Gods Sabbath

C IRCUMCISION

167

Why not Earlier?

Up until this point of time God had not required circumcision of His people, but does that mean that prior to this date, condi tions for receiving the benefits of the atonement were any differ ent? On the contrary, every person who lived earlier than Abra ham, just as everyone after him, had to enter into the same sol emn covenant relation with God before spiritual blessings could be received. There has always been only one plan of redemption, and its conditions have never changed. The reason why God introduced circumcision for the first time in Abraham’s day was because the long centuries of apostasy and rebellion had so blinded the people that they needed a visi ble object lesson to awaken their spiritual understanding. If they had faithfully adhered to God’s principles, they could have seen the truth that this ordinance portrayed without it. “If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision.” Patri archs and Prophets , 364.2. Changes had to take place in Abraham’s thinking, not in God’s. It is evident that the patriarch’s eyes were opened and mighty faith sprang into life. In that wonderful way in which the Holy Spirit works, Abraham was led to see the dark nature of his unbelief on the one hand, and the miraculous power of God on the other. He came to realize that the Lord had the power to put life where there was death and his faith grasped the reality of it. The beauty and strength of that faith which enabled him to enter into this covenant is described by Paul in these words: “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the The Change in Abraham’s Faith