Shalom all, this blog is indeed very lengthy but I pray that The Ruach will minister to those He so desires to. I believe it is very necessary to address this matter of the physical circumcision and its’ connection to the Passover, I am hoping to delve deeper into the association of the Circumcision to the Marriage Covenant, but that will not be done in this blog.
Romans 2 - Intro:
The short while ago a brother in Messiah said to me that he has never heard anything definitive on Rom. 2:26-27 regarding Sha’ul purportedly saying we do not need circumcision any more, and what was my opinion on the matter if indeed I even had one.
I do have an opinion on this matter, in fact this opinion is part of a greater search I am pursuing and that is what are the Biblical roles of the man and wife in The Kingdom of YHWH in the here and now, so I considered this question to have been posed at a very fortuitous time, further more I believe that this may also play into the approaching Pesach because I believe that The Word shows that the Pesach and the Circumcision of the flesh are inextricably linked in the Torah; so what follows is my commentary on what I conclude Rav Sha’ul says in Romans 2 and also the Passover connection to this subject.
Regrettably we all to some degree or the other have lost the essential Message of The Word which from Bere. (Gen.) to Revelation declares a Message of Good News, the Good News being a chance of reconciliation with YHWH Elohim, with His Land and a Marriage between His Son and a yet to be decided upon Bride. It would do us good to remember this fact as we go forward with this, or for that matter, any other aspect of The Revealed Word.
Therefore it is my belief based on Scripture, and I shall attempt to show this, that physical Circumcision is a part of this Marriage Covenant with our Creator Elohim, and has therefore never been done away with seeing as Scripture clearly states that it is an eternal part of our Covenant, indeed a sign introduced by YHWH for His Folk, and in fact when we read Gen. 17:10-11 it would seem that the actual physical circumcision forms a part of the Covenant made with Avraham Avinu, and therefore it is my contention that Sha’ul and all the Apostles, when speaking of the physical circumcision, do so from a viewpoint of physical circumcision not being necessary for Salvation but it is still a necessary and required sign of the Covenant made for all Redeemed Israel through Avraham Avinu and thus just like growth into the numerous other life instructions founded and grounded in The Torah is a sign of growth, a sign of sanctification!
I believe that Scripture also shows that the “accepted religious custom” of Yeshua’s day, and still to this day, needed a man to be proselyted according to the traditions of man (The Oral Law - today encapsulated in the Mishnah which is itself contained in the Talmud and is to part of the future Noahide Laws now being introduced into the world system), and this particular “religious rite” of passage into Yisrael included, amongst other traditional works, the physical circumcision to enable a man to be grafted into Yisrael and thereby making Salvation not entirely dependent on Faith in Yeshua’s finished works through the unwarranted gift of Grace and this practice was in conflict with Eph. 2:8-9. The application of these “Oral Law” traditions then in essence deny Yeshua and His works both then and still today through the Rabbinic practices and statements, and tragically the same argument, but from a different approach, can be made for the Doctrines of the RCC and the vast majority of the Christian denominations as well.
Words do not always mean the same:
For purposes that we mere humans do not fully understand right now YHWH allowed His Holy Writ to be presented to us in this day and age through 66 Books written primarily in two very different languages, Hebrew and Greek, but these Writings are based and built on a single Hebraic culture. Thus when allowing Scripture to translate Scripture the words translated from the original texts often have varying meanings and when we mix into that a 21st century Western mindset overlaid by a post-modern culture we really struggle to arrive at the full meaning of what Scripture means and that is that there is only and always has been only one Torah for both Jew and Gentile (Num.15:16). That is why it is essential that The Word is revealed to us via The Ruach of Truth and then measured against itself because there is no place for individual interpretations of The Holy Writ.
One such word is TORAH in Hebrew and its’ Greek counterpart NOMOS - both are said to represent LAW, but the Hebrew Torah is is rooted in the word Yara - which means to shoot, to instruct, to point out, to flow like water or rain - in other words a natural and instructional teaching; whereas on the other hand the Greek word Nomos is founded in the etymological meaning of a body of law especially that which governs human behaviour, thus the Hebraic Torah can imply a natural law of relationship, of Covenant whereas the Greek Nomos is more understood as a cold and rigid law, thus the interpretation, nuance and understandings of these two words which both describe the same object has therefore caused almost 2000 years of confusion and division.
