Bar’chu
et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed! Baruch ata YHVH
Eloheinu
melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch
atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless
YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the blessed One for all eternity.
Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have selected us
from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah. Blessed are you,
YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Gen 17:1 And
it came to be when Aḇram was ninety-nine years old, that יהוה
appeared to Aḇram and said to him, “I am Ěl Shaddai – walk before Me and
be(become) perfect1. Footnote: 1Messiah gives the same
command in Mt. 5:48.
El Shaddai
is the title-name of YHVH that relates to nurturing. “Shad” in Hebrew is
“breast”. YHVH is referred to as the “Breasted One.”
The name El
Shaddai is used 7 times in the Tenach and this is the first time it is used.
According to the law of first appearance in the scripture, this is truly
significant as it relates to YHVH preserving and nurturing His covenant with
us. The use of the term ‘’El Shadai’’ in Genesis occurs where the birth of
children is the primary concern, especially when woman are barren – 28:3;
35:11; 43:14; 48:3 -
The Hebrew
word “shad” is also a masculine noun. Caring is what the patriarchs do.
The Hitpael
verb is used for “walk” – “hithalech” and means to walk back and forth –
continue to walk by faith especially regarding the promise of a son. Being
occupied with YHVH was the primary focus of the patriachs.
Gen
17:2 “And I give My covenant between Me
and you, and shall greatly increase you.”
ב וְאֶתְּנָה בְרִיתִי, בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ;
וְאַרְבֶּה אוֹתְךָ, בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד.
Note – “ve
etna” means “I have given” The “hey” ending emphasizes the intensity of the
verb. The evidence of possessing His covenant is great increase or fruitfulness
in our lives. We may safely assume that this blessed life carries over into the
“olam ha ba” – the life to come.
Gen
17:3 And Aḇram fell on his face, and
Elohim spoke with him, saying,
Gen
17:4 “As for Me, look, My covenant is
with you, and you shall become a father of many nations.
Gen
17:5 “And no longer is your name called
Aḇram, but your name shall be Aḇraham, because I shall make you a father of
many nations. (Heb – ‘’hamon’’ means multitude)
Gen
17:6 “And I shall make you bear fruit
exceedingly, and make nations of you, and sovereigns shall come from you.
Gen
17:7 “And I shall establish My covenant
between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations, for an
everlasting covenant, to be Elohim to you and your seed after you.
Gen
17:8 “And I shall give to you and your
seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Kenaʽan, as an
everlasting possession. And I shall be their Elohim.”
Gen
17:9 And Elohim said to Aḇraham, “As
for you, guard My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their
generations.
Gen 17:10 “This is My covenant
which you guard between Me and you, and your seed after you: Every male child
among you is to be circumcised.
Gen
17:11 “And you shall circumcise the
flesh of your foreskin, and it shall become a sign of the covenant between Me
and you.
Gen
17:12 “And a son of eight days is
circumcised by you, every male child in your generations, he who is born in
your house or bought with silver from any foreigner who is not of your seed.
Gen
17:13 “He who is born in your house, and
he who is bought with your silver, has to be circumcised. So shall My covenant
be in your flesh, for an everlasting covenant.
Gen
17:14 “And an uncircumcised male child,
who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, his life shall be cut off
from his people – he has broken My covenant.”
Gen
17:15 And Elohim said to Aḇraham, “As
for Sarai your wife, do not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.
Gen
17:16 “And I shall bless her and also
give you a son by her. And I shall bless her, and she shall become nations –
sovereigns of peoples are to be from her.”
Gen
17:17 And Aḇraham fell on his face and
laughed, and said in his heart, “Is a child born to a man who is a
hundred years old? Or is Sarah, who is ninety years old, to bear a child?”
Gen
17:18 And Aḇraham said to Elohim, “Oh,
let Yishmaʽĕl live before You!”
Gen
17:19 And Elohim said, “No, Sarah your
wife is truly bearing a son to you, and you shall call his name Yitsḥaq. And I
shall establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his
seed after him.
