Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 2 :21-38 , Genesis 17 "THE SIGN OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT"
Day 34 – Luke 2
Text: Luke 2 :21-38 , Genesis 17
THE SIGN OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
It was God Himself who gave to Abraham a special Covenant, where He committed Himself to care for Abraham and His descendants. God remained faithful and true to His Word of promise given to Abraham! From the very first day, and for thousands of years, God proved Himself faithful to His people.
The special sign given to Abraham to mark the Covenant was Circumcision. On the eighth day, a male child would be circumcised. On this day, it was customary to name the child. Just six months ago, at a similar ceremony, Zacharias named his child, “John”. This was the name given to him by the angel Gabriel. On this occasion, Mary and Joseph named their baby, “Jesus” – a name also given by the angel Gabriel.
Take time to read Genesis 17, where God spoke to Abraham and challenged him to “walk before Him and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1).
Circumcision was intended to be more than just a ceremony! It was meant to be an act of faith and commitment to belong to the Lord. Each child born and circumcised was a reminder that God had been faithful, and that He has kept His promise to bless Abraham and his descendants! Each set of parents who have their children circumcised renew an ancient pledge to belong to God as His Covenant people!
THE DEDICATION OF THE LORD JESUS
In today’s passage, we actually have two ancient Jewish ceremonies mentioned. First, there was the circumcision of Baby Jesus. Secondly, we have the Dedication of Baby Jesus, because He was the firstborn son.
The dedication of Baby Jesus took place in Jerusalem. The dedication of Jesus took place after Mary had completed her 40 days of purification, a wise Levitical statute that ensured the new mother complete physical rest after giving birth (Leviticus 12:2-8). She had to make a special offering on this occasion. If she could afford it, she would give a lamb. If she could not, a humble gift of a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons would suffice. The fact that Mary could only offer a humble offering tells us that she was quite poor!
Mary and Joseph were young parents. They wanted to do their very best as parents. How would they go about fulfilling their duties as parents? Note how carefully and faithfully Mary and Joseph practised their faith in the Lord. They took their faith seriously. They knew their faith! They believed in the Word of the Lord. They obeyed what was taught in the Scriptures. They sought to bring up Baby Jesus in accordance to what they had learned from the Scriptures! What a challenge it is for modern day parents to bring up their children in the fear of the Lord. It takes more than just physical means to bring up children well. It also takes more than just love to bring up children well. It takes knowledge, wisdom and faith in God as well. The ancient faith of their forefathers must also become theirs personally as well. This portion of Scripture tells us that Mary and Joseph took great pains to walk righteously before God.
TO MARK THE OCCASION OF THE DEDICATION OF BABY JESUS
The Dedication ceremony would have been just an “ordinary event”, except that God sent two people who bore witness concerning the identity of Baby Jesus. Both “witnesses” were highly respected people.
There was Simeon who was well described in the following words,
“This man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he
would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ .” Luke 2:25-26
The second “witness” was an old prophetess, called Anna. She too was well described by Luke,
“She was of a great age… a widow of about eighty-four years,
who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and
spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
Luke 2:36-38
A CHALLENGE TO BECOME GOOD AND FAITHFUL PARENTS
Let all who are parents be deeply challenged to emulate the example of Mary and Joseph. They sought to do their part as parents, with great faithfulness. The Lord confirmed His approval by sending two witnesses to remind them that the Baby they were charged to bring up was no ordinary Child!
Let all who want to be good and godly parents be driven to seek wisdom in the Scriptures! There are many wonderful things to learn from the Scriptures. Above all, we must desire to pass our faith in the Lord to our children.