God established His covenant with Abraham and made a promise to Abraham, that He would multiply Abraham exceedingly. God promised Abraham and his seed the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and that He would be their God and they would be His people. God told Abraham that He would keep His covenant with Abraham. But not only with Abraham but also with his seed. As a token of God’s covenant with Abraham, Abraham had to circumcise every male child on the eighth day.
The covenant between God and Abraham
God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs (Acts 7:8)
I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep My covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt Me and you.
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant (Genesis 17:7-14)
The circumcision in the flesh on the eighth day was a token of the covenant
All the males, who were with Abraham, had to be circumcised, including Ishmael. But God said specifically, that God would establish His covenant with Isaac and not with Ishmael. Isaac wasn’t born yet, but God had made a promise to Abraham, which God fulfilled. Even when Abraham and Sara had doubts about His promise, God kept His promise, as He always does.
When Sara became pregnant and Isaac was born, Isaac was circumcised on the eighth day. And then all those, who were born of the seed of Isaac were circumcised on the eighth day. It didn’t matter what day the eighth day was, whether it was on a Sabbath day or a feast day, the male child was circumcised on the eighth day.
An everlasting covenant
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:15-29).
God said to Abraham, that it would be an everlasting covenant between God and Abraham and his Seed. The Seed refers to Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16).
God mentioned the Seed, because, in the Book of Genesis, God had prophesied, that the Seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head.
Therefore, in Jeremiah 31, God promised a New Covenant, which would be a better covenant than the Old Covenant (Read also: The head of the serpent bruised, because the heel of Jesus was bruised).
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
The promise of a New Covenant
God promised He would establish a New Covenant, not only with the house of Israel but also with the house of Judah. It would be a different covenant than the covenant, God made with their fathers on the day that God took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
God promised in Jeremiah 31 a New Covenant; the New Covenant in Jesus Christ and the promise of the Holy Spirit.
This New Covenant would make it possible for humanity to become born again in the spirit, by faith and regeneration in Jesus Christ, by the baptism in water, the dying of the flesh and the resurrection of the spirit from the dead, and the baptism with the Holy Spirit and become sons of God.
The token of the Old Covenant, between God and the seed of Abraham and Isaac took place on the eighth day.
The New Covenant on the eighth day
For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; And having an High Priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:14-22)
On the eighth day, the resurrection of Jesus Christ took place. The redemptive work was accomplished, the Old Covenant had passed away and as a token, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, when Jesus Christ died as Man on the cross. The New Covenant was established on the eighth day and replaced the Old Covenant.
Isn’t that something, that the circumcision on the eighth day was a token of the Old Covenant, and that the New Covenant was established on the eighth day, when Jesus rose from the dead?
Is there only one way, to be saved?
The New Covenant was not only meant for the people of Israel, but also for the Gentiles. Jesus had made a way for the world to be reconciled with God by faith and regeneration in Jesus Christ, (a.o. John 3:16).
Only through Jesus Christ and by faith and regeneration in Him aka the circumcision in Him, it’s possible to be saved and to be reunited with God. There is no other way! (Read also: What does the circumcision in Jesus Christ mean? and Is there only one way to eternal life?)
God only wanted one thing and that was to be a God for His people, but God was rejected by His carnal people Israel. His people Israel had broken His covenant, therefore a New Covenant had to come.
The New Covenant is a better covenant
But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the Mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
In that He saith, A New Covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:6-13)
This New Covenant would be so much better than the Old Covenant. God would deal with sin and death that reigns in the flesh of fallen man aka the old man through one sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ.
God would deal with the sinful nature, that is present in fallen man through the death of the flesh (Read also: The difference between the sacrifice of animals and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ)
By the blood of Jesus Christ and regeneration in Christ and the death of the flesh and the resurrection of the spirit from the dead, God wouldn’t remember the sins and the former life as a sinner anymore, since the old man (fallen man) with all his sins and iniquities and who lives under sin and therefore is a sinner, doesn’t live anymore but has died in Christ (Read also: Are you still a sinner? and Jesus restored the position of fallen man and The peace, Jesus restored between fallen man and God)
God created a new species, a new generation, a new man; sons of God. The new man was born through the resurrection of the spirit from the dead and God would put His law in the hearts of the new man, who belonged to this new generation, by the baptism and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that wonderful?
Everyone, who believes in Jesus Christ and accepts Him as Savior and Lord, shall be saved from eternal death and shall receive eternal life.
The New Covenant and the circumcision in Jesus Christ
In Whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, Who hath raised Him from the dead (Colossians 2:11-12)
The New Covenant was meant for the old man; the carnal man, who was born of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Israel and through natural birth belonged to Israel, and as a token was the circumcision in the flesh on the eighth day. But due to the fact, that the covenant was broken by God’s people, there had to come a New Covenant, a better covenant, and that New Covenant came.
The New Covenant whereof Jesus Christ is the High Priest and Mediator, is sealed with His blood and everyone can have access by faith and regeneration in Christ.
In the New Covenant, there is no circumcision in the flesh, since the New Covenant is not for the old carnal man, but in the New Covenant, the circumcision in Christ takes place.
You become circumcised in Christ by putting away, the body of sins, and laying down and burry your flesh. You bury your flesh through the baptism in water (Read also: ‘What is baptism?‘).
In the water baptism, you lay down your old life, and through the resurrection of the spirit from the dead, you will be raised in newness of life. From that moment you have become a new creation; a new man and your fallen state has been restored and you live in the New Covenant, which was first meant for God’s carnal people Israel, and then for the Gentiles.
From that moment on, you shall no longer walk after the flesh in the kingdom of darkness and live under the authority of the devil and the spirits of this world in the power of sin and death, but you shall live in Christ in the Kingdom of God, that you’ve entered through regeneration, and you shall represent, preach and bring the Kingdom of God, where Jesus Christ is King, on earth.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
