9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
Genesis 17
2007-04-20 07:38:20 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Slice it off and the ladies will love you long time.
2007-04-20 07:43:11 · answer #1 · answered by Pwnazorous 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God does not hate anybody.
God has many layers of meaning in these verses. In Abraham's day, it was a token or a visible sign of a Hebrew male's decision to follow the ways of God. These laws transcend through the ages and are shadows and symbols for believers today.
Remember these things when you read scripture.
People who pick up the Bible and start reading at the beginning may be able pick up things here and there, but it must be read with the heart.
And those who pull out scripture to find fault, to blame and to point fingers will get exactly what they're looking for, a silent distant God.
2007-04-20 14:52:49 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are quoting from the 1st book of the Bible. A bunch of time passed from Abraham to Moses. Did Moses and the people need to follow the law or was circumcision enough?
The reason I ask is to find out if you believe God can do anything after the text you quoted. If so, then check out Romans 2
25Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
or
Gal 5 1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
2007-04-20 15:04:45 · answer #3 · answered by DS M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You pick up a verse as if its going to make in and of itself. Everything you read must be read in context.
I could do the same by taking one sentence from a book explaining a scientific process and say, "hey, that's stupid!" In and of itself it might be - but of course, you must read the work in its entirety to understand it.
Circumcision was a mark of the Jew. Once Jesus came to restore us before God, no physical marker was necessary. The NT speaks of being circumcised in the heart. And thus, although many of us continue it for traditional (if not medical) reasons, its no longer needed. The early, early church (immediately after Christ rose) dealt with this issue and came to the same conclusion - circumcision was only physical and not needed to show the change of heart in a Christian.
2007-04-20 14:45:09 · answer #4 · answered by TWWK 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, God made foreskins so other men could cut them off. God even wanted the Jews to be circumcised TWICE. And there's that verse about a "hill of foreskins". Yuck.
And think about why the bible says babies to be circumcised at 8 days. It's because before that they bleed to death. I wonder how many babies died before those goat-herders figured that out.
2007-04-20 14:45:33 · answer #5 · answered by bandycat5 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, but I do find it interesting that science has recently discovered that the wife of a circumcised man has a much lower risk of contracting cervical cancer than that of one married to an uncircumcised man. Guess God has His reasons for everything He does, whether they are understood at the time or not.
2007-04-20 14:45:26 · answer #6 · answered by Mr. E 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You need to read up on the old testament, especially the writings of Paul to get the whole picture. Picking a passage out of an entire story, does not reveal the story.
2007-04-20 14:42:16 · answer #7 · answered by Scott B 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
God does not have any person. He loves them so much he sent his only son to die and pay the wage of sin, death.
2007-04-20 14:42:42 · answer #8 · answered by nolet93 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Reminds him of sharpei puppies.
2007-04-20 14:42:15 · answer #9 · answered by glitterkittyy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
God isn't capable of hate... he is love.
2007-04-20 14:44:47 · answer #10 · answered by QaHearts 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