Dear Children;
Churchianity may tell us the Old Testament has been nailed to the cross, but I encourage you to search and challenge all religious beliefs against the backdrop of the history and the culture of Genesis to Revelation, both change with time and outside influences. If you study carefully you will see that the New Testament is the fuller expression of the Law. That fuller expression was given at Sinai and became lost to the people. The Law has not become obsolete, rather men’s hearts were the problem, many of the prophets spoke to the nation of Israel ‘stony hearts’. With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit the Law and the compassion of the Law is now carved in our hearts.
The Question of Circumcision
Are we to circumcise our children now that the Messiah has been crucified? Have His followers been liberated from this requirement? There are many opinions on this matter. I want to take a look at the history and the Law concerning this subject.
Circumcision of the flesh was given to Abraham as a sign of his covenant with the Yehovah.
Gen 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. 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.
Circumcision, מול, mool. (root) To cut short, curtail, to blunt. Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (EDBH) .ל.ו.מ, cut; move in opposition 1: cutting; circumcising 2: facing 3 being opposite
In verse 9 Elohim said to Abraham: Thou shalt keep my covenant (ברית) b’rit. Root: .ה.ר.ב To select, to feed, to render clear. EDBH rejuvenate; restore physical health 1. feeding 2. providing 3. grains 4. field growing food. Isn’t it interesting that when Abraham was ninety-nine years old Elohim chose him to be rejuvenated in his flesh by an oath of the removing of his foreskin? Abraham was required to obtain the promise by faith, Hebrews eleven gives us a list of forefathers in the Old Testament who were accounted for as righteous by first believing in Elohim and then afterward walking in obedience to Him.
Romans 4:17 As it is written, I have made thee a father (Abraham) of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
In Genesis seventeen every male child born to Abraham’s household, every male that was purchased, every human male that dwelled with Abraham was to carry Elohim’s oath of the b’rit mool in their flesh. The most private part of their bodies was to be permanently altered, the foreskin was to be cut off. I am not a man, but I dare say this is the most sensitive area of the male body. This sensitive organ now stripped to the outer covering is made more sensitive. This small organ of the human male body was an instrument of Abraham’s covenant with his wife. By extension, Sarah entered into the same covenant through her husband. This is the organ that Yehovah chose as a sign of covenant, through this promised Messiah was born from the seed of Sarah and Abraham. I will to return to the subject of why this organ was chosen as a sign of the oath a little further down.
Gal 3: Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Do you see the picture of the Messiah yet in the telling of Abraham and Sarah? Abraham was Sarah’s kinsman redeemer. As a shadow type of the Messiah Kinsman Redeemer to come, Abraham redeemed the daughter of his brother and his brother’s son (see That Rock was Messiah). Yeshua came as a kinsman redeemer to the children of His brethren (the twelve tribes). Abraham, Sarah, and Lot shared a father named Haran. Yeshua of the tribe of Judah shared a father named Abraham with Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. From Abraham, Elohim gave the circumcision of the flesh to tribes of Israel. From Yeshua, Yehovah gave circumcision of the heart to the tribes of Israel.
Through the Messiah when we come into His tent to be His bride the seed we conceive is by the circumcised heart when we become His betrothed. Spiritual intimacy with Him, by Him.
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
It’s in this tabernacle of flesh, our earthly bodies that the Holy Spirit dwells.
1 Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1 Cor 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Isa 24: 67 And Isaac brought her (Rebekah) into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Ps 61:4, 5 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle (tent) for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings (tzitzit) . Selah.
Through His prophets Yehovah said of the human heart:
Deut 19:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? 14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. 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. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: 18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. 21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. 22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Ezek 11:19 19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: (Ezek 36:26,Jer 4:4, Jer 31:33, Heb 8:10)
Rom 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
I believe what Elohim has always been trying to convey to mankind through the covenant of circumcision that He gave though Abraham is: “As I have removed the foreskin of the most sensitive organ on your body so that has become more sensitive, this is the same condition of sensitivity that I want in your hearts. Look down and see, but remember your hearts, you must be mindful to remove the stony foreskins of your hearts, and I have placed that reminder in your flesh for you to see and remember.”
