August 19, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.’” (Genesis 17.3-6)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Is there something you believe God has said to you that you just can’t believe is true? Before God made this declaration to Abraham, Abraham only had to leave home and travel to the place where God had directed him. He would give of his “tithe and offering” as tribute to God which amounted to crops (Adam’s toil from the soil) and money (in whatever form it was presented.) Those were “goods” representing works and not true sacrifice. While the term was not yet in use in the days of Abraham, we would identify it in modern theology as “works righteousness.” It was gifting by obligation and ancillary thanksgiving. It was an offering with no pain required. For the most part, it was a gifting of testimony that God was important without any concern for consequence. All of that changed when God truly set Abraham apart from all others. The sign of that change was not “tithes and offerings” which anyone could and should do. The sign of that transformation of Abram to Abraham, from father to father of many, was circumcision.

There would be little doubt of who was one of God’s men? It was a rite of purity and identity. It was a sacrifice of pain and endurance. It was a testimony of trust in God because it required a personal surrender and submission and the shedding of one’s own blood. To some cultures, this act of obedience was seen as a mutilation and defilement. It set the men of God descended from Abraham by faith (and not just blood) apart from all others. There would be no denying who and whose they were. In entering into such a covenant as required by God who had prophetically declared the consequence of blessing and a legacy of prosperity, those who were “of Abraham” had placed themselves to be forever changed from who they once were to who they would forever be. There was no going back. There was no means of becoming uncircumcised. Of course, it was still a private act in accordance to the law of God and undoubtedly not one that they flaunted. They knew the covenant had been enacted. There was no doubt of it themselves. As a constant reminder of what had been done voluntarily, they should abide by the very agreement knowing what God had promised to do and as was doing. Their part should have never been in question.

Today, medical circumcision is a regular practice for hygiene and the prevention of infection. It is not intended to be a sign of entering into a covenant with God. Obviously, the descendants of Abraham benefitted from this medical practice (did God have this in mind?). Paul mentions in his letter to the churches of the Roman Empire, specifically to those in Rome, to be circumcised in the heart. It was to signify the internal change of following one’s own heart as in the old sin nature and instead following the heart of God being a new creation, a new creature, bound by faith in Jesus as the Christ. Mighty ones of God, are we living as those set apart from the world? Are we abiding by that covenant agreement not bound by Law but by grace? Bottom line in the story of Abraham, it was a sacred act which was intended to set his descendants (by faith or blood) apart from all others. We should be doing so today as we declare in Christ that we are a covenant community of faith.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.