To go into the full meanings of both of these words which have been used by the Translators for a singular and crucial meaning in Scripture is an exercise in and of itself and not to be entered into here, suffice to say that this seemingly slight translational disparity could not be more divisive asserting now that we live under GRACE and NOT THE LAW (Torah of YHWH Elohim - Rom. 6:14 arw Rom. 7:7 - please take time to watch this presentation for a fuller representation of this subject see this teaching by 119 Ministries; here are some examples of where Sha’ul (Paul) uses the word NOMOS and where by context one is required to understand which “LAW” “NOMOS” he is referring to:
Law of YHWH Elohim - Rom. 3:31; Rom. 7:22-25; Rom. 8:7.
Law of sin - Rom. 7:23-25.
Law of sin & death - Rom.8:2.
Law of Spirit of Life - Rom. 8:2.
Law of Faith (G 4102 - Pisitis - Covenant fidelity by physical application and obedience) - Rom. 3:27.
Law of Righteousness - Rom.9:31.
Law of Messiah - 1 Cor. 9:21.
Scriptural presentation:
With these points regarding Law now explained here are Scriptures, presented no more differently than a reference-Bible and in which I have affixed, in red, my own comments, we may be able to gleam another perspective of familiar Scriptures and Doctrine more in line with The Word we have where the word NOMOS is described in context..
Rom 2:17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the TORAH and boast in God
Rom 2:18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the TORAH;
Rom 2:19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
Rom 2:20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the TORAH the embodiment of knowledge and truth
Rom 2:21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
Rom 2:22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? (Mat. 5)
Rom 2:23 You who boast in the TORAH dishonour God by breaking the TORAH.
Rom 2:24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
Rom 2:25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the TORAH, but if you break the TORAH, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. (Mat. 22:36-40 arw Mat. 23:23)
Rom 2:26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the TORAH, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision (of the heart thus preparing one for the physical circumcision as led by The Ruach)?
Rom 2:27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the TORAH (Mat. 22:36-4) will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the TORAH.
Rom 2:28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is the circumcision (that is merely) outward and physical (true circumcision).
Rom 2:29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, (for) his praise is not (then) from man but from God. (Deut, 10:12-16 arw Deut. 30:6)
arw
Rom 4:7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
Rom 4:8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Rom 4:9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
Rom 4:10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been (physically) circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.
Rom 4:11 He received the (physical) sign of circumcision as a seal (a sign of authenticity) of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
Rom 4:12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The Promise Realized Through Faith
Rom 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through TORAH (observance) but through the righteousness of faith (G 4102 - Pisitis - Covenant fidelity by physical application and obedience).
Rom 4:14 For if it is the adherents of the TORAH who are to be the heirs, faith (G 4102 - Pisitis - Covenant fidelity by physical application and obedience) is null and the promise is void. (Eph. 2:8-9)
Rom 4:15 For the (penal code of the) TORAH brings wrath, but where there is no TORAH (penal code) there is no transgression. (Col. 2:8-17 begins with Oral Torah traditions of men not to be followed, but ends with Torah is to be followed.)
Rom 4:16 That is why it depends on faith (G 4102 - Pisitis - Covenant fidelity by physical application and obedience), in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith (G 4102 - Pisitis - Covenant fidelity by physical application and obedience) of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (Jew and Gentile - Lost 10 tribes?)
Rom 4:17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist…….
Rom 4:20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith (G 4102 - Pisitis - Covenant fidelity by physical application and obedience) as he gave glory to God,
Rom 4:21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Rom 4:22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
Rom 4:23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone,
Rom 4:24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Yeshua our Adonai,
Rom 4:25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
AND
Act 15:19 Therefore my judgement is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,
Act 15:20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. (All Torah instructions)
Act 15:21 For from ancient generations Moses (TORAH) has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.” (Here we are told that the only requirements for new believers are their application of the commanded abstentions and their Shabbat observance and that these seem to be considered by The Apostles to be true indicators of a circumcised heart. Predicated on the phrase that the Torah of Moshe is read and taught each Shabbat at synagogues it is concluded that this practice will lead the new believers back to The revealed Torah instructions which will in due time, as with other Torah instructions, include their conviction of the need to be physically circumcised.)
