originally, when God talked about circumcision, we know that it was the circumcision of the male body, supposed to be performed 8 days after birth.. and the man had to be circumcised to be in covenant with God...
women don't want to hear this, but God has not (to the best of my biblical knowledge) ever made a covenant with a woman.. He makes covenant with men and women are covered by a man.. now I do realize that is nothing that we want to hear... I also realize that we are quick to then decide that the times are different now... but again... the word of God does not change to suit our personal needs or times... and I still believe that covenant is given through a man, whether it is your husband, your father, or through Christ... if you are covered in relationship with a man, then your covenant between you and God goes through the man... otherwise, I believe Christ himself will cover us...
okay, back to the point, you cannot be in covenant with God without being circumcised. now we no longer believe this is about the physical circumcision, although I still believe that God expects that too... but there is circumcision of the heart...
we don't hear too much about this... but here it is...
Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
stiff necked means: arrogant, proud, aloof or stubborn, rebellious..
Deuteronomy 30:6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
in the one place it tells us that we have to circumcise our hearts and the other tells us that God will circumcise them for us... I think that shows that we have to put forth the effort, and God will work with us and for us... I believe having a circumcised heart is to have a heart that puts God first in our lives, regardless of the pain or discomfort that doing His will may put us in.. I also believe that someone with a circumcised heart is cutting away the flesh of your heart... cutting away the parts of yourself that you don't want to give up... the sin you enjoy... the desires you don't want to give up... being uncircumcised is uncleanness or being defiled in the eyes of God..
in contrast, a circumcised heart is humble, broken, repentant... God says that if our uncircumcised hearts are humbled and we accept our guilt then He will remember His covenant with us (lev 26:40-42) a circumcised heart is quick to forgive and release people of offenses against us.. a hardened heart cannot easily forgive and cherishes grudges... we cannot enter into covenant or be covered in the covenant of God without cutting away the sinful desires of our hearts...
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