Topic: The Real Sign of God’s Covenant  [Church of God Mission International] Above Only Daily Devotional 23 June 2021

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Above Only Devotional

Wednesday June 23, 2021

The Real Sign of God’s Covenant

Genesis 17:10-11 (NIV), 1 Samuel 17:26
This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. *And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

Your understanding that God is in covenant with you places you in a position that is not intimidated by anything or anyone. It was this understanding that gave David both confidence and victory over Goliath. By describing Goliath as an uncircumcised philistine, David was emphasizing the fact that Goliath did not have a covenant with God. Like our first text above states, God instructed Abraham and all the Israelites to circumcise their male as a ‘physical sign’ or reminder that God remained in covenant with them. They need a sign or reminder that they remained in covenant with God because there was a tendency for them to forget; something that affected their boldness and confidence. Despite this physical sign, when Goliath stood against them with insults and threats, the rest of the Israelites forgot that they were in covenant with God.

The sign that the Israelites had was only a shadow. We have the real sign. As believers in Christ, the Bible tells us that Jesus has circumcised us. “In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self” (Col.2:11, GNB). You were circumcised as you died with Christ on the cross. You now have the real sign that God is in covenant with you. As the revelation of what Jesus did for you on the cross fills your heart, it will strengthen your consciousness and confidence that you are in covenant with God. In Philippines 3:3, Apostle Paul does not just say that we are circumcised; he assures us that we are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ, having no confidence in the flesh.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank you that by the virtue of my circumcision by Christ on the cross, you are in covenant with me and I always have the victory.

Bible in One Year Reading Plan
2 Kings 3:1-4:17, Acts 14:8-28, Psalm 140:1-13, Proverbs 17:23