The Significance of Eight

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you to the chorale. I guess we have two words for them.

Well done. Very well done. Well, here we are, the eighth day, the very last opportunity we have to be together this festival season. Hopefully it won't be like the little boy who went to the new church hall. He looked up on the stage and there were two flags. On one side was the American flag. On the other side was this odd-looking flag he just didn't recognize at all.

So he leaned over to his mom and he said, what does that flag mean? And mom said, well, that honors all those who died in the service. And the little boy whispered, which one? Morning or afternoon?

We'll try not to kill anyone today.

But here we are, the finale of God's festivals. It is the eighth day. What will you take home with you? Now, you probably perused the streets of Gatlinburg and you may have little trinkets or knives or whatever it may be. I got taken in by some lawn ornaments. You've seen those places along the way. Went in and said, I'll take four of those pinwheels, two of those little pink flamingos, three of those sunflowers, and one of those chubby bent-over grandmas and bloomers.

The older clerk said, well, that'll be $16 for the pinwheels, $22 for the flamingos, $9 for the sunflowers, and an apology for my wife.

But hopefully you're going to take home more than just a few little trinkets from God's feasts because the eighth day has tremendous symbolic significance. This is the penultimate goal of God's plan of salvation. How mankind can finally come to redemption. God's plan for saving mankind. And we know God's feasts are spelled out in Leviticus 23 where it tells us to keep this very day, this eighth day, it tells us there we're to have a holy convocation.

And so we come together on this what has come known as the last great day, the eighth day, because the number eight really has amazing significance. It is quite an amazing number when you look through the Bible. Did you know the number eight is the first cubic number?

So if you multiply the length and the width and the height, they're all equal. And there's a connection there to God's holy of holies, which is also cubic. The New Jerusalem is also cubic.

And this number eight has amazing significance. It has a root word that it draws its name from.

Being the last festival day, this root means... bummer, the feast is over. No, it doesn't really mean that. The number eight means to super abound. Now you might say, well, why is that? Well, it's made up of the number seven and the number one. Seven being perfection. One being the number of beginnings. So this is a new beginning. Or maybe even better, the number eight, according to God's plan, is the perfect beginning. The perfect beginning. And if we take a little bit of time, I think we can gain a deeper understanding of this eighth day, this last great day, when we study the significance of the number eight. So let's take a few moments and do that. Let's look at the importance of this festival of the eighth day, this last final finale of God's festival year that concludes the year and will analyze the significance of eight.

Now, of course, as God began to work with mankind, God wants a relationship with us. He wants a family. His whole purpose is to bring sons and daughters into his family for eternity.

And so he began with Adam and Eve, and then his plan moved along. And he moved and worked with Abraham. Let's look at the number eight and Abraham for just a moment. He used Abraham and called him and wanted an agreement with him, wanted a relationship with him. He wanted a covenant with him. And so Abraham and God came to an agreement. If you turn over with me to Genesis 17, verse 9, we'll see this relationship that God wanted with Abraham. God promised Abraham that he would bring him in to a very special land, that he would have a special relationship with Abraham. He agreed to perform wonderful things for Abraham and his descendants.

And as a symbol of that agreement, as a token of the covenant, the contract that God made with Abraham, we find Genesis 17, verse 9. Seemingly odd symbol, kind of an odd sign, but let's notice what it is and how it fits into eight and Abraham. Genesis 17, verse 9, God said to Abraham, As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you, your descendants after you. He says, every male child among you shall be circumcised, and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your fourskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

So this agreement, this covenant that God was making, had to have a symbol, a sign, that would be representative in Abraham's flesh, in his descendants' skin.

And what were they to do? They were to be circumcised. Verse 12, He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or brought in with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised. And He says, My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child who is not circumcised in the flesh of his fourskin, what happens to them? God says, That person shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.

So God's promise, God's agreement with Abraham and his descendants, had a symbol. It had an indication that these were God's people who were dedicated to following Him, to keeping that covenant, to maintaining a relationship with God. And that meant to cut off, to cut off that little piece of skin. Let's get the gory details over with right away here in the beginning of the sermon. They were commanded to cut off that little piece of skin that covered the end of the male sex organ. Seems kind of weird, doesn't it? What in the world would that have to do with anything? Why would God want that? Is that weird or what? But that was supposed to be the sign.

