To a Thousand Generations: Infant Baptism - Covenant Mercy to the Children of God

by Douglas Wilson

But God commanded Abraham to circumcise both Isaac and Ishmael, i.e., to place the same sign and seal on them. What did their circumcision signify? Obviously, the same thing—it was a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham (and Abraham’s seed). Now was it also a seal of their righteousness which they had by faith? Depending upon whether we are considering Isaac or Ishamael, the answer is yes and no. We see the same with Jacob and Esau. It was, on both of them, a seal of the coming Christ, the coming Righteousness. The meaning of the sign and seal remained the same. But Jacob personally came to this righteousness of faith and Esau did not. Thus Esau bore the seal of “the righteousness of another” hypocritically. The Jews who persecuted the Christ were following in Esau’s footsteps. They thought circumcision was a sign and seal of their own righteousness. But it was not—it was a sign of a covenant made with sinners, and a seal of a Righteousness found in Another. The seal of circumcision was a seal of “the Lord our Righteousness.”