Calendar

A CIRCUMCISED HEART (III)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
Deuteronomy 10:12-16

Acts 7:51-53

 

“…and be no more stiffnecked.”

 

A CIRCUMCISED HEART (III)
 
The final injunction given by Moses to Israel in Deuteronomy 10:12-16, in parallel with the requirement of a “circumcised” heart, is that they “be no more stiffnecked” (v 16). This is significant, in light of Moses’ earlier rehearsal before the people of their many failures (cf. Deut 9:6, 13). To be “stiffnecked” is to be stubborn, resistant to guidance, as oxen who chafe against the yoke. Israel had certainly demonstrated this tendency in their history up to that point: but now they are called on to be stiffnecked no more.
 
It is significant to note that, centuries later, the martyr Stephen used the  same terms in connection with his rebuke of the Jewish religious council (Acts 7:51). These were the religious leaders of the people, who prided themselves on a meticulous observance of the law ‒ Paul, one of their number at the time (cf. Acts 7:58), later described his former “trust in the flesh” as including his circumcision on “the eighth day” (Phil 3:4-5).
 
Yet though their flesh was marked with the covenant sign, their hearts were devoid of true covenant submission. While boasting of obedience, they were in fact of a rebellious spirit. Like the wicked husbandmen in the parable (Matt 21:33-40), they claimed possession of the Lord’s vineyard, but reneged on their obligation to provide Him with any of the fruit: even going to the extent of persecution and murder (cf. Acts 7:52). Though the recipients of God’s gracious law, they refused to keep it.
 
Dear reader, do we not witness a parallel situation in our day? Multitudes are outwardly identified as “Christian” ‒ but how many truly yield obedience to Christ, from the heart? How many “resist the Holy Ghost” (Acts 7:51) in His convicting work? How many seek to amend or “update” the law of God which they have received, to make it more palatable to their modern sensibilities? Ah, may the words of Moses ring out today with equal urgency: “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked”!
 
THOUGHT: The true measure of a “circumcised heart” is willing submission and obedience to the law of God.

PRAYER: Gracious Father, help me to obey Thee from the heart!

Search