Bible Study Time Introduction (10-9-11) (Introduction to a radio Bible study.)

Welcome to Bible Study Time. We come to you each Sunday morning on behalf of the Peace Church, and we want to invite you to join us for any of our services. We’re located 8 miles south and a half a mile west of Indiahoma, and we’re just 12 miles east of Manitou right on the Baseline Road. If you’d like more information about the Peace Church, you can find that on our website, which is www.ok-peacechurch.org

After the nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan River, God told Joshua to have the males circumcised so that they could observe the Passover and then go on to conquer the land of Canaan. At once, we find ourselves asking, why? Why did the Jews in the wilderness not submit to circumcision, and why did they not observe the Passover? The only explanation we find is in Joshua, Chapter 5, where we read that the Jews who came up out of Egypt were circumcised, but they perished in the wilderness because they did not obey the voice of the Lord. Then we are told that the boys who were born after the Exodus were not circumcised. (Joshua 5:4-7 NKJV).

This is somewhat shocking that the Jews did not practice circumcision or the Passover while they were traveling in the wilderness. God had told Abraham that any male who was not circumcised would be cut off from the people of God because he had broken the covenant of God. (Genesis 17:6-14 NKJV). At Mt. Sinai, God made circumcision a part of the Mosaic Law, saying that every male child was to be circumcised on the eight day after his birth. (Leviticus 12:1-3 NKJV).

So, it is very puzzling that the Jews not practice circumcision or the Passover during their 40 years in the wilderness? And frankly, we just don't know why that was, but if we allow ourselves the luxury of speculation, we might say that it was just too difficult to do in the wilderness. But that's not very satisfying because they were still in a wilderness environment when Joshua ordered them to be circumcised at Gilgal.

We might conclude that circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, and during their wilderness journey, they were not God's covenant people. Joshua, Chapter 5, says that the children of Israel had to journey through the wilderness until all of those who came up out of Egypt were consumed because they did not obey the voice of the Lord. But the problem with that is that those who came up out of Egypt and were consumed were the ones who were circumcised, while those who were uncircumcised were the ones who ultimately entered into the land of Canaan by faith.

And I think that this is a critical part of the puzzle. Namely, that God is more concerned about the condition of a person's heart than He is with any outward ritual or ceremony. The fact is that the Jews who traveled in the wilderness were the one who learned how to be truly circumcised in their hearts.

Physical circumcision was simply an outward sign of the spiritual circumcision that God requires of all those who follow Him. It is an outward sign of one's willingness to forsake the things of this world and the things of the flesh in order to enjoy the blessings of God.

When Moses gave his final address to the children of Israel, he spoke to a nation of uncircumcised Jews and said that they should fear the Lord and walk in His ways, that they should love and serve the Lord with all of their hearts and souls, and that they should circumcise the foreskin of their hearts. (Deuteronomy 10:12-16 NKJV).

As we study the history of the nation of Israel we find that those who traveled through the wilderness for 40 years were among the few who learned to be circumcised in their hearts. God actually forced these particular Jews into a situation where they were separated from the things of the world and the things of the flesh. While traveling through the wilderness, they lost their appetite for the garlic, the leeks and the onions of Egypt, and they learned to depend upon the Lord for their daily bread. They learned that the blessings of God are far more valuable than the things of this world.

As a result, this particular group of uncircumcised Jews was one of the most highly favored groups in all of Jewish history for they were the ones who were given the privilege of going into the promised land by faith to witness the mighty power of God as God helped them conquer the giants of the land.

From this we see that God has always been more concerned with the true devotion of a man's heart than He is with a man's outward rituals and ceremonies which merely give an outward appearance of devotion. If a person's heart is right with God, outward rituals can be meaningful even if they are unnecessary, but if a person's heart is not right with God, the outward rituals are certainly meaningless and actually would appear to be disgusting in the sight of God.

Now let's continue our Journey Through the Scripture with Pastor James Roberts.