Genesis 17:9-14: a reflection

9God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin. It will be a token of the covenant between me and you. 12He who is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he who is born in the house, or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. 13He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”

God gives Abraham the sign of the covenant, circumcision, to be a mark in the flesh of every male among his people. It shall be a token of the covenant between me and you, God says; a sign that they belonged to God, were his covenant people, marked out as his own. The sign in the flesh was an outward mark of an inward reality: that they were God's, belonging to him, set apart as his covenant people.

Notice what the sign signified: belonging to God. Circumcision was not merely a physical mark; it was a token of the covenant, a sign that the one who bore it belonged to God, was part of his covenant people, marked out as his own. The outward sign pointed to an inward reality, that they were God's, belonging to him. And this belonging is what the sign was about: not merely a mark in the flesh, but a token of belonging to God.

That reality, of belonging to God, marked as his own, is what the covenant sign pointed to, and what is ours in Christ. The outward sign of the old covenant pointed to the inward reality of belonging to God; and in Christ, we who believe are marked as God's own, sealed by his Spirit, belonging to him. The deepest reality the sign signified, belonging to God, is ours in Christ, not merely as an outward mark, but as an inward reality. Rest in the assurance that, in Christ, you belong to God, marked as his own, sealed by his Spirit. The covenant sign pointed to belonging to God; and that belonging is yours, deeper than any outward mark, in Christ. You are God's own, belonging to him, marked and sealed as his; live in the assurance of that belonging, which the covenant sign foreshadowed and which is fully yours in Christ, who has made you God's own. You belong to God; rest in being his.

Lord, you gave Abraham the sign of the covenant, circumcision, to be a token of the covenant between you and your people, a sign that they belonged to you, were your covenant people, marked out as your own. Show me what the sign signified: belonging to you. It was not merely a physical mark, but a token that the one who bore it belonged to you, was part of your covenant people. The outward sign pointed to an inward reality: that they were yours. And that reality, of belonging to you, is what the sign pointed to, and what is mine in Christ. The outward sign of the old covenant pointed to the inward reality of belonging to you; and in Christ, I who believe am marked as your own, sealed by your Spirit, belonging to you. The deepest reality the sign signified, belonging to you, is mine in Christ, not merely as an outward mark, but as an inward reality. Help me rest in the assurance that, in Christ, I belong to you, marked as your own, sealed by your Spirit. The covenant sign pointed to belonging to you; and that belonging is mine, deeper than any outward mark, in Christ. I am your own, belonging to you, marked and sealed as yours; help me live in the assurance of that belonging, Lord, which the covenant sign foreshadowed and which is fully mine in Christ. Thank you that I belong to you.