… circumcised on the eighth day…
Summary: Paul’s reference to the “eighth day” opens up an interesting meditation on the nature of time and the importance of the times assigned by God.
When God created the “heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), the first thing he did was to create time (Genesis 1:14-15).
The importance of time cannot be overstated, especially in today’s high-tech world. Our modern technology depends on our ability to track time very accurately.
GPS systems, for example, used for navigation, phones, and thousands of other things, rely on incredibly precise clocks — accurate to within a few nanoseconds. How small is a nanosecond? A nanosecond is one billionth of a second.
Of course, technology in the Garden of Eden didn’t exist. For God’s purposes, all that was needed was to divide time into “days,” which also happens to include “nights,” too.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Genesis 1:3-5)
After days came calendars:
“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years…’” (Genesis 1:14).
Then God made the Sabbath:
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2-3)
The Sabbath, the seventh day, in the Old Testament, is so important that it is easy to overlook the importance of the eighth day.
In the days of Moses, when God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, he gave them rules about circumcision. Every male born to the Israelites was to be circumcised on the eighth day (Leviticus 12:3).
Why?
God doesn’t exactly tell us why, but he gives us clues.
One clue is the fact that the eighth day is the first day after the “sacred seven,” the days of the first week. There is a parallel between God’s creation of the universe and God’s creation of each living being.
In one sense, each of us has our own calendar that begins when we are born. This is why we track our birthdays — they are the first day of each year of our personal calendar.
After the first seven days of our personal calendar, God required the Israelites to consecrate the firstborn males, whether man or animal, on the eighth day (Exodus 22:30, Leviticus 12:3).
All of this happens “in the flesh,” that is to say, it is something we do physically. Paul wants us to know that his parents kept the faith, that they were faithful in following the law, and that he, Paul, was circumcised according to the law on the eighth day.
When it comes to being a Jew and having confidence in the flesh, circumcision was essential.
Application: Next time you check your watch, remember that God has a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Food for Thought: If God exists outside of time (Psalms 90:4), why is he concerned about time here on earth?
Well, He cares about us and created us in time. Time is His creation and He saw it was good. So I think He cares about His creation and time is a part of that because God is orderly and likes order. And you quoted from the ket text I was thinking about – Ecclesiastes 3. He made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1 – 11: There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9What do workers gain from their toil? 10I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet a no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Brother Rich,
Thank you! “God is orderly and likes order.”
I like that! A “timely” response!! 🙂
If God exists outside of time (Psalms 90:4), why is he concerned about time here on earth?
I agree with Rich, God cares about us and created us in time. I think we could debate why He created us in time, I personally believe it was to make us aware of the road we are traveling on. In the context of time, we can “look back” (record, remember) and we can “look forward” (anticipate, hope). Since God transcends time, He uses it to give us grace as we travel through it.
Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
I also believe God uses time to press upon us the importance of repentance and obedience.
2 Corinthians 6:2
For he says,
“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
Romans 13:11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
Chris,
I like your point that God wanted to “make us aware of the road we are traveling on.”
That is a great illustration of our journey through life.
If God exists outside of time (Psalms 90:4), why is he concerned about time here on earth.
God has and will always exist as God, our eternal creator, the source of all life. His concerns about time are related to the time given to mankind on earth.
1. God created and blessed mankind as eternal beings:
Genesis 1:27-28, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
2. God told His created beings, there was only one thing they were not to do:
Genesis 2:17, ” but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
3. Mankind chose to disobey God:
Genesis 3:6, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
4. God promised a solution:
Genesis 3:15, And I will put enmity ( Jesus Christ ) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
5. God separated man from the tree of life:
Genesis 3:22-24, Then the LORD God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever, therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
6. God limited the lifespan of sinful beings:
Genesis 6:3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.
This banishment from the Garden was an act of God’s mercy. Eating from the tree of life would have doomed mankind to an eternal state of sin. Therefore, God in His mercy blocked all out of the Garden, and began to prepare the way for humankind’s return to a state of perfection through Jesus Christ. The source of eternal life for all who will choose to receive Him.
Thank you, Ron!
You point us to a very interesting topic: The relationship between time and sin.
Had Adam and Eve remained in the Garden and never touched the Forbidden Tree, there would have never been need for the law, the sacrifices, or even circumcision. It is possible there would never be a need for a clock. Very interesting to think about!!
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