Who of us have not been at a sporting event, or when in horseplay, have not seen grown men drop to their knees when this organ has received even a small impact? This is the tenderness of heart we are to carry if we have the law written on our circumcised hearts. When we have a heart on which the law is written it knows to do good and the Spirit within us knows how to judge righteously (Matt 24:35-46). So that when one part of the Body suffers we all suffer, when one part of the Body is honored we are all honored. (Rom 12)
Rom 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16 Be of the same mind one toward another
Circumcision in the Law
Yehovah gave the circumcision to the tribes of Israel again before they left Egypt
Ex 12: 43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: 44 But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. 46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
In understanding what Elohim was saying to Israel we see that circumcision is tied to Passover. Passover is the only feast that circumcision is required for the correct observance. Passover is the first feast of the twelve-month biblical year. The Messiah Yeshua as the Passover Lamb so that the stony foreskin of men’s heart could be removed at Shavuot in Acts chapter two. With that stony foreskin removed mankind gained a heart of tender flesh so that the tenderness and compassion of the Law could be written on it. (Matt 24:35-46).
Lev 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. 3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Circumcision is given again when the nation of Israel enters the land they were promised
Johsua 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: 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 unto this day.
We have very clear rules concerning circumcision that were given in the Old Testament:
- We have read that there was an eight-day circumcision for the male children
- We have read that even the adults were to be circumcised when the b’rit was given to Abraham
- We have read that all men, regardless of age, were to be circumcised to keep Passover
- We have read when the tribes Israel crossed the Jordan into the land of Israel they circumcised all their males regardless of age and then they kept the Passover.
Let’s take this knowledge into the New Testament scriptures. Circumcision was a predominant source of discord between the Jews who kept the Laws of Moses for salvation and those Greek-speaking Gentiles coming to faith in the Elohim of Abraham who were not circumcised.
In Acts chapter two the power of the Holy Spirit is given to Yeshua’s disciples on Shavuot. Shavuot happens between the 6th and the 13th day of the third month. In Acts chapter ten the power of the Holy Spirit is given to Cornelius household and friends. I believe this event took place on Yom Kippur (see Cornelius Household and friends are the Northern Kingdom https://www.insearchofhisancientpath.com/cornelius-household-and-friends-are-the-northern-kingdom). Yom Kippur happens on the 10th day of the seventh month. The Holy Spirit was given to the Jew first and then to the Gentile (Rom 1:16-17). There was only a short four-month period before the question of the uncircumcised would need a decision from the disciples who had walked with Yeshua.
When we read the account of Cornelius in Acts chapter ten and eleven Peter clearly mentions that those on whom the Holy Spirit fell where considered unclean (See Peter’s Sheet and Moses Seat ). Peter’s dream of the sheet was most clearly given to him to reassure him that the three unclean men that were about to arrive at this door were sent to him by the Holy Spirit as the sheet had descended to him three times in his vision.
Immediately after Acts chapter eleven, we find Peter defending his action to the disciples in Jerusalem where he recounted the events of Caesarea :
Acts 11 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, 3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. 4 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
And there it is. We’ve just learned two things. Uncircumcised men were considered unclean to the disciples and the problem in Acts chapter ten was that the Cornielius household and friends were uncircumcised:
Acts 10: 28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
We can also see in the verse a very instructional bit of information. In scriputre the Jews will frequently be referred to as the circumcised and the Greek-speaking Gentiles will be referred to as the uncircumcised. Let’s see now how this issue of uncircumcised, unclean Greek-speaking Gentiles is resolved.
Acts 11: 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. 16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? 18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
This is the reference that everyone who believes that circumcision was done away with points to. If we look back at the covenant with Abraham when adult males needed to be circumcised. Then we look to the Law that said in order to keep Passover even the foreigners must be circumcised. And finally we look to the first Passover in the Land when all of the Israelites were circumcised again, then we can kind of see it was a big deal that the Holy Spirit which was first given to the ritually pure also fell on the ritually impure.
What’s missing in this story? Have you figured it out yet? Eight-day circumcision is missing. Nowhere in the bible are we ever given an example of the eight-day circumcision being skipped or dismissed.
Throughout the rest of the books of the New Testament, there is plenty of instances where the ‘circumcised’ subverted the ‘uncircumcised’ or accused Paul of teaching against the adult circumcision. The thrust of the religions Jews was to push the newly redeemed Gentiles into adult circumcision to keep this aspect of the Law of Moses.