Gen
17:20 “And as for Yishmaʽĕl, I have
heard you. See, I shall bless him, and shall make him bear fruit, and greatly
increase him. He is to bring forth twelve princes, and I shall make him a great
nation.
Gen
17:21 “But My covenant I establish with
Yitsḥaq, whom Sarah is to bear to you at this set time next year.”
Gen
17:22 And when He had ended speaking
with him, Elohim went up from Aḇraham.
Gen
17:23 And Aḇraham took Yishmaʽĕl his
son, and all those born in his house and all those bought with his silver,
every male among the men of Aḇraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of
their foreskins that same day, as Elohim told him.
Gen
17:24 And Aḇraham was ninety-nine years
old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen
17:25 And Yishmaʽĕl his son was thirteen
years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen
17:26 Aḇraham and his son Yishmaʽĕl
were circumcised that same day.
Gen
17:27 And all the men of his house, born
in the house or bought with silver from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
The
obedience of Avraham was proof of his faith. Circumcision appears to be a
‘’key’’ that reveals our response to an unconditional covenant of YHVH’s love.
The key is our absolute confidence and dependence upon YHVH and not ourselves
that He will bring us into the fullness and perfection of His Covenant. This is
not just a once off event like a ‘’sinners prayer’’ it’s a lifelong commitment
of trust and obedience in the Elohim of Avraham, Yitsschak and Yakov that He
will bring us without spot or blemish into His Kingdom.
Jud
1:24 And to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present
you blameless before the presence of His esteem with exceeding joy,
Jud
1:25 to the only wise Elohim, our Saviour, be esteem and greatness and
might and authority, both now and forever. Aměn.
Joh
3:35 “The Father loves the Son, and has given all into His hand.
Joh
3:36 “He who believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who
does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim remains on
him.”
Let’s take another look at circumcision.
The male
reproductive organ seems to play a very important role in the creation of
physical as well as spiritual life.
This act of circumcision would remind Avraham and his seed
that YHVH’s promise of the Coming One would not be taken place in the ‘’normal
way’’- Messiah’s birth would be even more miraculous. Reminding us all again
that we cannot produce our own way of salvation.
Sadly the history of Yisrael shows that circumcision became
more of an ‘’ethnic marker’’ than a reminder of their own inability to bring
about an everlasting covenant between YHVH and themselves. This sad fact
features in much of the Apostles Paul's misunderstood teaching on circumcision.
Deu
10:16 “And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart,[b] and harden your neck no more. Footnote: bSee
also Deu_30:6-8, Rom_2:26-29 and 1Co_7:19.
1Co
7:19 The circumcision is naught, and the uncircumcision is naught, but
the guarding of the commands of Elohim does matter![a] Footnote: aSee Rom_2:26-29.
Rom 4:7 “Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses are
forgiven, and whose sins are covered,
Rom 4:8 blessed is the man to whom יהוה shall by no means
reckon sin.” Psa_32:1-2.
Rom 4:9 Is this blessing then upon the circumcised only,
or also upon the uncircumcised? For we affirm: Belief was reckoned unto Aḇraham
for righteousness. Gen_15:6.
Rom 4:10 How then was it reckoned? Being in
circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
Rom 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision,
a seal of the righteousness of the belief while in uncircumcision, for
him to be a father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for
righteousness to be reckoned to them also,
Rom 4:12 and the father of circumcision to those
who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the
belief which our father Aḇraham had in uncircumcision.
The Promise Realized Through Faith
Rom 4:13 For the promise that he should be the heir
of the world, was not to Aḇraham or to his seed through the Torah, but through
a righteousness of belief.
Rom 4:14 For if those who are of the Torah are
heirs, belief has been made useless, and the promise has been nullified,
Rom 4:15 for the Torah works out wrath, for where
there is no Torah there is no transgression.
