9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 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. 11 “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 “And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. 13 “A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 “But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
One is apt to look at this passage and say, “what in the world does this have to do with anything?” It’s all about keeping a covenant. Time and time again, God had reaffirmed His promise to Abram. What had it cost Abram? So far, he had to move to a new land, which is no small task. But that wouldn’t do as a symbol of the covenant for future generations, so the Israelites became a people of circumcision. Today, God doesn’t ask our males to be circumcised to prove we love Him. But He still puts a mark on our lives. We are to live different than the world around us. We are not to be the same as everyone else. We, as Christians, dedicate our lives to Him.