Let’s continue on with yesterday’s discussion about circumcision and how it’s connected to the two Hebrew words AM and GOY.
So here’s the deal in simple terms.
Recall that when the 1st generation of Israelites were living in Egypt, they weren’t really that much different than the Egyptians and other foreigners they lived among.
However, once Moses ordered that all Israelite men be circumcised (while still living in Egypt), from God’s perspective a major status change had taken place.
Once circumcised, the Lord classified them as AM(His people) and then proceeded to rescue them from Pharaoh in Egypt.
Again, keep in mind that circumcision is the physical mark that a man has been grafted into Hashem’s covenants.
If you’re not circumcised, you’re NOT an official member of Israel.
But, and this is a huge “but”, after leaving Egypt Israel later rebelled.
What happened as a result?
God became so angry that He made a decision that this 1st generation of Israelites would never be allowed into the Promised Land.
And as we learned yesterday, He ended up re-classifying His people from AM (My people) to GOY (gentiles) who had been cut off from Him.
Understand that this status change was more of a spiritual thing than physical…
…because it’s not like God just abandoned the Israelites He brought out of Egypt.
He still dropped Manna from heaven and He still kept leading them with His presence in the fire-cloud.
However, in Joshua 5, we’re told that since all of the 1st generation of Israelite men had died out in the Wilderness and no circumcisions had taken place afterwards, there were no more circumcised men left.
This meant that with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, from a spiritual perspective, there were no more Israelites.
Are seeing the significance of this?
There’s no way in hell Hashem is going to turn over His Holy Land to a bunch of rebellious Israelites who He views as LO-AMMI or spiritual GOY even if they had been circumcised.
Are you catching this point homies?
Recall the words of Paul.
“Circumcision has value
if you observe the law,
but if you break the law,
you have become as though
you had not been circumcised.”
-Romans 2:25
Or to re-phrase, if you rebel against Hashem by going hog wild and worshipping Golden Calfs, your circumcision means diddly squat.
Your circumcision has become uncircumcision and that was exactly the status of the 1st generation of Israelites who rebelled against Hashem.
Their salvation was completely reversed.
They never entered the Lord’s rest (which is why I think Calvinism is BS but this is a different conversation).
That’s why it was absolutely necessary for all the men of the 2nd generation to be circumcised at Gilgal BEFORE they observed Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits.
Are you catching this pattern?
Israel is only considered Israel when they are grafted into the covenants of God…
…and this is accomplished via circumcision.
God only saved Israel from Pharaoh AFTER they were circumcised.
And God will ONLY save you AFTER your heart is circumcised.
Until one is circumcised, one cannot be classified as one of the Lord’s AM or one of His chosen.
Where In Scripture does it say that the Israelites were circumcised while Still in Egypt?
Read this: http://bibleq.net/answer/5892/
And this: https://www.chicagojewishnews.com/were-the-israelites-circumcised-in-egypt/
I believe this verse makes it clear:
“For although all the people who left Egypt had been circumcised, all those who had been born in the desert on the way as they went on from Egypt had not been circumcised;”-Joshua 5:5