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Circumcision: God’s Covenant Sign
Discover the spiritual significance of circumcision as God’s covenant sign to Abraham. Learn how this ancient rite symbolized complete submission to God and marked membership in His chosen community.
Circumcision
1. The Origin of Circumcision
This rite originated when God commanded it to Abraham (Gen 17:12). At that time, Abraham was ninety-nine years old and Ishmael was thirteen. From that point on, every male born in Israel was required to undergo circumcision on the eighth day after birth. Circumcision was later formally established as law under Moses. It signified that God would be the God of the people of Israel, and that Israel, as God’s specially chosen people, would submit to Him alone and worship only Him.
2. Those Required to Receive It
Anyone who sought to become a member of Israel’s covenant community—such as foreign slaves living among the Israelites or Gentiles who wished to participate in the Passover—was required to be circumcised. Because of this great importance, circumcision was even performed on the Sabbath (John 7:22-23). Conversely, no matter how pure one’s Israelite lineage, any male who remained uncircumcised forfeited his standing as a covenant member and was cut off from the chosen community (this signified expulsion from the covenant community). Foreigners, sojourners, and converts alike could become full members of the covenant community through circumcision (Exod 12:48). In Hebrew society, one who was “uncircumcised” was held in contempt, and all fellowship with such a person was strictly forbidden. Circumcision was therefore both a solemn duty incumbent upon God’s people and a mark carrying great honor and pride.
3. Exceptional Periods
There were, of course, exceptions in the history of Israel. During the forty years of wilderness wandering after the Exodus, the Israelites were in the unique circumstance of marching toward Canaan, and so circumcision was not performed. Instead, the moment they crossed the Jordan River and entered Canaan, Joshua led the people in performing circumcision at Gilgal (Josh 5:2-5). Considering that this took place at a critically important and dangerous time, just before a decisive battle with the Canaanite peoples, one can appreciate how significant a rite circumcision truly was.
4. Authority
The rite of circumcision was carried out according to God’s command (Gen 21:4) and was performed primarily by the father, the head of the household (Gen 17:23), though in special circumstances the mother could perform it as well (Exod 4:25). In later times, it came to be performed by a mohel—a trained Jewish professional circumciser who was both devout and medically skilled. In the earliest period, a sharp flint knife was used, but by the intertestamental period the procedure was carried out with the instruments of a professional circumciser (a metal knife) (Apocrypha, 1 Macc 1:61). Even then, it remained customary for the father to hand the knife to the physician before the procedure, making clear that the authority over circumcision rested with the father. The naming of the child also took place at the circumcision ceremony.
5. The Uncircumcised
The Philistines and the Canaanite tribes did not practice circumcision. As a result, they were called “the uncircumcised” and became a byword for those who stood apart from God’s covenant and were destined for destruction (Judg 14:3). In particular, expressions such as “uncircumcised…” appear to have first arisen in the context of Israel’s battles against the Philistines, who were literally uncircumcised (1 Sam 14:6). Indeed, the Philistines were the people who lived closest to Israel throughout its entire history, yet also caused Israel the greatest and most persistent suffering.
6. Attempts to Erase Circumcision
In the intertestamental period following the Exile, Syria—which had conquered Israel—forcibly sought to erase the marks of circumcision on Israelite men. Under the influence of Hellenism, some Jews even voluntarily underwent surgery to remove the physical sign of circumcision. This amounted to an act of apostasy and betrayal of the faith. The Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes went so far as to impose the death penalty on parents who circumcised their children, in an effort to destroy the communal identity of the Jewish people and stamp out their faith in the LORD. At this time, a group of faithful Jews led by the Maccabees went to war against Syria, restored national sovereignty, and revived the distinctive faith of the Jewish people. Against this backdrop, circumcision was once again established as a vital rite of pledging one’s loyalty before God. From that point forward, through the era of the New Testament, circumcision remained a rite of profound importance in Jewish society.
Source: Dictionary of Biblical Cultural Background
Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com
