And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
All the men of his house, both those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him, bringing the whole household under the covenant sign. He did it on the very day the command was given, because true faith acts at once on God's word. Circumcision was instituted here as the outward token and seal by which the covenant was formally established. The covenant belongs to the everlasting covenant in Christ, whose promise is life, salvation and the kingdom, with the inheritance of the whole world to come through Christ, Abraham's Seed, to all who belong to Him by faith. It marked Israel as separate to God and pointed to the need for clean hearts, a purpose that continues in the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit as the seal and pledge of the inheritance.
Household Circumcision Performed
All the men of his house, both those born in the house and those bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him, so that the covenant sign was extended to the entire household. The circumcising was done when the promise was renewed and circumcision was given as its sign. He obeyed the command to circumcise the males of his household on the very selfsame day it was given, for true faith acts at once on God's word. The ordinance thus enjoined on him and his household was retained by his family.
Those circumcised with him shared in the household's religious observance, and they are called servants and also called men and young men, showing they were regarded as men and not as chattels. The circumcision required here was strongly impressed on Moses' mind and established in his knowledge, so that the neglect recorded in Exodus 4:24-26 seems unlikely if he had already known this account. By contrast, others use the requirement compared with Exodus 4:24-26 to argue that Genesis may have been written after the events in Exodus, distinguishing Israel's unpracticed circumcision in the wilderness years, which was approved because they were not reproved, from Moses' culpable neglect for which God sought to kill him.
Covenant Promise Signified
Genesis 17 institutes circumcision as the outward token and seal by which the covenant with Abraham was formally established, while the earlier promises were renewed before that ratification and the renewed promise was given its sign. The household circumcision belongs to God's progressive and providential dealings with Abram, the father of the faithful and chosen progenitor of the Seed, and is to be read with the Promised Seed in view. In this setting God called Abraham the father of many nations before he had a son, speaking of what existed in His purpose as though it already existed because it would surely come to pass.
The account belongs to the Abrahamic covenant, one of the covenants included in the everlasting covenant in Christ, whose shared promise is life, salvation, and the kingdom through Jesus Christ. That covenant is connected with the promise of the whole world as an inheritance, to be realized through Christ, Abraham's Seed, so that those who belong to Christ by faith are Abraham's heirs. It repeats the first and larger promise made in Genesis 13 that Abraham and his seed would receive the land forever and be heir of the world, distinct from the other promise in Genesis 15:13-21 that fixed the boundaries of earthly Canaan and fixed the time of possession in the fourth generation. That Genesis 17 promise is heirship of the world through the righteousness of faith, which Abraham understood to include more than earthly possession, so he lived as a pilgrim and stranger on earth waiting for a better, heavenly country and a city with foundations built by God.
The promises here are the blessings of the gospel with the law as the basis of the covenant, and keeping that law secures to the Gentile a covenant interest so his uncircumcision is counted for circumcision and he becomes a Jew inwardly, while circumcision as a sign of righteousness is made ineffective by breaking the law. Because the covenant was made with Abraham before he was circumcised, its promises have a deeper and broader significance referring not to the literal seed but to the spiritual seed, teaching salvation and equal title to Abraham's promises for all who share Abraham's faith, whether Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised. By this covenant of promise to Abraham, the father of the faithful, the Jews became God's chosen people and the seed of Abraham, but they bolstered themselves in the belief that as his natural children they were heirs of the kingdom, though their wicked works and hardness of heart disqualified them from claiming the promises made to Abraham's children.
Circumcision marked Israel as separate to God and signified that God's righteousness was upon them, pointing them to the need for clean hearts, and its purpose continues in the circumcision of the heart, the Spirit's seal and pledge of the inheritance and assurance that God will fulfill His promise of the land. The circumcision of the household was given as a perpetual and everlasting ordinance, yet perpetual and everlasting is no stronger than commanded to a thousand generations and does not mean endless continuance, since its period has expired. Circumcision was not exclusively for the Jews alone, being given to Ishmael as well as Isaac and to Esau as well as Jacob and still practiced by some Eastern nations, and as a religious rite held by the Jews it became nothing when Christ came, while the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week, is never called Jewish, never said to belong to the Jews, and never said to be nothing. The chapter belongs to the beginning of the subject of the Two Covenants in Abraham's family, the two women Hagar the bondwoman and Sarah the freewoman and their two sons representing the two covenants and their children, with the covenant from Mount Sinai represented by Hagar, and whoever studies the Two Covenants must begin here and study this chapter together with Genesis 15, all of Genesis 16, and Genesis 21:1-21, read repeatedly, and then with Galatians 4:21-30, especially verse 24, which shows these histories are the two covenants.
