The big snip

In my previous blog post, I discussed the difference between the physical heart and the spiritual heart. In this blog post, I will discuss the difference between physical circumcision and spiritual circumcision. 

Physical circumcision is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 17:10-14.  God told Abraham that to keep the covenant between Him and Abraham's descendants, every male child was to have his foreskin removed. The circumcision was to occur on the eighth day after the male child's birth. God also told Abraham that every male child is to be circumcised, whether he was a family member or he was bought with money; otherwise, the uncircumcised male would be cut off from his people. This is important because in Exodus 4:24-26, we read that Moses was returning to Egypt when the Lord met Moses on the road. The Lord was going to kill Moses, since Moses didn't have his son circumcised. Moses' wife circumcised Moses' son and threw the foreskin at Moses' feet. Even Jesus was circumcised, because He was a Jewish baby boy (Luke 2:21).

God is the Creator, and He had a good reason for selecting the eighth day for physical circumcision.  The level of Vitamin K in the blood is highest on the eighth day, and Vitamin K controls the clotting factor that helps stop bleeding. Today, baby boys are circumcised a few hours after they are born. Jewish boy babies are circumcised on the eighth day after birth during a religious ceremony called a bris. 

Spiritual circumcision refers to the foreskin of the spiritual heart, which I touched on briefly in my last blog post. The first time the foreskin of the heart is mentioned in the Bible is in Deuteronomy 10:16, where Moses tells Israel to circumcise the foreskins of their hearts so that they would not be stiff-necked (a/k/a rebellious) any longer. Moses also tells Israel in Deuteronomy 30:6 that if they fall away from faith in God but return to the Lord, He will circumcise their hearts and the hearts of their descendants to love the Lord with all of their hearts and souls so that they may live. In Jeremiah 4:4, Jeremiah tells Israel to circumcise themselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of their hearts, lest the Lord's fury come forth like fire.

In the New Testament, Jews are referred to as "those of the circumcision," to differentiate them from the Gentiles, who weren't circumcised. In Romans 15:8, Paul refers to Jesus as the servant to the circumcision (the Jews) for the truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers (i.e., the Jewish fathers). 

So, how is the spiritual circumcision of our hearts accomplished? Paul states in Romans 2:29 that circumcision is of the heart in the Spirit. He then states in Colossians 2:11 that the spiritual circumcision is made without hands by Christ Himself. When we repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ, He will circumcise the foreskin of our spiritual heart so that we have a spiritual heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone.  

Dear reader, what is the condition of your spiritual heart? Have you experienced the circumcision of the spiritual heart but have turned away from God like the Israelites did? If so, the promise God gave to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 30:6 applies to you also. Repent of your sins and turn back to God so He can circumcise your spiritual heart and you can love the Lord with all your heart and soul, and truly live. 

Thanks, as always, for reading! See you next time!

Diane

The write style - Biblically speaking

If you enjoy reading (like I do) you read everything that certain authors write because you like their writing style.  You may enjoy the way a fiction writer tell a story and how they develop characters.  You may enjoy how a non-fiction writer presents information.  An author's writing style reflects their personality and their knowledge of a subject or their passion for a story. 

The Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God, but God dictated His words to humans to transcribe.  (I am a legal assistant, so I do a lot of transcribing.) Each transcriber of God's Word had his own writing style that revealed his personality.  If you read the books of the Bible carefully, you will be able to see the personality traits of each transcriber. Let's take a look at a few of these transcribers. 

My favorite Bible transcriber would have to be the apostle John.  John 1:1-18 reads like prose and is beautifully written. 1 John 4 is all about love, the love of Jesus for us and our love for one another.  John also wrote the book of Revelation, with its vivid descriptions of the end times.  Since I like to write as well as read, I look forward to meeting John in Heaven to swap notes, so to speak. 

Reading Paul's epistles reveals a very different personality than John.  Paul was very authoritative. He often used athletic metaphors such as "running so that I complete the race" or "fighting the good fight" to get his point across.  When a fellowship or a person was in the wrong, Paul didn't mince words - he told it like it was.  He often comes across as harsh, yet he had a passion for people to be saved, especially his Jewish brethren. 

Luke is another transcriber with a different personality.  Luke was a historian.  He was very detail oriented, due no doubt to his training as a physician.  Luke is the only one who reported that while Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, his sweat appeared like large drops of blood.  He vividly described the Holy Spirit descending on the people in the Upper Room and the founding of the early church.  Luke also described in great detail how Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and his conversion to a follower of Christ.

Moses was one of the greatest transcribers of God's words in the Old Testament.  The first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, were written by Moses.  Although he was not an eyewitness to the events that happened before he was born, he his descriptive words make these events come to life.  He is a huge part of the Exodus story, yet he describes himself as a humble man who loved God.

I invite you to take another look at the books of the Bible to discover who their transcribers were and try to figure out their writing styles and their personality.  It just might just add new life to your study of the Bible! 

Thanks for reading!  See you next time!

Diane