvation because my parents were in this covenant.

If I want my child to enter into this same covenant, what am I doing to pass it along?  What reminder do I have or use a sign of this covenant?  Does my Master prescribe a “sign” of this covenant?  There are only two things that my Master prescribes, and they are not prescribed together.  One is baptism, which I believe is to be performed on a person once they become a Christ follower.  The other is Communion or The Lord’s Supper.  This is also for Christ followers.

The differences between circumcision and these two acts are huge.  Neither one of these are for males alone, everyone is included regardless of social or gender differences.  They are not painful (unless one is kept under water too long, but that almost never happens).  There are two, not one sign of this covenant.  The two signs are performed among individuals rather than within social structures (with one exception).

Communion is called that for at least two reasons.  First it celebrates the communion between the Creator and His human creatures with whom He relates.  Second it celebrates the communion of fellow Christ followers, regardless of other differences; at least it’s supposed to.  This one is performed within a social structure of “called-out ones” or church.  Churches come in various sizes, but share a lot in common, both within and out between different groups.

Another observation about this law is that this was done by parents to sons on the eighth day.  Initially, the adults and young men were circumcised, but this was to be continued by parents to sons.  These sons aren’t going to remember what happened, and won’t know the significance until they are taught it.  This continues the transmission of the covenant from one generation to the next within the household and among Abraham’s descendants. 

Scripture notes that sometimes groups of believers are baptized on a “household” scale as well.  Usually a prominent or sizable household, and it is not specified if the slaves or just the family members participated.  I’m not sure how to take this because I’m not told whether all the participants did it because “dad did” or because they too wanted to accept the covenant he accepted.  Scripture seems to accept it, so it may not be “normative” but it is acceptable to my Master.

The last observation is related to the first element; that this is done to those in the household who are not necessarily relations but are closely associated with the family.  In other words, once a person becomes a part of the social structure of Abraham’s house or of his descendants, they fall under this sign of the covenant between Abraham and God. 

This is where I believe this law became such a distraction for the Jews of Jesus’ day.  It was the private “club card” exclusive among the cultures around them.  It set them apart.  They saw it as a means of survival; to keep their society from being consumed by the ones in which they lived, which ruled over them.  This was not a new problem, because Canaan or Palestine had always been overrun by different cultures.  That they have maintained their identity as a people is miraculous; it is a confirmation of God of His continued love for these people.

Yet, this attitude of isolation or entrenched life means that while they separated themselves from distracting cultures, they also separated those cultures from God.  That was not really the plan.  It is my interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures that God intended all along to include the nations in His family; to redeem all of humanity, not just one people.  But I also see a struggle in and with His people to accept this element. 

This is a danger for Christ followers as well.  Both on an individual and on a church scale this attitude of isolation from the cultural enemies of our Savior also separates those in that culture from our Savior.  There are enough barriers inherent to this covenant without additional ones being created by fearful believers.  It is not the will and design of my Master that I restrict or dictate who and who will not be admitted to His family.  Yet, in a way, I do this whenever I refuse to engage with others outside my comfortable ring of safe fellow Christ followers.  That is not my Master’s way, and should not be mine.

So, this law, only a few verses, might be a bit more complex and meaningful than at first imagined.  Is it possible that it should be examined and mined by Christ followers for a better understanding of what Christ wants for them?  I believe so.  I believe it would be very profitable for believers to dive deep into this topic in order to better understand the will and design of our Master.  I believe we will find a missing part of the heart of Jesus when we do.