All the men of his house, both those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him, bringing the whole household under the covenant sign. He did it on the very day the command was given, because true faith acts at once on God's word. Circumcision was instituted here as the outward token and seal by which the covenant was formally established. The covenant belongs to the everlasting covenant in Christ, whose promise is life, salvation and the kingdom, with the inheritance of the whole world to come through Christ, Abraham's Seed, to all who belong to Him by faith. It marked Israel as separate to God and pointed to the need for clean hearts, a purpose that continues in the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit as the seal and pledge of the inheritance.
Household Circumcision Performed
All the men of his house, both those born in the house and those bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him, so that the covenant sign was extended to the entire household. The circumcising was done when the promise was renewed and circumcision was given as its sign. He obeyed the command to circumcise the males of his household on the very selfsame day it was given, for true faith acts at once on God's word. The ordinance thus enjoined on him and his household was retained by his family.
Those circumcised with him shared in the household's religious observance, and they are called servants and also called men and young men, showing they were regarded as men and not as chattels. The circumcision required here was strongly impressed on Moses' mind and established in his knowledge, so that the neglect recorded in Exodus 4:24-26 seems unlikely if he had already known this account. By contrast, others use the requirement compared with Exodus 4:24-26 to argue that Genesis may have been written after the events in Exodus, distinguishing Israel's unpracticed circumcision in the wilderness years, which was approved because they were not reproved, from Moses' culpable neglect for which God sought to kill him.
Covenant Promise Signified
Genesis 17 institutes circumcision as the outward token and seal by which the covenant with Abraham was formally established, while the earlier promises were renewed before that ratification and the renewed promise was given its sign. The household circumcision belongs to God's progressive and providential dealings with Abram, the father of the faithful and chosen progenitor of the Seed, and is to be read with the Promised Seed in view. In this setting God called Abraham the father of many nations before he had a son, speaking of what existed in His purpose as though it already existed because it would surely come to pass.
The account belongs to the Abrahamic covenant, one of the covenants included in the everlasting covenant in Christ, whose shared promise is life, salvation, and the kingdom through Jesus Christ. That covenant is connected with the promise of the whole world as an inheritance, to be realized through Christ, Abraham's Seed, so that those who belong to Christ by faith are Abraham's heirs. It repeats the first and larger promise made in Genesis 13 that Abraham and his seed would receive the land forever and be heir of the world, distinct from the other promise in Genesis 15:13-21 that fixed the boundaries of earthly Canaan and fixed the time of possession in the fourth generation. That Genesis 17 promise is heirship of the world through the righteousness of faith, which Abraham understood to include more than earthly possession, so he lived as a pilgrim and stranger on earth waiting for a better, heavenly country and a city with foundations built by God.
The promises here are the blessings of the gospel with the law as the basis of the covenant, and keeping that law secures to the Gentile a covenant interest so his uncircumcision is counted for circumcision and he becomes a Jew inwardly, while circumcision as a sign of righteousness is made ineffective by breaking the law. Because the covenant was made with Abraham before he was circumcised, its promises have a deeper and broader significance referring not to the literal seed but to the spiritual seed, teaching salvation and equal title to Abraham's promises for all who share Abraham's faith, whether Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised. By this covenant of promise to Abraham, the father of the faithful, the Jews became God's chosen people and the seed of Abraham, but they bolstered themselves in the belief that as his natural children they were heirs of the kingdom, though their wicked works and hardness of heart disqualified them from claiming the promises made to Abraham's children.
Circumcision marked Israel as separate to God and signified that God's righteousness was upon them, pointing them to the need for clean hearts, and its purpose continues in the circumcision of the heart, the Spirit's seal and pledge of the inheritance and assurance that God will fulfill His promise of the land. The circumcision of the household was given as a perpetual and everlasting ordinance, yet perpetual and everlasting is no stronger than commanded to a thousand generations and does not mean endless continuance, since its period has expired. Circumcision was not exclusively for the Jews alone, being given to Ishmael as well as Isaac and to Esau as well as Jacob and still practiced by some Eastern nations, and as a religious rite held by the Jews it became nothing when Christ came, while the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week, is never called Jewish, never said to belong to the Jews, and never said to be nothing. The chapter belongs to the beginning of the subject of the Two Covenants in Abraham's family, the two women Hagar the bondwoman and Sarah the freewoman and their two sons representing the two covenants and their children, with the covenant from Mount Sinai represented by Hagar, and whoever studies the Two Covenants must begin here and study this chapter together with Genesis 15, all of Genesis 16, and Genesis 21:1-21, read repeatedly, and then with Galatians 4:21-30, especially verse 24, which shows these histories are the two covenants.