Let Scripture explain Scripture:
Infallibility of Scripture:
If we are to believe what Yeshua says in Mat. 5:18 that not a single yot or tittle of the Torah will be replaced/removed or abridged until the heavens and the earth pass away, an event which obviously has not yet transpired, then we may need to look at Scriptures such as Shem. (Ex.) 12:24-27, especially when the Word (CJB) translates verse 27 as “The sacrifice of YHWH’s Pesach”; and also Shem. (Ex.) 12:43-49; and Num.15:16 and re-evaluate our understanding of Scripture and decide if we are to go with the doctrines of man or Scriptural context, remembering all the while that when Sha’ul penned in 2 Tim. 3:16-17 that ALL SCRIPTURE, of which at the time of writing would only have referred to The Tanach (O/T), IS PROFITABLE FOR DOCTRINE, FOR REPROOF, FOR CORRECTION, FOR INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT THE PERSON OF ELOHIM MAY BE PERFECT AND THOUROUGHLY FURNISHED UNTO ALL GOOD WORKS is simply not in accordance with what is taught in mainline denominations today today regarding The Word and it’s declared Doctrines.
Circumcision before eating Pesach meal:
Taking all the above then into consideration let us look now at Yoh. (Josh) 5:1ff, when speaking on the subject of physical circumcision of The Sons of Israel, states that YHWH told Y’hoshua to circumcise all the fighting men of Israel after they had come up out of the Yarden (Jordan) and before they could eat of The Pesach.
This same portion of Scripture says that the circumcision was applied in Egypt before they came out in Ex. 12 so therefore this would also have been prior to them celebrating Pesach in Egypt and prior to The Exodus and clearly outside of the promised Land and with no Temple to be had, and further this application in Egypt prior to the Exodus and Passover was never said to be incorrect or offensive to YHWH; however what was offensive to YHWH was the fact that even though those coming out of Egypt, and now seen to have been circumcised physically, were also taught and given exactly the same Gospel as we have been given and taught (Heb. 4:1-2) because of their not applying this Gospel with Faith (G 4102 - Pisitis - Covenant fidelity by physical application and obedience) their circumcision did not appear to benefit them - 1 Cor. 10. It could also be assumed, although the Torah does not state it, that the “mixed multitude” who went up with Yisrael out of Egypt (Ex. 12:38) may also have been circumcised as well as they too needed to be covered in The Blood of the Passover Lamb, they too needed to partake of the meal otherwise they too would not have been covered by The Blood and would have lost their first born sons just as Egypt did as well, and the Word does say in Yoh. (Josh) 5:5 that “ALL” (H3605 - kol - all, each, every, whole, total) the males who had left Egypt had been circumcised!
Pesach meal ratifies the (Re) New (ed) Covenant, the Mystery of The Marriage:
Mat. 26:26-28 + Mk. 14:22-24 makes it abundantly clear that the “Last Supper”, whether it indeed was a formal Passover (Pesach) meal or not (there is debate over this matter) is the Ratification of the (Re)New(ed) Covenant Meal entered into into between YHWH and Yisrael as a Nation and we should note that all present were circumcised males, was indeed a Seder dating back to The Exodus as recorded in Ex. 12 and emphasised in verses Ex. 12:7; 13 & 14, and possibly even the times of Avraham (See: The Circumcision a qualifier for Pesach observance? Below) & as such I believe that this Celebration of a Mo’ed if you will (a Set aside appointment with YHWH in attendance to officiate over His Covenant with His People as it “bumps” into Mo’ed of Matzah - Feast of Unleavened Bread) should be approached and treated with extreme solemnity and respect, because here we actually touch, if you will, The Blood of The Lamb, the eternal sign of the Covenant, the “mystery” of The Marriage spoken of by Sha’ul in Eph. 5:30-32, but this is a subject for another day.
Shedding of blood:
By partaking of this Pesach we, as His Covenant people, His set apart Nation, I believe are invited to show our commitment to His Covenant, in the case of males, by the “shedding of our blood” through the Circumcision of the flesh:
PLEASE NOTE: Let there be no misunderstanding that:
This “shedding of blood” or any other Torah application, in no way what so ever adds to our Salvation; our Salvation was achieved once and for all through the Blood of The Lamb, Yeshua, but it does however afford us the same opportunity as our Father Abraham had, through faith, belief and the application of that which was revealed to him - Yak. (Jam.) 2:14-19 and thereby being justified as righteousness which then moves on to a closer relationship with YHWH because of the evidence of the circumcision of our hearts, this is the process theologically known as sanctification (John 14:15-17).
