Many people have
the mistaken notion that in the Old Testament God was primarily concerned with
outward forms and not so much with the heart. But this is clearly false. The OT
repeatedly highlights the priority of inward renewal and devotion (Psa. 51:10;
Hos. 6:6). The OT laws were never an indication God cared only about outward
actions; they were signposts to our need for inward change.
Circumcision,
for example, was a sign of God’s promise and a reminder of our need to be
circumcised in heart. Moses said, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your
hearts, and be no longer stubborn” (Deut. 10:16). This inward circumcision was
ultimately the promise and work of God which enabled true spiritual life. “And
the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring,
so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your
soul, that you may live” (Deut. 30:6). Circumcision was a call to inward
repentance and consecration, not a work of merit or basis for ethnic pride. It
was a graphic reminder of God’s demand for holiness in even the most intimate
area of our lives. It recalled His promise to multiply and bless all nations
through the seed of Abraham. And it marked those who belonged to the covenant
community, whether they were regenerate or not (Rom. 2:28-29; 9:6).
The blessing of
the new birth and a changed heart is not limited to the New Covenant. Believers
in the OT required and received the same. David prayed, “Create in me a clean
heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psa. 51:10). Those who are
dead in sin cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). God worked in OT saints so they could
please Him (Exod. 35:29; Deut. 29:4, 30:14; Psa. 40:8). This gift of grace is
more fully expressed and enjoyed in the NT, but it is present and essential in
the OT too.
Circumcision is
no longer important in the New Covenant (Gal. 5:6), but what it signified is. Baptism
now represents, physically and visibly, the spiritual and invisible work and
promises once signified by circumcision (Col. 2:11-12). We should not take for
granted what the covenant signs teach us. They are not merely rites to be
performed. They are reminders of our need for God’s work in our lives. -JME
