As I read through the Old Testament in my yearly schedule to read through the whole Bible, a passage in the book of Joshua jumped out at me. The Lord commanded a certain preparation be made before Israel could take the Promised Land in blessing and power of God.

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Listen :

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↶ 𝕁oshua 5:1-8 ~ 𝔾enesis 17:9-14 ↷

The Lord has used many types and shadows in His Word to show us the meanings or applications of things He would later reveal to us as how they apply to us under the new covenant. One of those proto-types (a model, first form or example) of what he introduced in the Old Testament is the requirement of circumcision that was initiated with Abraham.

It was to serve then as a token between a man and God of the man’s submission and obedience to God or God would have no respect unto the man and the man had no claim to the blessings of God.

Based on what we read, those men that came out of Egypt were circumcised, including Moses. It became apparent that the practice was still incumbent upon the nation to diligently follow as indicated by the angel meeting Moses and his family on their way to Egypt to kill Moses, until his wife quickly circumcised their son on the spot († Ex. 4:24).

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† Joshua 5:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. 2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised († John 7:22): but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 7 And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. 8 And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. 9 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal (wheel) unto this day. [As a reminder of this divinely commanded practice:]

† Genesis 17:9 And 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 (to cut off, cut down, to become clipped). 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 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. 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.

The Lord has used many types and shadows in His Word to show us the meanings or applications of things He would later reveal to us as how they apply to us under the new covenant. One of those proto-types (a model, first form or example) of what he introduced in the Old Testament is the requirement of circumcision that was initiated with Abraham. It was to serve then as a token between a man and God of the man’s submission and obedience to God or God would have no respect unto the man and the man had no claim to the blessings of God.

Based on what we read, those men that came out of Egypt were circumcised, including Moses. It became apparent that the practice was still incumbent upon the nation to diligently follow as indicated by the angel meeting Moses and his family on their way to Egypt to kill Moses, until his wife quickly circumcised their son on the spot († Ex. 4:24).

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In case you do not know what this practice involves, it means this:

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To circumcise a male is to amputate the foreskin (prepuce, the protecting loose skin) from around the forward end of the boy’s or man’s penis. Now before you men shudder in thinking that I am going to make the case that you need to go and get this done, if it hasn’t been already, relax—you’re safe. But there is an important aspect of this imputed practice upon men by God that I must point out today.

Now we will skip forward from the † Exodus 4 mention to † Joshua 5 as we’ve read, the subject of uncircumcised males came up again and was required by God before they were permitted to take the land of God’s promise to Abraham. Apparently, the generation of children born during the 40 years of travel had not been circumcised based on neglect or just one more of their rebellions. The following are two points as the reasons for bringing this out; two points that connect to today’s male and female believers who are true followers of Jesus.

𝕋he following are Two points as reasons for bringing this out

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Point One:

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God commanded physical circumcision, and it remained a required practice to be included by the congregation of believing Israel throughout their pre-Messiah history. However, due to hardships and excuses or laziness toward YHWH or disbelief in its validity or other invalid reasons, the generation of those raised up during those 40 years were-not-circumcised—at least the lot of them. They were commanded to have that surgery (agree to and perform that religious rite) before they could proceed into the full promises of God; and so they were all circumcised.

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Point Two:

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Physical circumcision was (in fashion) a “picture” of what needs to be done in the being-redeemed hearts of all those that are born again from Heaven—all true Christians. Physical circumcision has given-way to what it was pointing to (a type and shadow of), which is the heart of a man and woman that has entered the congregation of the righteous through Jesus Christ and must have the fleshly cut off. To update the definition: to circumcise is to cut off, the cutting away of the fleshly/carnal/worldly tissues that surround the hearts of men and women being saved from sin and its nature. It is a requirement of you and me as born again ones, and was spoken of by God as to its future application of what it means to us, as revealed in both the Old and New Testaments.

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† Deuteronomy 10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked [the result of an uncircumcised heart]. . .

† Deuteronomy 30:4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live [one of the good results of the heart being set free from the carnal nature].

† Jeremiah 4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Perhaps you didn’t notice it but in † Deuteronomy 10 and † Jeremiah 4, the Lord commands His people to “circumcise yourselves” and in Deuteronomy 30 we see that there is some aspect of this needed surgery that God Himself will do upon our hearts. Let’s briefly look at that aspect of a needed spiritual surgery in the life of a true follower of Jesus.

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† Ezekiel 11:17 …Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new (fresh, rebuilt, new thing [regenerated]) spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart (the stone used in building [a wall or barrier]) + (heart—"a man’s center”: the feelings, will and intellect [now known as the “soul”]) out of their flesh (person), and will give them an heart of flesh (fresh, full, rosy, cheerful): [Why? Why is this needed? v. 20] 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations [an uncircumcised, stony heart], I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD. [I fear for professing believers today that continue to walk in detestable and abominable ways.]

† Exekiel 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols [“detestable, abominable ways”], will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, [the Holy Spirit] and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

† Isaiah 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing (Ez. 11:19 “new spirit” and Ex. 36:27 “My Spirit in you); now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we live in the last generation before Jesus returns to fix things and rule for 1,000 years; and His return is nigh, so very near!