What is a Covenant:
Very shortly in a Biblical context a Covenant is translated from the Hebrew word H1254 - Berit - and is an eternal bond or agreement entered into by willing parties, sometimes between a stronger and weaker party, as with YHWH and us. A near Middle Eastern Covenant, as the Hebraic word implies for this study, made use of slaughtered animals often cut in half (Bere. (Gen.) 15:9-21) with the distinct understanding that should I break this covenant I shall also die like these animals.
A Covenant Mystery which meant Yeshua had to die:
We see in Bere. (Gen.) 15:17 that YHWH El Shaddai (LORD God Almighty) walks alone between the animals and by His very Presence He “consumes” the entire sacrifice without formal participation of Avraham thereby declaring to the heavens and the earth, indeed The Entire Creation that He, by His actions, will take on the responsibilities for the breaking of the Covenant by Avraham Avinu’s offspring, indeed for the Sin of Adam, a Covenant breaking action which had to end in DEATH (Bere.(Gen.) 2:17), and thus as we are told in Ibr. (Heb.) 9:22 arw Vay. (Lev.) 17:11 that without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin, thus the need for Yeshua to die on The Stake for us!
Again we are just scratching the surface of these eternal and Divine acts and I make mention of them here just to navigate our course through Romans 2 and Sha’ul’s statement as requested.
To be perfect before YHWH:
Avriham Avinu to walk in perfection: In Bere. (Gen.) 17:1-2 we read, as amplified through the Strong and BDB Concordances, that YHWH El Shaddai (God Almighty) says to Avraham Avinu “ANEE EL SHADDAI” - I AM GOD ALMIGHTY; WALK BEFORE MY FACE, MY AUTHORITY, MY PRESENCE, IN MY FAVOUR AND BE COMPLETE, WITHOUT BLEMISH, SINCERE, IN INTEGRITY, PERFECT, SOUND, UNDEFILED, WHOLE, UPRIGHT AND I (YHWH EL SHADDAI) SHALL MAKE, CONSTITUTE, RESTORE *, PUT ON, BESTOW MY (originating from YHWH’s not us) COVENANT, CUTTING, BLOOD LETTING, ALLEGIANCE, PLEDGE, CONSTITUTION, CONFEDERACY BETWEEN ME AND YOU!
Emphasised in the Bere. (Gen.) 17:1 the word used in Hebrew for “BE” is H1961 - hayah - to exist, that is, be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary): - beacon, X altogether, be (-come, accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), continue, do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, X use.
Therefore looking at the conditions required of Avraham Avinu in this case to “BE’ complete to enter into a Covenant with El Shaddai, TO BECOME THE BEACON FOR YHWH EL SHADDAI he, Avraham Avinu, needed to actively participate in this Covenant and make himself to be without blemish, to be sincere WITH integrity, to be undefiled, to be sound, to be cleansed and so forth.
How was he to achieve this required status?
Avriham Avinu needed to apply to himself and his household males the physical circumcision!
I shall leave this here for now and Abba willing, will dig deeper into the Circumcision in a later teaching/blog but if one reads Yoc. (John) 5:9 arw Yoc. (John)7:23 we read that Yeshua healed on The Shabbat and that He was challenged by the order of the day and He answers them in this way (CJB Yoc. (John) 7:23) when referring to the application of the physical circumcision - “If a boy is circumcised on Shabbat so that Torah of Moshe will not be broken, why are you angry with Me because I made a man’s whole body whole on Shabbat?” Is it possible that Yeshua sees the Circumcision as a “healing” for the body?
So in light of Bere. (Gen.) 17:1-2 as amplified above and showing what was necessary so that Avraham and his seed could be considered “perfect before The Face of YHWH” and partake of His Covenant required a faith firstly a belief and application of revealed instructions from YHWH, as spoken of in Yak. (Jam.) 2:14-19 - and secondly see comment on 2 Tim. 3:16-17 - Infallibility of Scripture. which was/is justified as righteousness (emanating from a circumcised heart) and then leading to a circumcision of the flesh.
Circumcision - an eternal sign before YHWH?