Why would God do that? Why would God use that physical symbol as a sign between Abraham and his descendants and God Himself? Well, God made the promises. God was the one who would provide for them, who would watch out for them. God would be their God. He would bring them into the Promised Land and provide them with very precious promises. God promised that to them.

And they had to separate themselves. They had to come out of the pagan world that they had belonged to and be a part of that community, that godly community. You could say that covenant community by putting away a part of the flesh. In fact, this covenant became known as the covenant of circumcision. And by that pledge, they became people of promise.

Now did you notice when that was to occur? When was that circumcision to take place? Well, verse 12. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. And so God used this to bring them into a right relationship with Him. It was either cut that off or be entirely cut off. So God used this eighth day, now this wasn't the festival of the eighth day, but He used this eighth day in this case for a new beginning. A new beginning for Abraham and his descendants. A new beginning for the plan of God. A perfect beginning that started by entering an agreement with God on the eighth day. Now if we fast forward a couple of hundred years, we move to a second example. Now keep in mind this odd sign because we'll come back to that in just a moment. We move to the Exodus and the number eight also comes into play with Exodus. So let's think about eight and Exodus for just a moment. God's people end up enslaved in Egypt. Moses had been a part of Pharaoh's family and eventually God opened his mind to who he really was. And he was told to go to Pharaoh to ask to let the people go. And over in Exodus chapter 12, we have a whole scenario about the Passover and what was going to happen. Then in chapter 13, out of the blue, something interesting is mentioned. After all these instructions on the Passover, what they were supposed to do, getting ready for the days of unleavened bread, in Exodus chapter 13, all of a sudden there's this statement right at the very beginning. Verse 1, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Consecrate to me all the firstborn. In other words, dedicate all the firstborn. Whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both man and beast, what does God say? He says, they are mine. All the firstborn.

Then he talks a little bit about unleavened bread, comes back to it down to verse 14.

So it shall be, when your son asks you in the time to come saying, What is this that you shall say to him? By the strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the hand of bondage. And it came to pass when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of the beast. Therefore, he says, I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb. But all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.

You see, they weren't supposed to be remembering all of those plagues. Was that what they were to remember? The flies and the frogs. And sometimes we get that idea that, well, we're going to remember that with a strong arm God brought them out, which of course he did. But what does God point to when the kids ask, what's this about? He points to 8. He points to the firstborn, how they are gods. They are to be dedicated to God. And in verse 16, he says, It shall be a sign on your hand, and as a frontlets between your eyes. For by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt. And there was this indication that the firstborn were to be special. Those firstfruits, we could say, that came out of Egypt were to be special. And God laid his claim on Israel's firstborn. They too would have been put to death if it hadn't been for that Passover lamb.

But this dedication of the firstborn was supposed to be a sign. It said a sign in their minds and on their hands. Thinking and doing. It should be a part of them. And yet God also said, end of verse 15, the firstborn of my sons I redeem. In other words, God would buy them back. That's what that word redeem means, to buy them back. God didn't demand those firstborn to be a literal human sacrifice. They could be bought back by a sacrifice of a lamb. Or later on by five shekels they could buy those firstborn back. Of course, it's interesting. When was that supposed to happen? When were these firstborn that opened the womb supposed to be dedicated to God? When was that consecration taking place? Well, if we skip down just a few chapters to Exodus 22, we'll see where this dedication of the firstborn took place. Exodus 22, verse 29, God gives further instruction and He tells them when this is to take place, when this dedication of the firstborn, those firstfruits that came out of Egypt, when it took place, Exodus 22, verse 29, God says, you shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices.

So not only the animals, but we see the produce as well. Then He says, the firstborn of your sons, you shall give to Me. There's that dedication. There's that consecration of the firstborn. Verse 30, likewise, you shall do with your oxen and your sheep.

It shall be with its mother seven days. On the eighth day, you shall give it to Me.

Eight and Exodus also carry tremendous significance. The firstborn cattle, the sheep, were offered to God when? On the eighth day. The firstborn, they were offered on the eighth day of their life. Now, God blessed them and gave them the opportunity to buy them back, to redeem them with the lamb or with a few shekels. So God blessed those parents and they could keep that baby. And then, of course, with the males, coincided with the day that they were to be circumcised.

They were to be circumcised on that eighth day. That baby was presented before God.

And as a commitment to God, they dedicated that child to Him. Even though that baby could be brought back from God and redeemed, God still laid claim of the firstborn. He laid claim of the firstborn as something very special to Him. Something that still belonged to Him, even though Mom and Dad had bought them back. Now, there's some special symbolic significance to this as well. You begin to think about that spiritually. Spiritually. Remember, we are God's firstfruits. We could say we're going to be the firstborn after Christ of this creation.

We, too, are special to God. We, too, have been redeemed, not by a physical lamb or five shekels, but by the Lamb of God. And I believe there is a special connection to eight as we consider what God's plan is all about. And that circumcision. For you and I, that's not a physical thing. This is a spiritual thing. And that dedication to God had a deep connection to that ritual of circumcision. And it had to happen according to God's instruction. It had to happen on the eighth day. And so there was this connection between the commitment, the dedication, the consecration of God's firstborn and circumcision.

Now, you might say that still seems like kind of an odd way for God to have little ones dedicated to Him. Well, let's see if we can figure out a little bit more about why God would do that. Why would He do that? Of course, I was reminded of a little story of two boys that were in in the doctor's office. One little boy said to the other one, what are you doing here? And he said, I'm going to have my tonsils out. And the other little boy said, oh, don't worry about that. I had those out when I was six years old.

They just put you out. When they wake you up, you get jello and ice cream. So it's great. No problem with that. The other little boy said, oh, really? Well, what are you here for? And the other little boy said, circumcision. The other little boy went, oh, boy, good luck with that one.

I had that done when I was eight days old and I didn't walk for a year. It's always nice when you can laugh at weird circumstances, isn't it? Because it is kind of uncomfortable to talk about some of this stuff. But God does use this for some very important symbolism. As God's people are coming out of Egypt, there's also a connection between eight and Aaron. So we had eight and Abraham, eight and Exodus. Now let's look at eight and Aaron. As you know, Aaron and his sons were dedicated to become priests. They were to become the priests of God. You could just write down Numbers 3, verse 12. Numbers 3, verse 12 tells us that God has taken the Levites.

He's taken all of those from the tribe of Levi instead of the firstborn. So instead of every single firstborn, God said, I'm going to take the Levites. They'll be the priests. They'll be the ones who will serve me. And so God had to have those priests consecrated. He had to have them dedicated just like those firstborn. And so what did He do? What did He do? Well, turn over to Leviticus chapter 8, verse 33. Of course, as priests, they had to be set apart.

They had to be consecrated. They had to be dedicated. And this took place at the tabernacle, at the tabernacle of meeting. That was where God's presence was in the holy of holies, where the ark of the covenant was. They were to be set apart at that tabernacle, at that tent. Now, you might think that could be something that would be very difficult to do, but in actuality, God gave them clear instructions exactly how to handle this at the tent of meeting.

Leviticus chapter 8, verse 33, says, You shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days. So here's Aaron and his sons being set apart until the days of your consecration be at an end. For seven days shall he consecrate you. So they're going to be set apart for seven days. Now, skip down to chapter 9, verse 1.

Chapter 9, verse 1, it came to pass when? On the eighth day. On the eighth day, Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. And he said to Aaron, Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering, and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord.

And so now we see, Aaron and his sons became representative of the firstborn. They were taking the place of the first- not that the firstborn weren't still dedicated to God because they were. But these individuals, these priests, these Levites, would be dedicating their lives to God while those others were bought back.

They were redeemed. And so we see what happens. Leviticus 9, 23 says, Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation and they came out and they blessed the people and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out before the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat which when all the people saw they shouted and fell on their faces.

So we see something interesting happening here. Seven days the priests were set apart. Then they were consecrated to God. On the eighth day, what happens? They come out to one or two people.

They come out to all the people. They came out and God blessed all of them.

God's glory, it says at the end of verse 23, it says, appeared unto all the people.

And so we find this burnt offering symbolizing an absolute surrender to God. Now when are all the people going to have their eyes opened and have an opportunity to surrender their lives to God?

Great white throne judgment. The meeting of the eighth day when all of humanity will have the opportunity to understand the plan of God. They'll have an opportunity to be set apart as God's people. They'll have an opportunity to be dedicated to following God. And so I think in a way we're like these priests. God has been setting us apart as those first fruits.

And when his plan is complete, ultimately everyone will have that opportunity.

And the number eight spells out that perfect beginning for all of mankind to be able to begin to understand what God is all about. And so here we have kept tabernacles for seven days.

And now God uses this eighth day, this festival, to personally give an opportunity to every individual who ever lived an opportunity to understand the truth, an opportunity to change their lives and begin to have a relationship with God. What a wonderful blessing that is. So whether it's like Abraham and his sons being set apart, we see that God finally begins to remove the blindness from people's eyes. And it happens through this symbolism of the eighth day.

In fact, God doesn't leave it just there alone. God bumps this up to greater symbolic meaning through the life of Jesus Christ himself as well. So let's think about that for a moment. We've talked about Abraham and eight. We've talked about eight in Exodus. We've talked about eight in Aaron. Let's think about that number eight in Jesus Christ. Eight in the number for Jesus Christ. If you turn over to Luke 2, verse 21, we have the beginning of Christ's life.

He is born Emmanuel, God with us. And what happened at the very beginning of his life?

Luke 2. We begin down in verse 21.

Luke 2, verse 21. Speaking of Christ, it says, When eight days were completed for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

So like the command given to Abraham, like the command given to Moses, on Jesus' eighth day of life, he was circumcised. As firstborn, he was dedicated to God's service. And on that very day, he was given his name. He was given the name Jesus, meaning the eternal is salvation.

Jesus Christ made an imaginable impression here as he followed the commands that God had given. He became a dedicated human being to the service of God. Even following that instruction of the eighth day, he was destined to be the Savior of all mankind. And Mary and Joseph followed the instructions of the angel as they took that firstborn son of God, who would now become a son of the covenant. And of course, at that circumcision, there was a precursor to what would come to a much greater degree later. Because at that circumcision, Jesus Christ first shed his blood, a drop or two. But it was a precursor to the crucifixion, and he submitted to it. He was an obedience to those drops being poured out, which was a forerunner.

To the sacrifice that he would give later. Now, when you look back at verse 22, we see something interesting happens with Mary and Joseph. It says, When the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male who opens a womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice, according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

Now, if you noticed, there is something missing here.

You see, back in Abraham's time, back in Moses' time at the Exodus, even at this time of Christ, parents were allowed to buy their children back. They could redeem their child.

But here with Christ, we don't find that happening.

This little sacrifice that's mentioned here is not the offering of a lamb or five shekels. This is not that sacrifice. This is not that redemption happening. This is the sin offering and the burnt offering that was a purification offering. So this redeeming sacrifice was not there at the beginning of Christ's life. Why not?

Well, because Christ Himself now became that life that was completely dedicated to God. There was no redeeming that. The plan of God was that Jesus Christ would redeem all of mankind. His life could not be bought back. He was totally and fully dedicated to a life service to God. And He was willing and able to pay that price. That Levitical priesthood was about to be set aside. His own priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, was about to be reinstated. And so, no wonder His life was not to be redeemed in that way. But He was to redeem all mankind. And so, something significant happened on that eighth day. Or we could say something significant didn't happen on that eighth day. He was not redeemed because His life would ultimately be all of our redemption.

Now, if you hold your place here in Luke, flip over to John 1. John 1, verse 14. We see another description of this fantastic life that Christ dedicated to God, described in a little bit different way. John 1, verse 14.

In verse 14 and 1 John, chapter 1, it says, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Here is the Emmanuel, God with us. He is with us. He is dwelling among us, John says. We beheld His glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So, here we find this Greek word for dwelt.

And we understand that this word doesn't just mean to live with, but literally it means that He tabernacled among us, or that He pitched His tent among us.

Of course, coming through the Feast of Tabernacles, we have a little bit better understanding of what that means. Christ temporarily lived in the flesh during that first century and tabernacled among the people. But to you and I, this means so much more than just a physical thing, because it looks back to the past, it looks back to the wilderness and that tent, that tabernacle where that Holy of Holies was. But it looks also to today.

Not only was God in the ark and His pillar of fire and pillar of cloud that was there, representing His presence, but today He continues to tabernacle in us, doesn't He?

The Feast of Tabernacles should remind us of that.

That although we have a temporary dwelling while we're keeping the feast, hopefully Christ has a permanent residence within us, because He is to be dwelling in us.

And we look forward to the future, to that time, when the tabernacle of God will be with men, and He will dwell with them. Revelation 21 describes that.

That once again, that will come about. And so we're reminded of this awesome Savior that we have, that He is like us. He became flesh like us. He felt pain like us. He could identify with us. He hurt like us. He grieved like us. He lived in simple circumstances. He could identify with us.

That's also interesting. If you flip back to the book of Luke, and it seems also to point to maybe something even more that might be hiding within these passages of this Word, the Savior of ours who tabernacled among us, we know that if we go back to Luke in that first chapter, it also describes the birth of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist's birth was under some pretty special circumstances as well.

And if you remember, his father could not speak until that baby was going to be named. If you look back to Luke chapter 1, he couldn't talk at all until...look at verse 59. Luke chapter 1 verse 59. So it was on what day? The eighth day that they came to circumcise the child, talking about John the Baptist. And they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. But his mother answered and said, No, he shall be called John. But they said to her, there's no one on your relatives who's named by this name. So they made signs to his father what they should call him. And he asked for a writing tablet, and he wrote, saying, His name is John.

And then we see this amazing miracle. Immediately verse 64, his mouth was opened, and his tongue was loosed, and he spoke, praising God. Now, some amazing things happened around that eighth day, that it was revealed who this precursor to Christ, who would be that voice crying out in the wilderness. Now, of course, when we look back here, we know that John the Baptist was born about six months before Christ.

How do we remember that story? If you look back to verse 5, we could follow the order of the priesthood that Zacharias had served in. And if we look down to verse 26 of Luke chapter 1, it was in the sixth month that the angel talked to Mary. So Mary was about six months behind John's birth. And if John was born in the spring, and Christ was born six months later, now we know he wasn't born in December, right? We know that he was born, what time of the year? That's right, he was born in the fall. Absolutely. Is it possible that Christ could have been born on the first day of the feast?

Boy, this year it could have been very possible when it was warm and those shepherds were still out watching their flocks. I don't know if that would be the case or not. Some traditions say that that is the case. I think it's unprovable. But I think it adds extra meaning if we consider that he became flesh and that he tabernacled among us. And that on that eighth day, that covenant of circumcision that Jesus Christ entered into, he was made like his brethren.

If you look at Hebrews 2, verse 17, it describes Jesus Christ becoming a member of the covenant people and yet so much more. Not just any old member, but the Savior of his people. In Hebrews chapter 2, verse 17, it describes that tabernacling among us by quoting chapter 2, verse 17, it says, Therefore in all things he had to be made like his brethren. And that included circumcision, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. So could it be on that eighth day that it wasn't just any old life that was just beginning, any old child that just received their name, but that the Savior of all mankind had the perfect beginning?

Now what does that have to do with me? Let's think about eight and me, or eight and you.

Because of the wonderful blessings that God has given us, because God has opened our minds to his truth, we can understand the plan of salvation. We know that God is bringing many sons and daughters into his family, and he wants to live with us for eternity. We can understand his plan. We can understand his purpose. And coming through the Feast of Tabernacles, we understand that this life is temporary. Our true shelter is found in God. We need his protection. We need his guidance. We need his providence. We need his shelter every day in our lives. We would have no protection. We would have no canopy over our heads, spiritually speaking, without our great God.

We're going to go back out into the world now, and we've realized that this feast is even temporary, as we realize this physical life is temporary.

And without our total utter reliance on God, we have no hope. We have no hope. And so Tabernacles reminds us that we rely on him for our spiritual safety and for our spiritual survival. And our true security only comes from God, because he's removed the blinders from our eyes. And that reminds us that this eighth day is the time when the spiritual blinders will come off, not just for us, but for all mankind, for all the nations. The blinders will be removed. And that's where circumcision and spiritual blindness come into play, and they intersect. Isaiah chapter 25 verse 6 is a wonderful example of this. Isaiah 25 verse 6 is a prophetic passage that looks to the future, describes the Feast of Tabernacles, and yet describes something beyond.

Let's notice the description here. It says, And in this mountain, in this great government of God that will be established, it says the Lord of Hosts will make for just a few of the best of the best.

Now he says, For all people, for all who will choose to obey God and develop a relationship with Him, in this mountain the Lord of Hosts will make for all people. It will be a feast, a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the leaves, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the leaves. So we've had that, physically speaking, during the Feast. And yet there's more! There's so much more! Verse 7 says, He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all the people, and the veil that spread over all nations. And so the number 8 comes into play. What's going to be destroyed? What's going to be removed? That covering that has been over the people, that veil that have shrouded the nations, it's going to be removed. This world needs circumcision, a spiritual circumcision. And this prophecy shows that God will destroy that covering. He will destroy that shroud, that veil that unfolds the people, that sheet that covers the nations. It's going to be removed, and every blanket that covers that nation is going to be taken off, and that blindness removed, just like the foreskin of those little ones. Over the centuries came to symbolize what God will ultimately do in His plan. So the blinders will be removed. This covenant of spiritual circumcision will be made with every individual who chooses to repent. And look what happens when they do. Verse 8.

He will swallow up death forever. Says the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, the rebuke of His people, or the disgrace of His people. He'll take away from all the earth.

The eternal has spoken, and it will be said in that day, Behold, this is our God. We've waited and trusted for Him. He will save us. This is the Lord we've waited for Him. We'll be glad and rejoice in His salvation. And so finally, with that veil removed, that shroud taken away, the nations can now drink freely of the waters of life.

And every individual, whoever lived, will have that opportunity. And they will stand before God, and the books will be opened. Their minds will understand the truth of God.

And they'll have that veil removed. And they'll have that perfect beginning to be able to develop a relationship with God that God wants to last for eternity.

And so God gave this physical representative of circumcision so that we can understand what He's going to do spiritually as He clips away the blindness, as He removes the shroud that covers people's eyes and brings them into the glorious light of Jesus Christ.

Now for you and I, that better remind us we're already there!

We've already had that veil lifted. We've already had that understanding granted to us.

And now I must take personal responsibility for the understanding and the relationship that I have been given by God. In Colossians chapter 2 verse 11, it describes those responsibilities that each of us have. In Colossians chapter 2 verse 11, because of what will happen on this eighth day and because of what has already happened in our lives, it's a call to action for us.

Especially as we leave this festival of the eighth day, Colossians 2.11 reminds us that veil has been removed from our eyes. It says, in Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ. Now if you read this in the New Living, it would say this in verse 11, you were circumcised but not by a physical procedure.

Get this. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision, the cutting away of your sinful nature.

That's what God's called us to. That was God's intention right from the very beginning.

You can write down Deuteronomy 30 verse 6. It says right from the start, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart. And we've been given that calling.

And so God has removed the covering that was over our eyes. And that happened, as it says here in verse 12, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through the working of God who raised Him from the dead. And so from the very beginning, God desired all of us to have a circumcised heart, to have the blindness removed from our eyes. And so if we've entered into that covenant of circumcision, that baptismal covenant with God, this is what we strive for, to maintain that separation between the works of the flesh, the sin that surrounds us, and we keep it away that that body of sin might be done away with through the circumcision, that spiritual circumcision that comes from Christ. Now, if you're not baptized, now's the time to think about that. Because if God's removing that veil from your eyes, this is where we have to be.

We have to enter this relationship. It's by God's design that we enter this relationship with Him so that we can completely, through Jesus Christ, have that veil removed and put sin away and ultimately fulfill the responsibilities that God has called us to. Not just to show up when it's convenient, not just to come to the feast because it's a good time, but to realize the spiritual significance behind the plan of God. Because this isn't just an outward show. This is something that's happening on the inside. This is something different than just an outward physical circumcision. This is a circumcision of the heart. So we're not just Christians on the outside, like a circumcision is an outward symbol. That's what Romans 2.28 says.

But we're a Christian. We are a real Christian, not by the cut of a knife, but we're a real Christian by who we are. It's the mark that's on our heart and on our mind, not a mark on the skin that makes a true Christian. And that recognition comes from God. And so we are called not just to be satisfied with where we're at, but to continue to fulfill that covenant agreement that we made with God.

That's the calling that we've received. And so here we are representing that time of Great Harvest. And the harvest has ended now. And we're at that eighth day. We're about to go home.

But you know what every good farmer knows? After the harvest, when those fields are clean, is the work done?

Nope. It's time to gear up. It's time to gear up because, you know, planting season isn't very far away. So now's the time to make sure every piece of equipment is working to perfection, because you're going to need that. As soon as the weather clears, we've got to get to work. And every good farmer knows that after the harvest, it's time to get ready. And that's what God's called us to, to get ready for His Kingdom, for the return of Christ. Jeremiah put it a little bit differently. Jeremiah 4, verse 3. Let's notice the way that Jeremiah prophesied about it.

I believe he's speaking to us here, certainly talking to Judah at the time. I think most significantly talking to us, spiritually speaking, here in Jeremiah 4, verse 3. It says, this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, symbolically, spiritually, talking to you and I. What is God telling us here on the eighth day, at the conclusion of His festival season? What is He saying? It says, break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Jeremiah 4, 4, circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah. You see, as God speaks to us, He tells us, it's time to get ready. It's time to go forward.

It's time to advance. It's time to break up the ground that we've left unplowed.

So we can ask ourselves, what ground haven't I plowed up?

Have I plowed fields of compassion?

Are there rows and rows of patience that are uncultivated? Because anger and bitterness found a hard ground that we just haven't bothered to turn over yet.

Because that's tough. That's hard to do. Or have I turned over that difficult soil to find mind, gentleness, and long suffering. Because God's telling us we cannot leave acre upon acre of hard-heartedness. So He tells us, break up that ground. Now is the time to have that plowed ground growing? I think the eighth day reminds us, this is the time to begin. This is the time to have that plowed ground grow to the measure and the stature of the fullness of Christ. It's not the time to be satisfied, but it's time to push on. It's time to strive for the perfection of Jesus Christ.

And of course, these are the things we've been doing. The Apostle Paul dealt with this, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 9. And we have too, 1 Thessalonians 4 and 9. These things are not unfamiliar to us.

I think it would be wrong to say we haven't done these things because we have been patient. We have loved. We have been kind. We have been gentle. But is that good enough?

Here's what Paul told those of God's people in Thessalonica. 1 Thessalonians 4 and 9. He said, Concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I should write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. They had a handle on that. They were doing well when it came to serving one another, meeting each other's needs. I believe we have too.

But you know, Paul didn't leave it there. He didn't leave it at that. Verse 10, he said, Indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in Macedonia. But. Okay, with that said, we had a wonderful feast. We have grown in grace and knowledge. But Paul says, we urge you, brethren, increase more and more. Increase. You see, don't stagnate. Now is it time to excel, to do even more, to press on for progress, spiritually speaking, to abound, to labor for more, to pray for more, to love more, to persevere even more. And so he urges all of us to take it to the next spiritual level. That level of Jesus Christ. Verse 12, he says, that we may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that we may lack nothing. And certainly we don't want to lack anything when it comes to God's Spirit. So let's go on to perfection. That's what the eighth day is about. It's about going on to perfection, to being even more diligent, to make that calling of ours, to make that election that God's given us sure. This eighth day is a reminder that it's our duty. It is our duty to make that election sure. God has chosen us.

So now is that time to plow up that ground, to further spiritual growth, to dedicate ourselves, like those little ones on the eighth day, to a greater level of conversion. Like the first born, like the first fruits that God has called us to be, He has enlightened our minds with the truth of His way and His Word. Let's have our wills regenerated. Let's have our hearts fixed on His way. Let's be sure that every step we take when we leave this building, that Jesus Christ is in us and living His life through us, and the tabernacling doesn't stop here, but it continues on for the remainder of our life. And so as we go forward, let's take this covenant of circumcision, this spiritual covenant. As a reminder, we must cut off the evil influence of this world around us.

We must continue to remove the veil of blindness and allow God's Spirit to do that in our lives.

And we must always choose to separate ourselves from the apathy that's out there in the world.

We have to slice away the works of the flesh, and we have to sever ourselves from the sin that so easily ensnares us. So as God's firstborn, as His first fruits, those first in the Kingdom of God, as ambassadors for Christ, it is not time for melancholy. It's time to move ahead.

It's time to press on. It's time to be more fully dedicated, thoroughly committed, resolute in our purpose, unswerving in our attitude. The eighth day reminds us it is time to move on to a higher spiritual level that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

So as we conclude this eighth day, let's remember the significance of eight. This is not the end. This is the perfect beginning.