Today's verse comes from the Book of Genesis. God commands Abraham to mark every male in his household. A flint blade cuts the foreskin on the eighth day, sealing membership in the covenant.
A father takes a sharp flint blade in hand. He lifts his eight day old son. The blade cuts away the foreskin of the child. Blood marks the child's body. No altar receives the blood. No priest supervises the act. The father performs the surgery himself. The wound heals into a permanent scar. Every male born in the household undergoes the same cut. Every slave bought with silver bleeds the same blood. The flesh itself becomes the record. The scar stays on the body for life. It proves the man belongs to God's people. No one can remove this mark. It goes with him everywhere.
Genesis 17 commands Abraham to circumcise every male. The rite serves as the sign of God's covenant. Genesis 21 records Abraham circumcising Isaac. Leviticus 12 repeats the rule for all male children. Joshua 5 shows Joshua circumcising Israelite men born during the wandering years. These men had never received the cut. Exodus 4 tells how Zipporah grabbed a flint stone. She circumcised her son to save Moses from God's anger.
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