READ: Gen. 17:9-27: … ‘This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised … and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. … And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.’ Then God said … Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him …
It is always necessary for us to strengthen our faith in the LORD so that we do not doubt God’s promises and can persevere in faith. The LORD provides us with His Word and sacraments as means of the Holy Spirit (HC, LD 25). These means were already present in the Old Testament. We read about them in this particular chapter. Everything regarding faith and covenant begins with God and His promises. It is not we who choose God, but God who chooses us.
That is how God approaches Abraham. He calls him and gives him precious promises. God continually strengthens Abraham in his faith. Now, in Gen. 17, He establishes the sacrament of circumcision. It is a sign and seal that you are included in God’s covenant and that all His blessings are also for you. The sign reminds Abraham and his descendants that God miraculously provides for offspring and that sin is removed through the blood of atonement. Thus, circumcision also points to the coming Christ.
However, from God’s side, there is also the demand to keep His covenant and to carry out the divine command of circumcision. The covenant threat applies that anyone who refuses to be circumcised must be cut off from his people. Such a person must be excommunicated. God takes this matter seriously, as seen in the incident where He sought to kill Moses because of his negligence.
Living within the covenant is a precious matter but also carries great responsibility. This applies to us as baptized children of God as well. Let us not despise its richness through unfaithfulness.
What does baptism mean to you?
Singing: Ps. 105:3
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.