CIRCUMCISION: Knowing the Enemy Within Your Gates

Why Circumcision?

Let us finally answer the age-old question: Why did God command circumcision?

The answer lies in WAR—not just battles fought with sword and shield, but the spiritual war between truth and deception, covenant and betrayal. From the very beginning, God has sought a people set apart—not only by the unseen faith of the heart but by an outward sign of covenant.

This sign was circumcision.

When Abram entered into covenant with God, it wasn't just his heart that God marked—it was his very flesh.

Genesis 17:10-11 (KJV)
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

A Visible Covenant for a Hidden Enemy

Why the foreskin? Why something so private?

Because enemies don’t always come from afar. The most dangerous infiltrators are those within your gates, those who appear to be your friends, your allies—even suitors of your daughters—yet they serve other gods, carry foreign motives, and aim to destroy your family from within.

Circumcision was a line of defense, a test of covenant. You could say you served the God of Abraham—but the cut in the flesh proved it.

Genesis 17:14 (KJV)
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

To Marry into the Covenant Required the Sign

In ancient Israel, a man seeking to marry into a family under God’s covenant had to show more than words—he had to prove by his flesh that he was a part of the promise. That’s why when Shechem, a prince of the Hivites, defiled Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, her brothers made one demand:

Genesis 34:14 (KJV)
And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us.

And when Shechem’s people consented to circumcision, it was not out of faith, but out of deception—hoping to gain access to the blessings and trade of Jacob’s household.

Genesis 34:21-22 (KJV)
These men are peaceable with us... let us take their daughters to us for wives... Only herein will the men consent unto us... if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

Their intentions were corrupt, and it cost them their lives.

Forbidden Marriages: A Breach in the Wall

God forbade His people from marrying Canaanite women, not out of prejudice, but protection. When Esau married a Canaanite woman, he did so in rebellion against his father Isaac’s command.

Genesis 28:1 (KJV)
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

By marrying into forbidden tribes, men like Esau and later Judah opened the gates to spiritual compromise. We see in Genesis 38 that Judah marries a Canaanite woman, and there is no mention of his sons being circumcised. The result? Spiritual decay, deception, and death followed his lineage.

Circumcision Was a Guardpost of Covenant

From the time God made a new covenant with Abram, changing his name to Abraham, circumcision became a seal of that promise.

Genesis 17:5-7 (KJV)
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham... And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee...

Genesis 17:23 (KJV)
And Abraham took Ishmael his son... and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

This was not only for sons—but for all men born in his house or bought with money. Every male had to carry the mark. Why?

Because the land of Canaan was filled with enemies. Circumcision was the password, the badge of belonging to the God of Israel.

Judah and the Danger of Disobedience

By Genesis 38, a dangerous turning point emerges. Judah marries outside the covenant, and there's no biblical evidence that his children were circumcised. The family secret was out. The wall had been breached. And from that breach came a line of deception and brokenness.

Later, the prophet Jeremiah cries out not just for circumcision of the flesh, but of the heart:

Jeremiah 4:4 (KJV)
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart... lest my fury come forth like fire... because of the evil of your doings.

This verse reveals what had happened—men were faking the mark. They circumcised the flesh to blend in, but not the heart to belong.

Christ and the New Covenant: Baptism

When Christ came, He fulfilled the Law and brought a new covenant. The outward sign of circumcision was replaced by something no enemy would dare fake: baptism, a public confession of faith followed by a burial and resurrection in water.

Colossians 2:11-12 (KJV)
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands... Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Circumcision of the flesh was no longer required. Baptism became the mark of true covenant.

Today, no false religion carries this symbol.

  • Judaism uses the mikvah, not baptism.

  • Islam recites a creed, but never enters water.

  • Hinduism and Buddhism have no equivalent of baptism.
    Only true Christianity practices baptism as a sign of death, burial, and resurrection with Christ.

Conclusion: A Kingdom Without Compromise

Circumcision was the original sign of covenantal loyalty—a private mark to keep enemies out and the house of God pure. But men learned how to fake the flesh. So God moved the mark deeper, into the heart and into the waters of baptism—a place no deceiver would go.

Baptism is now the border wall of the Kingdom.

And just like in the days of Abraham, only those who carry the true sign of the covenant—not in their flesh, but in their heart and spirit—will dwell safely within the gates.

Romans 2:28-29 (KJV)
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly... But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit...

Let the enemy knock, but let only the marked and washed enter.

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