Was asked on 4/13/2020. 7;07 pm. Mountain time.

Is there anywhere in the Bible where it talks about why

infants should not be circumcised?

NO. Lupe, Circumcision today is primarily a matter of personal preference and

hygiene—not a requirement for faith. Circumcision was promoted by the biblical
patriarch Abraham, his descendants and their slaves as "a token of the covenant"
concluded with him by God for all generations, an "everlasting covenant" (Genesis
17:13), thus it is commonly observed by two (Judaism and Islam) of the Abrahamic
religions.
More and answers. So, How did circumcision start in
the Bible?

According to Genesis, God told Abraham to circumcise himself, his household

and his slaves as an everlasting covenant in their flesh. Those who were not
circumcised were to be 'cut off' from their people (Genesis 17:10-14). Note the
connection between circumcision and slavery. It is alluded to in the New Testament.
In Genesis 17:12 the Lord said: “ For the generations to come every male among
you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household
or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring.”
Have you noticed how meticulous the record concerning the birth of Christ is? All the
law was fulfilled in connection with the birth of this little baby. It is recorded that He was
the son of Abraham, the son of David; He was in the line, and on the eight day He was
circumcised. He was “born under the law.”
Why did God require circumcision? (1) As a sign of obedience to him in all
matters. (2) As a sign of belonging to his covenant people. Once circumcised, the man
would be identified as one of God’s chosen people (eventually the Jews) forever. (3) As
a symbol of “cutting off” the old life of sin, purifying one’s heart, and dedicating oneself
to God. (4) Possibly as a health measure.
Circumcision more than any other practice separated God’s people from their pagan
neighbors. So, in Abraham’s day, this was essential to develop the pure worship of the
one true God.
Lupe read 1 Corinthian 7:18-20. Paul now expands the application of this
principle. It applies to other relationships in life. For instance, if when you converted you
belong to the circumcised, that is, if you are an Israelite, don’t try to become a Gentile. If
you are a Gentile, don’t try to become an Israelite. Circumcision or uncircumcision is no
longer important. Obedience to Christ is the issue now. The Israelite and the Gentile
are on in Christ. The whole point here is that in whatever state you find yourself when
you accept Christ, stay right there.
God told Abraham, "You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male who is eight
days old must be circumcised" (Genesis 17:11-12). Abraham came to faith as an adult
and was circumcised as an adult, as "a seal of the righteousness he had by faith"
(Romans 4:11). His son Isaac and future children in their line were circumcised as
infants and marked as members of the community of faith, even before they could
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consciously exercise faith of their own. That was the pattern God established for his
people.
Circumcision was not just a physical thing, marking out ethnic Jews.
Circumcision was full of spiritual meaning. The circumcision of the flesh was always
meant to correspond with circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2:25-29). It pointed to
humility, new birth, and a new way of life (Lev. 26:40-42; Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4;
6:10; 9:25). In short, circumcision was a sign of justification. Paul says in Romans 4:11
that Abraham “received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he
had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.” God’s own interpretation of circumcision
is that it was much more than just a physical sign for national Israel.
If a man grew up as a foreigner to the covenant community and wished to join it
and serve the Lord, he was circumcised as an adult, and all males in his household
were also circumcised (Exodus 12:48). From then on, any male born into that covenant
family was circumcised as an infant, marking him as a member of the covenant.
God's covenant with Abraham was "an everlasting covenant," not a temporary
one. That everlasting covenant remains in effect to this day. God doesn't change. The
Lord who made promises to Abraham is the same Lord Jesus who embraced babies
brought by believing parents, and still today this same Lord promises to be the God of
believers and their children.
From Circumcision to Baptism
God doesn't just decide one day to dump his covenant and come up with
something entirely different. He remains faithful to the same covenant. But he has
brought that covenant into a new and better era, and he seals it with a new and better
sign. In the old era, God promised a Savior. In the new era, the promise has been
fulfilled. Jesus' perfect life and bloody death and glorious resurrection fulfill everything
necessary for salvation by faith. God "announced the gospel in advance to Abraham"
(Galatians 3:8), but now that Christ has come, the gospel is clearer than it was in
Abraham's day, and the blessings are poured out more abundantly.
In this new and better covenant era, God gives a new and better covenant sign.
Now that Jesus has suffered and poured out his blood, God no longer calls for the
bloody, painful sign of circumcision. Instead he gives the sign of baptism. This better
sign of baptism is without blood or pain. This better sign of baptism is not limited to
males (as circumcision was) but is applied to females as well.
The new covenant era and the new covenant sign are better than the old, so it
would be a shocking letdown if the God who included children of believers in the old era
excluded them in the new era. How could babies from covenant families, circumcised in
the old era, not be baptized in the new era?
The Bible links the meaning of circumcision with baptism in Colossians 2:11-12.
There Scripture speaks of "the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried
with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead." Circumcision pictured "the putting off of the
sinful nature" (Colossians 2:11); so, does baptism. Circumcision was the sign of
becoming part of God's covenant community; so is baptism. Circumcision called
for a heart in tune with God (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6); so does baptism. The
spiritual meaning of circumcision is fulfilled in the new covenant sign of baptism.

