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8/12 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 2; Romans 2; Jeremiah 40; Psalms 15-16
Romans 2:9
But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
JEW
The faithful Jew of the Old Testament Scriptures was a foreshadow of those saved by grace. The word “Jew” comes from the name of the fourth son of Jacob, Judah. His name means “will praise,” as it is written of Leah’s prophetic words:
“This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Genesis 29:35
Today’s verse speaks of God’s sovereign grace in salvation because of the inward circumcision of the heart. The Law and the Prophets spoke of this spiritual work (Deut 30:6; Ezek 36:26). Although YHVH God had commanded Israel to “circumcise… the foreskin of [their] hearts, and [to] be no longer stubborn” (Deut 10:16), this could only be a prophetic foreshadow of something the LORD God alone could accomplish. Physical circumcision was a covenant given to contrast the difference between man’s hit-and-miss faithfulness and obedience with God’s eternal faithfulness in the work of regeneration. The man, woman, or child saved by grace is worthy of God’s praise, not because such a one comes from some family line, not because of the obedience of circumcising the flesh, not because of one’s decision to make it so, but because God has done an inward, spiritual work all by Himself, culminating in our believing in His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is written,
But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13
Since Christ Jesus came, lived, died, rose again, and ascended into heaven, you and I are true Jews because He has circumcised our hearts by regeneration. Hallelujah! What a tremendous Savior!
The covenant of old, in flesh,
Establish’d a contrast
Between the temporal works of man
And those of God’s that last.