We read in Bere. (Gen.) 17:13-14 that the Covenant (sign?) of YHWH will be in the flesh of His people as an everlasting Covenant and that ANY MALE REFUSING TO CIRCUMCISE THE FLESH SHALL BE CUT OFF FROM YISRAEL - AS HE HAS BROKEN THE COVENANT OF YHWH - NOT OF MAN, BUT OF YHWH EL SHADDAI. Here again we can see the failure of the cutting off of the foreskin (flesh) equates the offender to being cut off from YHWH’s Covenant People as Eph. 2: **
The Circumcision a qualifier for Pesach observance?
Bere. (Gen.) 18:1, according to the sages, it is said that YHWH appeared to Avraham Avinu a short while after his self-administered Covenant sign upon himself and his household as instructed by YHWH (for various reason the sages suggest it was 3 days after the circumcision), and that this time of appointment was the Pesach - this is deduced from the instruction Avraham gives Sarah to bake cakes “uggah”, this is the same word used in Ex. 12:39 unleavened cakes (uggah matzot),.
Bere. (Gen.) 19:3 also sees Lot specifically preparing Matzot for a “feast/banquet” - as we all know Pesach is the only Feast eaten with Matzah.
It is also taught that Yitsak was born the following year on Pesach as YHWH had promised Avraham that “At the time appointed” (Mo’ed) (Bere. (Gen.) 18:14) and that at that “time appointed” YHWH would return to Avraham to fulfil His Covenant promise made to Avraham and Sarah and this He did as seen in Bere. (Gen.) 21:1-2 and in-between these two “visitations” (one physical and one Spiritual) we have the Lot and Sodom episodes.
Finally we are told that Avraham was 99 years old at the time of the circumcision and the Sodom visitation (Bere. (Gen.) 17:24) and 100 at the time of the birth of Yitsaak (Isaac -Bere. (Gen.) 21:5 ).
Millennia Pesach observance:
In the millennia The Pesach celebration will be in Jerusalem (Yech. (Eze.) 45:18-25) and require all males in attendance to be circumcised - we see that the stranger was and always is more than welcome to attend the Pesach under the following conditions:
And YHWH said to Moses and Aaron: “This is the law of the Passover:
· Any foreigner shall not eat it.
· Every slave purchased with money, you shall circumcise him; then he shall eat it.
· A visitor and an employee shall not eat it.
· It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the meat outside.
· You shall not break a bone from it.
· All the congregation of Israel shall do the Passover.
· If an alien resides among you and you will make a Passover to Yahweh, every male must be circumcised; then he may come forward to partake of it, and he will be like a citizen of the land. (Eph. 2:8-13 see comment 0n Eph. 2:11-12 marked ***)
· But everyone who is uncircumcised shall not eat it!” All above contained in Shem. (Ex.) 12:43-48
Lets move on - Yech. (Eze.) 46:9 tells us that Biblically mandated Mo’edim will be celebrated before YHWH in Jerusalem, that being the case and in accordance with Torah, all men wanting to partake of the Passover and be found acceptable and upright (perfect as with Avriham Avinu) before YHWH for this “Covenant Meal/Celebration” shall need to be circumcised just as Avraham Avinhu was - Shem. (Ex.) 12:43-48 arw Bere. (Gen.) 17:13-14 & Bere. (Gen.) 17:1-2.
We have also shown that to be circumcised in the flesh without a circumcised heart is not acceptable to YHWH, thus all the strangers, aliens and their companions will have to be circumcised in the flesh through the conviction of righteousness because of a circumcised heart, a true rebirth in and through Messiah Yeshua thus making them a part of Yisrael.
- Vay. (Lev.) 26:40-42 - speaks of a conditional return to Promised Land through a circumcised heart;
- Dev. (Deut.) 10:12-20 - Speaks of what is required and pleasing to YHWH Who is not a respecter of persons;
- Yir. (Jer.) 4:4 read in context with Yir. (Jer.) 3:1 and 3:14 speaks very clearly of a wayward and adulterous wife returning to her Covenanted Husband which is what I pointed out in my intro to this blog - it is all about a Marriage between The Creator Elohim and His People. ****
Titus and Timothy:
Because of the misunderstandings surrounding the physical circumcision this blog, or any teaching on this subject matter, would not be replete without a comment on Titus and Timothy (Gal. 2:1f & Acts 16:1f).
Physical circumcision, as we have stated and shown, is a matter or personal conviction through a circumcised heart, a circumcision of the heart not done with human hands.
