Genesis 17:9And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 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. 23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. 24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
This passage of scripture takes up on the theme from which we left off previously, by teaching us very graphically, that our feelings, emotions, and preferences must not be consulted, when obedience to the word of The Lord is to be rendered. At the age of ninety, this command, as coming from God to Abraham, would obviously involve real pain, for according to the sacred record, time would be required for the healing process, after the procedure was administered. Furthermore, Abraham could have questioned, what relation to faith in God did the procedure have, and whether or not there was any salvific value in it. In other words, our intelligence may have found it very difficult to draw a straight line from circumcision to the pearly gates, but the scriptures show us, that whatever may be our ideas and opinions, it was a life and death matter to Abraham and his household. Let's read:
Genesis 17:11And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 13 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. 14 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.
What is even more striking in these verses is the far reaching extent of the command, for it included those members of Abraham's household who were not blood relatives, such as his menservants and sheep handlers. It is worthy of note that obedience from them was also required even though God had not spoken directly to them, and as such, they would have to endure several days of pain and discomfort, based solely on Abraham's word, which he now claimed came from God. Now folks, this is very serious business, for it shines a spotlight on the callous views towards obedience that are both held and practiced in our generation.
In our day, there is a tendency to pick and choose which commands of God we obey, and we often allow our personal preferences and feelings to get in the way of implicit compliance with a "Thus saith The Lord". Case in point is the recent decision by the courts to alter God's law on marriage, in order to accommodate those of divergent views and alternative lifestyles. With the commands of God there can be no alternatives, for we are never to be found attempting to improve on His laws and statutes, as if they were inferior, our needed upgrading to suit our modern concepts of right and wrong.
There are many of us as Christians who will be laid to rest, because we never understood the basic lesson, that what God says He means, and He means what He says. If we ardently desire confirmation of this, all we need to do is to observe what took place when Moses had failed to carry out the very same procedure, because of the remonstrances of his wife, who hated the rite of circumcision. Question: What does a Christian man do when God gives a command, but his wife hates it? For answers we must read the historical account, for nothing has changed from then until now, as it pertains to obeying implicitly whatsoever God has commanded us to do. Let's read prayerfully:
Exodus 4:24And it came to pass by the way in the inn, 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 his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. 26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
Thus it was, that with anger and resentment, Moses' wife complied with the command of God, while his son was most likely kicking and screaming, and probably wondering why mom and dad was treating him this way. It all has to do with the importance of obedience, for were it not for Zipporah's unwilling compliance, Moses would have then and there come to an untimely end.
Now, it is true that this is a very radical commentary on the issue of obedience, but it was given by God so we may understand the grave importance of being willing to follow in every particular, the instructions of God as they come down to us through His word. There are times when friends and family members, like Zipporah, may become extremely upset, and there are times when others, who, like Abraham's menservants, may not have heard directly from God on some particular issue. What matters most is our willingness to obey God's voice, for soon and very soon, it is to be uttered in the heavens, and it is only those who by faith have been accustomed to implicit obedience, will hear and carry out His orders .
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms this sacred truth, and it is the immediate will of God, that wheresoever we may have come up short in our attitudes towards obedience, that we now confess and forsake both our sins and our attitudes, for the time is at hand, and what is written in the following closing passages will certainly come to pass in due season. Let's read:
Joel 2:1Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
He, or she, that hath an ear to hear, let them hear what The Spirit saith unto the churches. God bless!