I am curious: in the Old Testament, what was done with the piece of foreskin that is a type of putting off of the sins of the flesh (Colossians 2:11) by the circumcision of Christ? We know that Jesus was the sin offering acceptable to God and as such his body of flesh is being burned outside the camp (Hebrews 13:10-13).\u00a0 It would not surprise me if those foreskins that were cut off by the Levite priest were also burned on the altar where the sin sacrifices were burned.<\/p>\n\t
“We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach<\/em>” (Hebrews 13:10-13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The writer of Hebrews did not say that Jesus’ body is continually being burned outside the camp. He is drawing a parallel. Sin offerings were not offered on the regular altar but were burned outside the camp of Israel (Leviticus 4:11-12, 21). Since Jesus’ sacrifice was for sin, it was fitting that his death also took place outside the city of Jerusalem. Thus the author is inviting the Jews to leave the Jewish religion (go outside the camp) to join with the Savior. “In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away<\/em>” (Hebrews 8:13). The Jews were trying to hold on to their old religion and the writer is telling them that it is time to let it go.<\/p>\n
In regards to the foreskins, nothing is stated about the disposal, but since trash was typically burned outside the camp, that was likely what was done with such things. “But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering<\/em>” (Exodus 29:14). However, since we aren’t told, it would be improper to build ideas upon guesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I am curious: in the Old Testament, what was done with the piece of foreskin that is a type of putting off of the sins of the flesh (Colossians 2:11) by the circumcision of Christ? We know that Jesus was the sin offering acceptable to God and as such his body of flesh is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[480,73,272,179],"class_list":["post-24489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-circumcision","tag-jesus","tag-sacrifices","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33547,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-altars-in-the-old-testament-foreshadow-in-the-new-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":24489,"position":0},"title":"What do altars in the Old Testament foreshadow in the New Testament?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, In the Old Testament, offerings were made on altars and at times God can ask someone to erect an altar as a remembrance. How do altars relate to Christians? Do we become altars or do we put our prayers and worship to God on the altars of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31062,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-you-explain-hebrews-1310-13\/","url_meta":{"origin":24489,"position":1},"title":"Would you explain Hebrews 13:10-13?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm having a little trouble trying to wrap my mind around what Hebrews 13:10-13 is teaching. What is your understanding of these verses? I really do value your observations and commentary. Answer: I'm going to expand the range just a little bit so we get a complete thought: \"Do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63215,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/outside-the-camp\/","url_meta":{"origin":24489,"position":2},"title":"Outside the Camp","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Hebrews 13:9-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Understanding the place of the Old Testament is difficult for man \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God is clear that \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Old Law would come to an end - Jeremiah 31:31-34 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Old Law did come to an end - Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:15-16 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33010,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/purge-me-with-hyssop\/","url_meta":{"origin":24489,"position":3},"title":"Purge Me with Hyssop","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Johnny O. Trail Most scholars believe David wrote the fifty-first Psalm after his transgression with Bathsheba. If this is the case, it is one of the most penitent Psalms in the Old Testament. From the passages recorded in Psalm fifty-one, it appears the writer was heartsick over his sins.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hyssop-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22133,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-david-get-forgiveness-and-why-is-it-different-after-christs-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":24489,"position":4},"title":"How did David get forgiveness and why is it different after Christ’s death?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How did King David get forgiveness and why is it different after Christ's death? Answer: First, let's make it clear that David lived under a different covenant with God than we do today. See \"Why We Don't Follow the Old Testament\" for details. Still, there are similarities, which should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69882,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jeremiah-didnt-know-the-sabbaths-would-be-canceled\/","url_meta":{"origin":24489,"position":5},"title":"Jeremiah didn’t know the Sabbaths would be canceled","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You cite Jeremiah 31, indicating that Sabbath feasts and kosher diets are no longer connected to sin in the New Covenant. I don't think Jeremiah knew that when he referred to \"my laws.\" The law anticipated that circumcision would be of the heart, and the sacrifice presented to God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}