Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• Romans 2:28-29

Supportive NT Scriptures

• Colossians 2:11-12
• Philippians 3:2-3

Supportive OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 10:16
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 30:5-6
  Jewish Commentary
• Jeremiah 4:4
  Jewish Commentary

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Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

To understand this Mitzvah, one must first understand what has come to be known as the Abrahamic Covenant that is described in Genesis 17:1-16, highlights of which are: “When Avram was 99 years old ADONAI appeared to Avram and said to him, "I am El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted."” “As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name will be Avraham [father of many], because I have made you the father of many nations.” “I am establishing my covenant between me and you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be God for you and for your descendants after you.” "As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. Here is my covenant, which you are to keep, between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be circumcised. You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Generation after generation, every male among you who is eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaves born within your household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you. The slave born in your house and the person bought with your money must be circumcised; thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who will not let himself be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin- that person will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my covenant." Covenants can be bilateral or unilateral. A bilateral covenant comes into existence when two parties agree to perform in some way. The covenant referred to above that was made with Abraham and his descendants (even those yet unborn) was not bilateral – it was unilateral. Abraham and his descendants (later called “Israelites” or “Jews”) could individually violate it by refusing circumcision, but there was nothing for them to promise or to do to bring it into existence. God simply gave it to them, and its purpose was to identify the children of Israel as a priestly servant-nation that all would see was obedient to God and through whom God could reach all the other nations of the world. The Hebrew for circumcision of the flesh is “b’rit milah” – literally “covenant cutting.” It is an act of commanded covenantal obedience and a visible witness to the Gentile nations of Israel’s relationship with God. There is, however, a higher kind of covenant circumcision to which circumcision of the flesh points; it is “circumcision of the heart,” and it too involves obedience – not out of command, but out of love. This kind of “covenant cutting” is not only for the Jew but also for the Gentile, and there is another difference. The covenant of “heart circumcision” is bilateral in that God offers it, and it only becomes a reality in the life of each individual that accepts it.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 3

Drawings

Artist: Jenske Visser

Source and License

Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

Volume 1 & 2 | Volume 3

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Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 3

Copyright note: Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 3