Christians discuss circumcision and giggle. We read that “testify” comes from “testicle” because of the practice of swearing on the loins, as when Abraham told his servant to “place your hand under my thigh and swear,” Genesis 24:9—and again we giggle. Our understanding is so OVERWHELMED by the sexualization of our culture, we are unable to think with purity when we think about human anatomy. (Was God’s mind less than holy when He created men? No. The problem lies with us.)
Then God tells Jeremiah to fashion a linen undergarment. It’s not supposed to be awkward (although you must consider your audience—this is no lesson for junior high).
“Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel to Me—this is the Lord’s declaration—so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory, but they would not obey” Jeremiah 13:11.
What amazing intimacy: The GOD WHO MADE YOU fastens you to His waist (and we snicker like idiots).
Think of it this way:
God looks at women and says ‘you will bear children.’
And He looks at men and says ‘you will father children. Here’s a device that will allow you to generate life. Be CAREFUL with it. We will mount it in the one spot that is the easiest to defend. And we will make it super-sensitive to injury—so you will never forget to protect it. And because you can create life, you have something in common with Me.
But that life-giving device is really important. You will protect it, swear by it, and scar it to symbolize that you are MINE, and that you understand YOUR POWER TO GIVE LIFE COMES FROM ME. Don’t let the enemy pervert it into something weird. It’s not weird:
Circumcision is a scar that says that you understand that the power to give life comes from the God who gives life.
God, deliver us from the sex-crazed, adolescent culture that cannot speak or think intelligently about anatomy. Thank you that you FASTEN US TO YOUR WAIST.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 