Back in London where we used to live, the area next to us – called Furzedown – had no pubs in it. This was a surprise, since it was a relatively affluent area with a large number of houses: plenty of people in other words, who would gladly have used a local place to meet and socialise. The reason Furzedown had no pubs was because, 300 years previously, the land had been owned by Quakers, and they had put a restrictive covenant on the land banning the sale of alcohol.
Although the land had long since been sold and developed, the covenant was unbreakable. 300 years later, you still had to walk into another area to buy a drink. (As an aside, this made it an extremely desirable area to live in – very safe and quiet!)
A covenant is a word rarely used nowadays: mostly, we use ‘contracts’. But it’s a very important and powerful word, particularly in our journey of faith. A covenant is a solemn and unconditional promise, rooted in love. It’s not a contract, which breaks when one side doesn’t honour it. A covenant pledges one party to the other unconditionally. A Christian marriage is a covenant, whereas a civil marriage is formalised with the ‘contracting’ words.
The different language is significant, and the ‘x-factor’ of the vows made in a Christian marriage is rooted of course, in God’s eternal love. And this in turn goes back to the fundamental building block of God’s relationship with us. What God makes with his people is not a contract, it’s a covenant: a binding promise based on unconditional love.
This covenant was first made with Abraham in Genesis 12, and re-stated several times. Significantly for today’s passage, the outward sign of this covenant between God and his people is the circumcision of all males (Genesis 17).
During their time in the desert, this ritual had been allowed to lapse (v5): but now, before God’s people embarked on their entry into the Promised Land, every male was circumcised (v8). This might seem a strange way of preparing for what lay ahead; but what it symbolised was the people’s determination to live under God’s covenant, to be obedient to him. Thus, they also celebrated the Passover (v10) – another great commemoration of God’s saving love and power in their lives.
After Christ, we no longer need to undergo this physical marking: for which, I imagine, most of us are very grateful! Instead, what we offer is what St Paul vividly describes as a ‘circumcision of the heart’ (Romans 2:29). It is our hearts that mark us as God’s beloved, and where God dwells by his Spirit.
Give thanks today that God has made his covenant with you: fully and unconditionally. And as that beautiful thought lifts our hearts in praise, dedicate yourselves and your day to this loving Lord.