Genesis - Genesis 17:22-27 DailyBibleStudy.Org

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You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
Daily Bible Study

Genesis 17:22-27

Lesson # Genesis 17:22-27
Study Material - Genesis 17:22-27

You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.

Gen. 17:22-27

22 And when He finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27 And all the men of his household, who were born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

God went up from him. Here on earth we have sessions of conversation with God. That is, we have our periodic Bible study where we can really focus on what is being taught There are moments too, when we have our private thoughts and have opportunity to focus on things of a spiritual nature such as prayer, or just quiet contemplation. Otherwise our day is broken up with various other responsibilities we have in work, or chores, or play.

In the future, in heaven, we will have a continual communion with God, for His residence in eternity will be inside of each one of us.

Now Abraham is faced with a huge question. Believe God and follow His command. Think about the command and suggest or negotiate something else that might be done to let him recognize Gods promise. After all, cutting the dead skin off of ones 'winker' seems ...a ...rather.....extreme? How in the world would one explain this to a stranger who travels by?

Hummm! Says passerby, 'How can I be saved by the one true God?'

'Well,' remarks Abraham, 'You have to believe in Gods son the savior to come.'

'Yes! Yes! I believe' says the passerby.

'Oh, but there ....is just one more 'little' thing,' says Abraham. 'Now that you are saved, you need to put into practice your faith, and obey Gods commands. That requires you to .....'

'I have to what?', says the astonished passerby as he looks slowly downward. Wince!

Ok, so how would you explain this new requirement of your faith?

Abraham did not hesitate. He did not ask for an alternative. God Almighty, spoke to him. This was the command and this was what Abraham was going to do. 'On that very day', was the action taken. Not just for himself, but he quickly got out the command to all of his household. Family and strangers alike. All Hebrews, sons of Eber, and foreigners alike. This was not a command exclusively to Abraham, but was to be applied to all of mankind (males that is). Females were excluded, obviously

This was unheard of. Never before this time in history since Adam. Adam was not alive, but Shem, son of Noah was alive, and Abraham would have known Shem his ancestor. Most might look a little puzzled at the command. What in the world does this circumcision have to do with the spiritual life?

Faith is one thing, but there must be an application of faith in the life or it stands for nothing, Jas. 2:17. Faith is the breastplate of ones spiritual uniform, 1 Thes. 5:8. It protects you from the arrows in life that might otherwise pierce your heart and destroy you, yielding you nothing but misery.

Abraham placed his entire encampment at risk. All males came forward to be circumcised. This posed extreme pain for the adult men and a disability for them keeping them down for a few days, and opening the camp up for attack from any who might try to take advantage of the situation as did Simeon and Levi against the Shechemites. God of course protected them in this period of helplessness, as He protects all Christians in their periods of helplessness.

Abraham did not just circumcise himself and let everyone else go without compliance to the command. He did not circumcise everyone else and not himself to avoid pain to himself or circumvent the exercise for himself - a compromise at it were. He did not circumcise only the infants allowing older males to get off the hook

Abraham applied the command to all that were within his camp, under his authority and part of his responsibility. All parents should comply with this command with regard to their infant sons. Though knowing full well that an infant is incapable of understanding God, let alone capable of believing in Christ. Knowing that the action of circumcision does not save, just as the act of water baptism does not save, but it is merely an acknowledgment by the parents of the principles of Bible doctrine and an act of obedience to Gods commands.

Those parents who tend to ignore circumcision, rationalizing that it accomplishes nothing, which is certainly true, are the same parents that tend to ignore many other principles of Bible obedience. They will be lax in their Bible study. They will be lax in their spiritual growth. It is very easy in life to find excuses, to rationalize, or use logic to convince ones self that these things are not necessary. One excuse leads to another and eventually you have a negative person with a life of misery. Many persons who 'over think' or rationalize various of their spiritual obligations away in life, find it very difficult to overcome those barriers they have constructed by themselves within their own souls.

God uses the very simple to confound those who might presume themselves above al of this. Thus circumcision. A simple procedure of cutting away the dead and useless skin on the males private part. Embarrassing? Perhaps. Personal? Certainly, but all spiritual things are personal.

God has a plan for your specific life. You can let Him run things, or you can ignore Him and screw things up your self. The spiritual life is not just reading a few verses in the Bible each night, then forgetting them. You are required to learn them, understand them, command them, and apply them to your daily life. Without all of this, there is no spiritual growth, no spiritual maturity, no function in Gods plan for your life. Your life as a negative person will be empty and desolate. Just as that land in Afghanistan, which we have seen so many pictures on the television of late. It is a miserable place. Desolate, and empty of anything that even smacks of life. There, they have poor roads, if any at all, poor water, poor electricity, poor buildings, virtually no commerce or industry, starving peoples who depend on aid organizations, when they haven't been arrested for being Christian. It is a godless society. We recently studied in Revelation the conditions of the Tribulation, and Afghanistan is a very good picture of the situation that will exist in that time. Empty, hopeless, godless.

Such is the life of any person who ignores their daily Bible study. Your soul can look just like that country - empty, and worthless, and miserable. On the other hand, you can be positive and less critical of your Bible study, less superficial, less sensitive to things like the cutting off of portions of ones private parts. Maintain a sense of humor and grow up spiritually, and get on with life.

Now is the time to post a prayer.

End Of Lesson

Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.

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