Circumcision was an Old Testament religious rite wherein the flesh of
the male
foreskin
was removed - it was normally
performed on infants, usually on the eighth day after a child was born.
God first commanded that this rite be performed by Abraham as a sign of the covenant that God made with
Abraham.
Genesis
Abraham was also commanded to circumcise all those in his household, including his male
slaves.
Genesis 17:13 - Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an
everlasting covenant.
Circumcision was practiced among the Jews from that time forward. The command to
circumcise was reiterated by Moses as a part of the Law.
Leviticus 12:2 - Say to the Israelites: A woman who
becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son . . . On the eighth day the boy is to be
circumcised.
Even in Old Testament times, the Israelites were taught that outward physical circumcision, the removal of flesh,
was a picture of what God does to the heart of a man (or woman) who
becomes a true believer: the removal of the condemnation and domination of the flesh (sin) in the life of
that person.
Deuteronomy 10:16 - Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked
any longer.
Deuteronomy 30:6 - The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so
that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
With the coming of Christ, and the establishment of a New Covenant, outward physical
circumcision
is no
longer required of Gods people. But God continues to circumcise the hearts of true
believers - removing the condemnation and
domination of the flesh (sin) in the life of that person.
Colossians
2:11-13 - In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the
hands of men but with
the circumcision done by Christ . . . When you were dead in your sins and in
the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made
you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins