Folks, what does it mean for God to circumcise the heart? We just talked about circumcision of the heart in the last podcast. It comes from Deuteronomy, chapter 30. Moses wrote that. As many of you know, Deuteronomy is the last of the five books of Moses, also known as the Torah. Let’s read the verse from Deuteronomy again:
Deuteronomy 30:6 NKJV
And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
I want to talk about this today because circumcision of the heart, which is something that only God can do, is the same thing as being born again and being born again is a very Jewish thing. It is something that should be embraced by Jewish people, not rejected by them. A famous Jewish leader, Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, came to see Jesus one night. Let’s listen to part of the conversation they had. It’s recorded in the Gospel of John:
John 3:2-3,9-10 NKJV
This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." [3] Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."….. [9] Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" [10] Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
Jesus says, that unless a person is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus replies, “How can these things be?” Then Jesus says, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?”
So, Nicodemus, a well-known Jewish teacher and Rabbi was supposed to understand what being born again meant. Jesus had to be indicating that Nicodemus should have known this from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament. So where in the Old Testament does it talk about being born again? If the Hebrew Scriptures clearly stated that “a man must be born again” Nicodemus would have known that immediately. But he didn’t. So, Jesus must have been referring to Scriptures that metaphorically described something that is the equivalent of being born again. What could those Scriptures be? Where in the Tanach could this have been talked about? I can think of several possibilities. Let’s look at some of them:
Ezekiel 36:24-28 NKJV
For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. [25] Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. [26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. [28] Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
Now, verse 24, For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land, has already been partially fulfilled. Jewish people have been streaming back to Israel for decades now. But verses 25 to 28 have not been fulfilled yet. God has not sprinkled clean water on them and cleansed them, not yet. The Jewish people have not had their hearts of stone replaced by hearts of flesh, not yet, and they are not walking in God’s statutes and keeping His judgements, not yet. Can you not see, my friends that these metaphors – the water, the new heart, and the new disposition of obedience – are a picture of new birth? And can you not see that the circumcision of the heart described earlier by Moses - again something that only God can do – is another metaphor for new birth?
Deuteronomy verse 6 and the 5 verses in Ezekiel 36, the verses that we just read, are about the new birth of the entire Jewish Nation. This is also in the New Testament in Romans 11. Let’s read it now. We talked about it last time:
Romans 11:26 NKJV
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
So, folks, All Israel Will Be Saved. All Israel will be born again, folks. This is still future to the present time. But how will all Israel be saved? The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. The Deliverer is the Messiah, my friends, and Zion is the heavenly Zion. The Messiah, Jesus, will come from heaven – His second coming – and He will deliver all of the Jewish people who are still alive at that time. The Nation will be born again; ungodliness will be in it no more.
But what about you? And what about now? God can circumcise your heart now, today. You just have to ask Him, in all sincerity and humility. What’s the rush you ask? What’s the urgency? Let me tell you what the urgency is. The urgency is twofold. First, you could die. You could walk out of here and get hit by a bus. Once you die, you can’t be born again. It’s too late then. Second, something called the Rapture is going to happen soon. The Messiah will descend part of the way from heaven, to the level of the clouds, and He will literally snatch up all those who have trusted in Him for salvation to meet Him in the air and to take them back to heaven with Him. After that, something called The Seventieth Week of Daniel, The Tribulation, begins. The second half of that seven year period is called The Time of Jacob’s Trouble. It will be a Second Holocaust, worse than Hitler’s Holocaust. Please trust me on this. It’s in the Tanach. If you don’t believe me, tell me so in the comments section of this podcast and I’ll give you the Scripture references. Trust me please. You don’t want to enter the time of Jacob’s Trouble! Jesus talked about it:
Matthew 24:21 NKJV
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
During The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the Antichrist will be attempting the final annihilation of world Jewry. Two thirds of the Jewish people will die.
My friends, I say to you again, Come, let us reason together. God has made a way for you, but you have to receive it. TODAY is the day of salvation. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins today, now, and to save you, to give you eternal life. If you’re sincere and if your request is from the heart, Yeshua will not turn you down.
We have yet more to say about the new birth. We’ll talk about it again next time.
Thank you for listening. This is Art Wolinsky.
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