Morning Moments

Luke 1:58-59 (KJV)
58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

The Dedication “circumcised”
The law required circumcision (a sign of covenant) on the eighth day. We now know that blood coagulates faster on the eighth day than any other time in life.

Neighbors customarily joined in celebrations (cf. Luke 15:6), and the birth—especially an unusual one like this one—and circumcision of a son in the family home (typically performed by the father in this period) were such occasions; Jewish tradition suggests that guests assembled every night from a boy’s birth to his circumcision.

To be childless was economically and socially disastrous: economically, because parents had no one to support them in old age (cf. comment on 1 Tim. 5:4, 8); socially, because in the law barrenness was sometimes a judgment for sin, and many people assumed the worst possible cause of a problem. Most people assumed that barrenness was a defect of the wife, and Jewish teachers generally insisted that a man divorce a childless wife so he could procreate. “Aged” may suggest that they were over sixty (Mishnah Abot 5:21); age itself conferred some social status and was sometimes listed among qualifications or virtues. Jewish people viewed sons as essential because they carried on the family line, although in practice they seem to have loved daughters no less. Bible Background Commentary - The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament.

God doesn't waste time or words. No requirement under law or grace is without meaning and merit.

He requires nothing of us that is not for our good and His glory. Circumcision was not merely for hygiene sake, but was a picture of the "cutting away of the flesh" of the heart, the old man.

When God gives a principle, He also gives a picture to help us understand the principle. We must put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, which has been created in righteousness and true holiness after the image of God.

If we would only DEDICATE ourselves, our children and grandchildren to God as this child was dedicated to the Lord, it might just surprise us what God could do with us all.

BLESSINGS!