‘’We should not fall into the trap of thinking that the
Torah was given as a means of covenant entrance, nor that it was given with the
premise that if one kept it perfectly, one would be accorded the status of
righteous. Clearly, obedience to the Torah included adherence to the provisions
it granted for one who transgressed (i.e., establishing appropriate
restitution, or bringing of a sacrifice by the repentant sinner). But the point
is that the Torah, in clearly establishing YHVH’s standards of righteousness,
likewise manifested Yisrael’s inability and therefore made sin all that more
evident. Where there may have been debate over what exactly constituted sin
from man’s point of view, the Torah made clear what constituted sin from YHVH’s
viewpoint. Moreover, it also established punishment for sin. The point is
obvious: where there is no Torah, there can be no proper punishment because,
technically, there is no violation. Thus, the existence of Torah in clear,
written form raises the possibility of violation of that Torah, and thus of
punishment for its violation. Furthermore, the Torah, while setting forth YHVH’s
revelation of what constituted set apartness and therefore what constituted
sin, never offered Yisrael the means by which she could overcome the wayward
bent of the sinful nature, and therefore, apart from an attended work of the
Spirit in relationship to the Torah, inevitably established the basis for
punishment of the transgressor. In short, for the person who attempted obedience
without first having the heart circumcised in the realm of faith, the Torah
functioned primarily in terms of condemnation rather than in the establishment
of true set apartness.’’
Rom 4:16 On account of this it is of belief, that
it be according to favour, for the promise to be made certain to all the seed, not
only to those who are of the Torah, but also to those who are of the belief of
Aḇraham, who is father of us all –
Rom 4:17 as it has been written, “I have made you a
father of many nations” Gen_17:5 – in the presence of Him whom he
believed, even Elohim, who gives life to the dead and calls that which does not
exist as existing,
Rom 4:18 who against all expectation did
believe, in expectation, so that he should become father of many nations, according
to what was said, “So shall your seed be.” Gen_15:5.
Rom 4:19 And not having grown weak in belief, he
did not consider his own body, already dead, being about a hundred years old,
and the deadness of Sarah’s womb,
Rom 4:20 he did not hesitate about the promise of
Elohim through unbelief, but was strengthened in belief, giving esteem to
Elohim,
Rom 4:21 and being completely persuaded that what
He had promised He was also able to do.
Rom 4:22 Therefore also “it was reckoned to him for
righteousness.” Gen_15:6.
Rom 4:23 And not because of him alone was it
written that it was reckoned to him, Gen_15:6.
Rom 4:24 but also because of us, to whom it shall
be reckoned, to us who believe in Him who raised up יהושע our Master from the dead,
Rom 4:25 who was delivered up because of our
trespasses, and was raised for us to be declared right.
Rom 2:25 For circumcision indeed profits if you
practise the Torah, but if you are a transgressor of the Torah, your
circumcision has become uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26 So, if an uncircumcised one watches over
the righteousnesses of the Torah, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned as
circumcision?
Rom 2:27 And the uncircumcised by nature, who
perfects the Torah, shall judge you who notwithstanding letter and circumcision
are a transgressor of the Torah!
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Yehuḏi who is so
outwardly, neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
Rom 2:29 But a Yehuḏi is he who is so
inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart,[g] in Spirit, not literally,
whose praise is not from men but from Elohim. Footnote: g 1Co_7:19, Exo_19:5,
Deu_10:12-16, Deu_30:6-8.
Deu
30:6 “And יהוה
your Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love יהוה your Elohim with all your
heart and with all your being, so that you might live,
Deu
30:7 and יהוה
your Elohim shall put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate
you, who persecuted you.
Deu
30:8 “And you shall turn back and obey the voice of יהוה and do all His commands which I command
you today.
The true revelation of physical circumcision comes to
those who love YHVH with all our heart and all our being and the evidence will
be to walk in the Spirit of YHVH and guard all His Torah.
1Jn
5:2 By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love
Elohim and guard His commands.
1Jn
5:3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands,[a] and His commands are not heavy, Footnote:
aSee 1Jn_5:2, 2Jn_1:6 and Joh_14:15.
1Jn
5:4 because everyone having been born of Elohim overcomes the world. And
this is the overcoming that has overcome the world: our belief.(Gk The
faith of us)
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan
lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn
ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you Yahweh, our Elohim, King of the Universe,
you have given us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting life within
our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Ameyn.)