2013 Advent Devotions from the Lutheran Hour Ministries – Wednesday,
1 January 2014 "THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD - Eighth Day of Christmas"
Read Genesis The Sign of the Covenant
17: When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to
Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty;[a] walk before me, and be
blameless. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you
exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4
“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a
multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram,[b] but your name
shall be Abraham;[c] for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and
kings shall come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you,
and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting
covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring[d] after you. 8 And I will
give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an
alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their
God.”
9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant,
you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my
covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after
you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall circumcise the flesh
of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
12 Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when
he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought
with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. 13 Both the
slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be
circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14
Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin
shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Footnotes:
a. Genesis 17:1 Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai
b. Genesis 17:5 That is exalted ancestor
c. Genesis 17:5 Here taken to mean ancestor of a multitude
d. Genesis 17:7 Heb seed. TEXT: And at the end of eight days,
when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the Name given by the angel
before He was conceived in the womb (Luke 2:21).
The Son of God humbled Himself mightily when He took our human
nature upon Himself and came down to this world. From the start it was clear He
would not lead a charmed life. At Christmas we see Him wrapped in swaddling
cloths and lying in a feeding trough. After the wise men come to see Him, King
Herod will try to kill Him in a jealous rage. Throughout His ministry He will
be harassed and ridiculed. Ultimately, He will be arrested, beaten, unfairly
convicted and nailed to a cross.
But on this eighth day of Christmas we remember the first blood
Jesus shed for us. When God promised Abraham He would make a great nation of
his descendants, God instituted circumcision. It was a seal and guarantee of
His promise to raise up the promised Savior from one of Abraham's descendants.
Every male child of Abraham carried this deeply personal reminder that the God
who had brought him under His great covenant with Abraham would raise up the
promised Savior.
Now on this eighth day, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, first
sheds His human blood to place Himself under God's covenant with Abraham. He
offers His body and His blood to fulfill God's plan to save the world. Now God
offers a new sign to seal and guarantee our salvation through Jesus' life,
death and resurrection. He washes us in the waters of Holy Baptism, uniting us
in Jesus' death and resurrection.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we praise You for offering up Your body
and Your blood to save us by God's righteous plan. Keep us firm in this faith
all the days of our earthly life. Amen.
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Mail:
Lutheran Hour Ministries
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, MO 63141 United States
Telephone: (800)876-9880
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