In this time of bringing the uncircumcised Northern Tribes of Israel back into covenant with their Elohim, the book of Romans tell us it was part of Elohim’s plan. Recording the events of Cornelius household and the Gentiles of Asia Minor is the way we know the prophecy of Yehovah concerning the Northern Kingdom has begun to happen. Look at this:
Rom 4:11 And he (Moses) received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
Abraham had faith first which caused Yehovah to see him and enter covenant with him. Through this covenant of circumcision, Abraham became the natural father of all of the twelve tribes, even faithless Ephraim (the Northern Kingdoms) whom Elohim would divorce and later restore in Acts chapter ten and chapter eleven when He began the redemption in the household of Cornelius was all part of the plan.
Again the council in Jerusalem faced the issue of circumcision in Acts chapter fifteen, and again they decided what Yehovah has allowed they cannot and will not disallow:
Acts 15: 1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, [and said], Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. 3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. 4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and [of] the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. 5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses. (Remember this is adult circumcision) 6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men [and] brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as [he did] unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. 12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men [and] brethren, hearken unto me: 14 Simeon (Peter) hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. 15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: (Ps 89:3-4, Amos 9:11) 17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. (Amos 9:12) 18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Amos 9:12) 19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and [from] fornication, and [from] things strangled, and [from] blood. 21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. 22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; [namely], Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: 23 And they wrote [letters] by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren [send] greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: 24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, [Ye (adults) must] be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no [such] commandment: 25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell [you] the same things by mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Throughout the New Testament, the debate over the circumcision of the Gentiles continued. The non-redeemed religious Jews continued to try to pressure the Gentiles into adult circumcision. (see Who Were the Gentiles in the New Testament )
One of the things that Paul was accused of was teaching the Jews in Asia Minor to not circumcise their children:
Acts 21: 21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. 22 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. 23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; 24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. 25 As touching the (adult) Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
Paul kept the Law of Moses!
This is the only time eight-day circumcision is brought up in the New Testament. The answer was for Paul to complete his Nazarite Vow along with four circumcised redeemed Jewish men from Jerusalem, at the temple in Jerusalem: We (the disciples in Jerusalem) have four men which have a vow on them. The intent of this action was to assure the Believers that Paul kept the Law and walked orderly contrary to the accusations made against him.
Edited: I realized I got caught speeding here. I was terrible in algebra, I struggled to show all of the steps to the solution of the equations to my instructor. My brain skipped ahead in the process of working the solution. Sometimes when I write the same thing happens as it did this time:
Truly the verse in Acts 21:21 was speaking of the Jewish believers (Judah), however, by knowing the principle and the pattern of the first covenant that was once a person had joined themselves to the Torah by faith in Yehovah the SAME LAWS gave to them were the SAME LAWS that applied to the twelve tribes. Are we to believe that only the New Testament Jews were required to circumcise their children? Had the Gentiles not re-entered the second covenant? If the Jews kept the eight-day circumcision would not the Gentiles be required to do the same? One law, one Elohim, one people.
Twenty-eight times Yehovah took the time to include the geyr/foreigner in the commands AND he gave TWO specific verses to say, “if they are keeping my covenant, the terms of my Ketubah, then THEY are the SAME as YOU! Treat them the same, they are not different.
Leviticus 19:33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. 34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 24: 22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger (גיר), as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God.
(See Who were the Gentiles of the New Testament for further study on the subject)
Don’t we as a believer in the Kinsman Redeemer from the tribe of Judah, joined to Him in redemption and placed into covenant believe that we have all the rights of the second covenant? Why then would Elohim now say that there are two laws? One for them and one for us? I don’t believe He has. Remember, Abraham was not a Jew or a son of the twelve tribes that made up the nation of Israel. Abraham was the source, the father, that proceeded them. Circumcision was not given to the twelve tribes, it was given to Abraham who was not born into the nation of Israel.
It is my belief that eight-day circumcision was taught to the newly redeemed Gentiles. Verse twenty-four said that the accusation against Paul by those making it was “nothing”. Paul was innocent of their accusations: all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing. In one generation the returning Northern Tribes would have again been circumcised as eight-day circumcision was performed on the children born to the uncircumcised Gentiles.
