Through this circumcision, God said He had “rolled away the reproach (the disgrace) of Egypt” from them. This reproach refers to their history of slavery to the Egyptians—their past life of bondage as a nation. The Egyptian-identity had been “cut off” and “rolled away” from them, and this moment marked a fresh start for the nation of Israel.
This teaching is instructive for us today. Through our circumcision at the cross, God has “cut off and discarded” our identity as slaves to sin. He has rolled away our shame and disgrace. All our previous labels, such as “adulterer,” “impure,” or the thinking that I was “born that way” have all been cut off and rolled away. We have no more labels identifying our sin! Oh what grace He has given us at the cross!
Did you notice where God did this circumcision? Gilgal. The word “Gilgal” means “to roll” or to “roll away.” This Hebrew word, Gilgal, has a New Testament counterpart word, which is the word “Golgotha.”
John 19:16-18 (NIV) So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others —one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
When Jesus died on Golgotha, He circumcised all believers (Colossians 2:11). God cut off your sinful self and rolled away all your shame and disgrace. He circumcised your entire past identity, removed all your labels, rolled them all away, and buried them in the tomb with Jesus!
Think of this, friend! God has cut off your entire previous life, removed your entire past that is associated with slavery to sin, including all sexual impurity. He has rolled away your dishonor, circumcised your heart, and discarded your disgrace. Oh, how I do praise the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and with it, all our sinful past and sinful labels!
Question 3. What does the connection between Gilgal and Golgotha mean to you?
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Gilgal holds additional significance for the nation of Israel. It was not only the first place the Israelites came to when entering the Promised Land, the place where their reproach was rolled away, but it also became their “Command Center” for taking over the new world. The Israelite army would go out and fight a battle, and if they won, they would return to Gilgal to celebrate. If they went out to fight and lost, they would return to Gilgal to regroup, seek the Lord and re-strategize.
And in this, we learn that the cross is to be the command center of our lives. If we win victories through believing and applying the gospel in our lives, we return to celebrate at the foot of the cross, where Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities, and put them to open shame” for us (Colossians 2:15). If we go out and fall flat on our face, we return to wash at the cross, to remind ourselves that Jesus is our Advocate with the Father, pleading His wounds on our behalf!
Now let’s look again at Colossians 2:11:
Colossians 2:11 (NIV) In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ.