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NASB | Genesis 17:10 "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 17:10 "This is [the sign of] My covenant, which you shall keep and faithfully obey, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. |
Bible Question:
I've been asking several people this questions and it seems like no one really knows. What was the purpose for circumcision? Why did God initiate this procedure? What was its meaning? Sean |
Bible Answer: As Doc has stated "Why" questions concerning God and His actions are tough to answer. Besides all the good answers you've been given, I can only add one or two more comments. If one studies the history of mankind, one figures out rather quickly that blood has always been a big factor in making covenants between two parties, most of the time between two or more men. (You might remember in the movies about American natives slashing the palms of their hands and then shaking hands.) But when that covenant is between man and God, He outranks any man and He gets to the dictate the Terms and Conditions. Even Moses' wife recognized that his God was a bloody God and she was a Gentile. Ex 4:24 And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” 26 So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision. We need to remember that blood was a very important item to our Lord in all the millions of sacrifices that were offered to Him, looking forward to the Ultimate Sacrifice of His Son on the cross. When this circumcision is performed on a small child, the wound heals quickly and the pain is forgotten. We also must remember as was alluded to earlier Is 55:8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. One more side note: According to modern medical experts, there are many good reasons to circumcise males, i.e. avoiding cancer. AND the ideal time to circumcise is exactly 8 days after childbirth, because of the spike of vitamin K. Another endorsement of the Inspiration of God's Word. |