Among the greatest problems of this last generation of His followers, or those that think they are following Jesus, is that we, like those that had been born and grew up in the 40-year trek to the Promised Land, [we] (as in many in the church today) need to have our hearts circumcised of the foreskin that is the world’s ways and our own stiffneckedness to the ways of our holy God.

Just as Israel came out of pagan Egypt and needed a lot of holiness-help, and just as Judah came out of Babylonian captivity centuries later and needed holiness-help, so do we in the true church today need the holiness-help of God!

You might find it helpful or at least interesting to know that as I was considering what the Holy Spirit wants us to understand on this issue I discovered that there are at least 10 reasons why even today a male child should be physically circumcised.

I will not list them but to say that many of the 10 are due to simply not staying physically clean under that skin sheath and or free of the bacteria that cause infection in that male part while other reasons have to do with conditions that that heavy, fleshly overcoat has, which for many causes physical pain and suffering for an uncircumcised man. (Read this again ... considering the spiritual aspect of an uncircumcised heart.)

ℂonsidering the spiritual aspect of an uncircumcised heart

As to our relationship with God and the healing process He desire for us, I speak of things that are a useless and dastardly thick callous shrouding our heart of hearts, which are issues we can recognize and submit to the surgery by the cross for, but also can be things that we do not recognize that God sees and wants to cut away, if we will allow Him to.

Things that the Lord sees that are the secrets of our heart that are buried well below our perceptivity, bad experiences in our past that still influence us in unrighteousness, and the under-the-radar of our sight some deceitfulness of our minds and hearts that dis-please God.

What we do recognize and what we do not continue to work against our spiritual growth and hinder the blessings of God and our Savior upon our lives (listen to the audio for my personal example about unrecognized envy and jealousy that had to be circumcised from my heart).

Now whether you are a man or a woman believer, and both are included in the spiritual need to cut away the foreskins of our hearts, think about what such a carnal and worldly covering over our hearts cause.

Our stony heart is that hardness which has been built over the years of our lives that adversely affects our feelings, our willingness to go God’s way, and the work of our minds favoring God’s ways and not our own selfish ways and means.

Our stony hearts must be traded for hearts of living flesh; living flesh that is not like stone that must have a hammer and chisel to engrave by the continual pounding of God’s Word and ways upon our hearts through preaching—but a heart of flesh that by willing osmosis (a gradual and often unconscious process of assimilation) absorbs the Word and ways of God into every spiritual cell of our living heart provided by God.

It is that heart of flesh that God gives us that stays clean of the world’s filth and infectious bacteria and is immune to the pain and suffering of doubt and unbelief toward God that comes from the troubles of this life.

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† Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. [To which each sincere heart that says this, the Lord says:]

† Jeremiah 31:31 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: 32 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 ... 33 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.

When we recognize and desire the cutting away of the useless flesh as we live for Jesus [When the Old Man Dies : Part I & Part II], we go to the cross, expose the sinful nature and ways to its death, and deny those actions in the future while we walk closely with the Lord.

But for those times when it is the Lord that wants to in a targeted manner step-in and bring healthy changes to our life (“the Lord that circumcises”, † Dt. 30:6), He does so in various ways by bringing to our minds and hearts things that we can suddenly see and through confession and repentance have the corrective surgery needed to give us greater freedom in Christ our Lord.

𝕎hat kinds of things might we be blind to?   1. We are in a rut of laziness toward God; we’ve become content with where we have grown to and have stopped maturing as a Christian   2. We are ignorantly insensitive to the Holy Spirit and cannot hear His voice   3. We have a very hidden and wrong attitude about something that displeases God (re: my personal example)   4. We shelter an ongoing mood of unrepentance that blocks certain blessings from the Lord   5. There is a side-room in our mind or heart that we never go near, which holds the darkness of past experiences in the forms of doubt toward God, unforgiveness, bitterness, hate, vengeance, and so forth, which door must be opened and the things of that room cleaned out

The foreskin of the heart must be cut away, and the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the cross of Jesus Christ are the scalpels for that needed surgery; they are the “sharp knives” represent by † Joshua 5:2-3.

Circumcision is to be of the heart where remnants of the fleshly nature continue to rule and rob us of God’s greater blessings.

It is there that deception works its wiles, and love of the world and its things dominates our thoughts and motivations—all things that will affect you and me in ways we do not recognize and that God wants to cut out of your life and mine.

ℍow do we participate in this needed surgery?

Understand that God desires it and that most issues require you going to the cross, denying the old man, and relentlessly walking at Jesus’ side daily—while at other times needed surgery is through the growing closeness with the Lord, hearing the Spirit of God when He brings to the surface of your spiritual sight this and that that you didn’t know was there, acknowledging such things and letting Him cut them away.

We in the church today are a generation needing to be spiritually circumcised. Let us who are truly followers of Jesus say to the Lord ...

“Father, as your child, by your Spirit do what needs to be done by cutting away the old nature’s worthless skin around my heart in order that new things will come forth in my mind and heart. Amen”.

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~ Brother Scott ... With ... The Right Word^© ... For Today~

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