So first a little history:
- Gal. 1:18 shares with us that Sha’ul, 3 years after his time in Arabia and his initial conversion, went up to Jerusalem and spent time with Kephas (Peter);
- Gal. 2:1 tells us that Sha’ul, accompanied by Barnabas and the uncircumcised Titus go up once again to Jerusalem for the Acts 15 Jerusalem Council to discuss the circumcision issue regarding the Gentiles returning to Elohim;
- Gal. 2:3 tells us that even though uncircumcised, The Council did not in any way force the Greek Titus to be circumcised;
- And we read once again in Gal. 2:5 that Sha’ul did not yield to the pressure to conform to the circumcision sect (Acts 15:1, 5 & 6) for a moment as he was determined to show the freedom that was had in Messiah as opposed to the “bondage” that those forcing salvation by circumcision (Oral Law teachings) were in.
From Gal. 2:1-2 as seen above, the episode of Titus happened at the time of the Jerusalem Council and that the Epistle to the Galatians was written after the Jerusalem Council took place.
Now if we turn to Timothy (Timotiyos) spoken of here in Acts 16 we shall see the following:
- Firstly this episode with Timothy took place seeming immediately after The Jerusalem Council and its’ finding, findings that were in favour of what Sha’ul was teaching.
- Secondly that it is obvious that this episode with Timothy would have occurred after the Titus episode.
- Thirdly this whole mission that Sha’ul was on and as explained in Acts 16 was to make public to all in Asia Minor the decision of the Jerusalem Council and that he chose Timothy to go with him.
- Timothy, as we are told, was well thought of and was also uncircumcised in the flesh, and was an ideal witness to support the finding of the Council and thereby to prove that circumcision was not necessary for the returning Gentiles as some would claim;
- We are told Acts 16:1 that Sha’ul arrived at “Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:”
- The fact that The Ruach inspired Sha’ul to make mention of the fact that the father of Timothy was a Greek and makes absolutely no mention of him being a Jewish convert or similar sort of proselyte is very significant as all Biblical lineage and ancestry is established through the paternal line - Timothy therefore WAS CONSIDERED TO BE A GREEK AND WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED A JEW BY THE “JEWS” OF THAT REGION and rightly so because HE WAS BIBLICALLY A BIOLOGICAL GREEK BY BIRTH AND LINEAGE, thus to have been considered by the Jews to be Jewish he would have needed to undergo the whole proselytism course! Therefore by circumcising a non-Jew who was well known and respected by all (including the “Jews”), but who had not been circumcised via a proselytism Oral Torah Rite, Sha’ul was enforcing the decision of The Council and therefore witnessing to the doctrine of physical circumcision of either Jew or Gentile was done by the free gift of faith through grace from a circumcised heart and NOT, as some of the the believing Jews taught, through a circumcision by religious Oral rite and thereby Sha’ul showed that physical circumcision was not necessary for salvation, thus he was showing through Ruach inspired works that the gift of Salvation was free and not as s result of the works of man and therefore nobody can ever boast (Eph. 2:8-10).
- Finally we know that Timothy was very well versed in The Torah as shown in 2 Tim. 3:14-15 so no coercion of Timothy by Sha’ul could or should even be considered, this section then also leads straight into a Scripture very often quoted and as discussed above in Infallibility of Scripture: 2 Tim. 3:16-17
I would go out on a limb here and suggest that even Levi and Simeon may have invoked this doctrine, albeit nefariously and with malice, in the saga of their sister and the prince of Shechem - Bere. (Gen.) 34:14-17.