Circumcision does not save. But as father Abraham first had faith and then entered into the brit mool (covenant of circumcision) in obedience, so the redeemed Northern Tribes were to have faith and obedience to circumcise their children. It has always been faith first then obedience as we read in Hebrews eleven of our forefathers. It was and is faith and works:
James 2:14-18 4 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works (see The Fast)
In the storyline of the New Testament debate over circumcising the newly redeemed Gentiles, we see clearly that adult circumcision was not required of them because Yehovah Himself had given His Holy Spirit to them in their uncircumcised condition. That this event was the sign that Ephraim had been restored to Elohim, that the two divided sticks of the twelve tribes had become one in the hand of Yeshua the Messiah:
Ezek 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? 19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
This was the fulfillment prophecy of the book of Amos as Peter spoke of in Acts chapter fifteen. These pieces of evidence were given to this generation in the first century so that they would know the hand of Elohim had performed His word:
Acts 15:15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: (Ps 89:3-4, Amos 9:11) 17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. (Amos 9:12) 18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Amos 9:12)
Amos 9:11, 12 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this.
What should uncircumcised men who are sojourners or proselytes coming to faith in the Elohim of Abraham in our times be required to do?
Besides being a sign in the flesh of covenant with Yehovah circumcision was one of the requirements to be ritually clean in order for a Jewish man to enter the Temple to present his sacrifices and offerings before Elohim. In Acts chapter twenty-two we see that the very idea of an uncircumcised Gentile entering into the Temple courtyard section for the religious Jewish men was enough to cause Paul to almost lost his life at the hands of zealous religious Jews:
Acts 21: 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. 27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, 28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place (the Temple): and further brought Greeks (the uncircumcised Greek speaking Gentiles) also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. 29 (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) 30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut. 31 And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
The previous temples had been defiled multiple times by the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Greeks. Herod’s Temple had a special plaque affixed to the wall of the women’s court that gave the Jews permission by Roman Law to kill anyone, including Romans soldiers, who were uncircumcised that might attempt to enter the area. The Jews of this era were serious about keeping the temple undefiled and had authority given them by the Romans to back it up. (see Cornelius Household and friends are the Northern Kingdom for more information on the courtyards of Herod’s temple)
Both Yeshua and Paul were accused of treason against Herod’s Temple. At Yeshua’s trail His accusers quoted Him as saying He would destroy and raise up the Temple again in three day. Paul also taught the Believers in Asia Minor of the future destruction of Herod’s Temple, in Acts 22:28 we read the people accusing Paul of teaching against the Temple.
The first-century believers in Yeshua knew that Herod’s Temple and its temple services would soon be coming to an end. Circumcision to enter the temple would no longer be an issue because the offering and sacrifices would soon be ending as Messiah took the role of High Priest in the eternal order of Melechezidik. In addition, the uncircumised Gentiles were a prophetic sign to the believing Jews that Ephraim was now able to be restored to the new covenant in Messiah blood. We are still in this order today. There is no Temple. We are the Tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. Those adult men coming into faith to the Elohim of Abraham need not be circumcised in order to enter into the covenant, their state of uncircumcision was prophecied as was the destruction of the Temple. The work of bringing sacrifices and offerings to the Temple has ended. The work of the priests who presented the sacrifices and the offerings to Yehovah inside the Temple has ceased because Yeshua finished that work and entered His rest, so we rest from that work. There are no Passover offerings to present in the Temple.
Many Jews in the first century were sold out to the Greek (Hellenistic) philosophy and culture wanted to do away with their “humiliating” mark of the covenant, circumcision. Sporting events at that time, according to Greek custom established before the Romans, were conducted in the nude. Some Jews chose to undergo a painful operation which undid or hid their circumcision. This is documented in the Apocrypha, in I Maccabees, chapter 1, verse 15, “They removed their marks of circumcision and repudiated the holy covenant,” and Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 12, 5, 1. Paul alludes to this in I Corinthians 7:18 where he says, “Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised [in order to enter the covenant].”
These words service us well today. Adults, worship Yehovah in the condition your flesh was in when you can to believe in the Elohim of Abraham. Don’t seek to be circumcised if you are not. Parents don’t withhold eight-day circumcision from your sons.
All things start in faith and end in obedience and works.