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Did circumcision apply to anyone else? Circumcision applied to the slaves of Jews.
Apart from that, circumcision never applied to people outside the Jewish faith. The first
covenant was not with other nations. All other people were described as uncircumcised,
even those who practiced circumcision (Jeremiah 9:25-26). Circumcision never applied
to Christians (Acts 15:5-11). The Apostle Peter, who was circumcised, said:
... we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.
(Acts 15:11, New RSV)
Should Christians follow the Law of Moses? No. Christians were freed from the Law,
including circumcision (Acts 15:1-20). It was described as an almost unbearable yoke
on the neck (Acts 15: 10). The yoke, of course, was a sign of slavery and Christians
were told not to become entangled with 'a yoke of bondage' (Galatians 5:1-2).
What does this mean for Christians? Christians must be wary. Many of these laws,
including the food laws, were repudiated in the New Testament (Acts 10:1-33). Jesus
himself criticized the scribes and their traditions. (e.g., Matthew 15: 1-9, also Isaiah 29
:13). Jeremiah's assessment of the Law must also be pondered.
How can you say, "We are wise,
and the law of the LORD is with us,"
when in fact, the false pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie? (Jeremiah 8: 8, New RSV)

Below I give a story of circumcision in the Old Testament. My prayer is that

you get the meaning of real circumcision.

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Zipporah meets Moses at the well. Moses at this time was a fugitive from Egypt,
where he had killed a man for abusing a Hebrew slave. Why did Moses kill this man?
Because Moses had chosen to side with the oppressed (the Hebrew slaves) rather than
the oppressors (the ruling Egyptians). When he killed the Egyptian, he broke the ties
that bound him to Egypt. Now he had to find his own path. But what was that path?
God might have a plan for him, but it was not immediately obvious. In the
meantime, Moses had to find a refuge.
A woman takes her flock to the well. Zipporah at the well. He found one with the
Midianites, a semi-nomadic people who were descended from Abraham (Genesis
25:1). How did Moses meet them? At a well, where else!
• Wells were the center of social life in the ancient Middle East, and
• for fairly obvious reasons, the Bible uses them as symbols of life-giving female
sexuality…
Moses happened upon the seven daughters of Jethro, the Midian priest (priestly
offices were undertaken by heads of tribes or families).
The young women were trying to water their flock, but were being tormented by the
local blades, who would not let them get to the well to draw water. Chivalrous Moses
stepped in and scared off the bullies.
Painting: Moses sends the bullies packing! Painting of a scene in ‘The Ten
Commandments ‘One thing led to another, of course, and Moses married Jethro’s
daughter Zipporah. They had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
Once again Moses had acted in defense of the downtrodden. God was preparing
him for his life’s work: rescuing the Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
Moses defends Zipporah and her sisters at a rather medieval looking well,
Saracenic. We don’t know how long Moses and Zipporah lived with Jethro’s tribe, but at
some time God spoke to Moses, appearing to him in the form of a burning bush.
God commanded Moses to confront Pharaoh and demand freedom for the Hebrew
slaves. Moses was prodded into action at last and set out for Egypt.
God is angry with Moses. During this journey something strange happened. Moses
knew he was special to God, but he had neglected to circumcise his son. The command
to circumcise in Genesis 17:14 was seriously intended, and now God rose up to enforce
this requirement. Somewhere along the road, they stopped for the night and the
Bible says that ‘God tried to kill Moses’. Just what this means we do not know.
Possibly Moses suffered an illness or seizure.
Zipporah circumcises her son. Zipporah, sensing that God was angry that their son
wasn’t circumcised (see What was circumcision?) and that this omission had caused
Moses’ illness, stepped in.
Flint knife with bone handle. She took it upon herself to do what Moses should have
done. She circumcised her son herself,
• cutting the foreskin with a razor-sharp flint blade (see at right),
• then linking Moses with the act by touching his feet (‘feet’ is probably a
euphemism for genitals) with the blood from the circumcision wound.
Then she said: “Surely, a bridegroom of blood thou art to me.”
Moses had become her bridegroom once again thanks to the blood of the circumcision.
The effect of this incident cannot be exaggerated. Deeply ingrained now in Moses’
heart was the belief that it is God’s anger, not Pharaoh’s, that he must fear.

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