Thus when a male from the Nations was convicted of the Ruach to have himself grafted into The Domestic Olive Tree of Yisrael (Rom. 11:11) through a circumcised heart, his exposure to the Torah each Shabbat and the relevant setting aside of the 7th day Shabbat plus the newly introduced obedience to the Biblical lifestyle as stipulated in Acts 15:19-29 and as read with ( Vay. (Lev.) 11 foods; Vay. (Lev.). 23 Festivals; the donning of tzit-tzits (Bem. (Num.) 15:37-41) would, in accordance with the promises for obedience made in Vay. (Lev.) 26:1-13 & Dev. (Deut) 28:1-14 would have eventually led the returned Gentile believer back to all Torah requirements including being circumcised in the flesh through The Ruach’s (The Father’s) tutorage and not according to the doctrines and Oral traditions of man. (Shem. (Ex.)12:49)
Finally I make note of the fact that Scripture, if serving as a prophetic foreshadowing of what is to come (eg. 1 Cor. 10; Ecc. 1:9) has recorded physical circumcisions taking place in:
1. Canaan (Bere. Gen.) 17) possibly before the Passover as explained;
2. As eluded to in Y’hos. (Jos.) 5:5 prior to partaking of the Passover and leaving Egypt:
3. In Y’hos. (Jos.) 3:1-5:12 where we see a parallel of the Egypt exodus being played out upon entry into the Promised Land including the circumcision of the entire Nation prior to the eating of The Passover…
4. And then of course we have the Torah mandated 8th day Circumcision of The Messiah Himself who came to show us the Way (Ibr. (Heb.) 1:1-2) and as recorded in Luke 2:2.
5. And finally even Sha’ul makes note of his circumcision in Phil. 3:5.
Conclusion:
Accordingly I would sum up the whole matter of physical circumcision and what Sha’ul implied in Romans 2:26-27 in these words:
Circumcision has never, and will never be done away with, as it is an eternal Covenant sign obviously very closely associated with and an essential physical/visual witness to the acceptance of The Covenant of The Passover, the Sacrifice of Messiah Yeshua, the Passover Lamb of YHWH, and to Marriage; HOWEVER to become circumcised in the flesh just purely to comply with what others say or to just “do” Torah without conviction is flat-out wrong: Rav Shaul taught this clearly. Circumcision comes after Faith as it did for Avraham (Romans 4:12) regardless of whether we be in the Diaspora or not:
The Apostles under the leadership of Ya’akov show us in Acts 15 that they are in agreement with Sha’ul on this matter, and indeed that the Jerusalem Council was specifically called to address the matter of circumcision being required for salvation. This argument is seen in Acts 15:1-2, 5 and Acts 15:24.
This false teaching of Salvation through a proselytism ritual which included physical circumcision and other traditions and as stipulated in The Oral Law was said to have actually been sent out to the New Believers under the “Name” of The Apostles, which was a lie plain and simple.
The conclusion of the Jerusalem council as seen in Acts 15:21 and as explained above was what was required according to the Apostles to allow Spiritual communal fellowship to take place between believing Torah observant “Jews” and returning, believing gentiles (as we are today.).
And finally to conclude this blog see also Yoh. (Josh.) 5:1f which gives us a very definite Tanach witness regarding this matter of Circumcision and Pesach.
I hope I have been able to address the question my brother in Messiah posed to me regarding Rom. 2:26-27, now you the Body of Messiah decide.
I pray that this is of benefit to you all, but once again please read this checking all I have said carefully against the Word and in prayer.
Shalom
Bo’az
* To be perfect before YHWH: - To restore to YHWH is required because of the breaking of the ORIGINAL COVENANT given in Bere. (Gen.) 1:27-31, this Covenant, which, was sealed with The 7th Day Shabbat - NOT THE SUNDAY, included a CONDITIONAL PENAL CODE CONTAINED WITHIN THE COVENANT AND SEEN IN - Bere. (Gen.) 2:15-17. This penal code was broken.
** Circumcision - a sign before YHWH? Bere. (Gen.) 17:13-14
*** Millennia Pesach observance: Eph. 2:8-13: We need to stop here and look very carefully at something Sha’ul says in Eph. 2:11 to the Ephesians who have returned to YHWH through Messiah - he says that they were to remember that prior to Messiah they were “Gentiles in the FLESH” and in vs. 12 further clarifies that their previous estate in relation to Israel and it’s Covenant promises prior to their Salvation rendered them as “ALIENS AND STRANGERS WHO WITHOUT MESSIAH WERE CUT OFF WITHOUT ANY HOPE! (BBE Trans)” - Is it a possibility that Sha’ul may be eluding to a physical circumcision emanating from a circumcised heart? It appears that Sha’ul does not consider the circumcision of those calling themselves Jew of any consequence, however it seems possible that Sha’ul makes the point very clearly to those returning to Elohim that without Messiah they were indeed Gentiles separated from Messiah in the flesh AND NOW HAD BEEN CIRCUMCISED!
**** Millennia Pesach observance: See comments on Bere. (Gen.) 17:13-14**; Eph. 2:8-13 ***
No comments:
Post a Comment