Circumcision on the eighth day?

God gave Abraham a commandment for his generations to keep, that they were to circumcise all the male children on the eighth day after birth.

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. (Genesis 17:9-12)

Why did God say to Abraham that circumcision should be done on the eighth day? After all by human logic this painful procedure would be easier to bear when the person was fully grown and strong, right? Wrong! Remember the Hivites that were circumcised when Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite wanted to marry Dinah the daughter of Jacob. When all the males of the Hivites were circumcised they were in much pain until the third day and Simeon and Levi, Jacob's sons and Dinah's brothers went in and killed all the Hivites easily.

And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. (Genesis 34:24-25)

Circumcision is a most painful thing to do when you are grown up!

So it is better to trust the Lord's wisdom as usual! But I'm curious to know why on the eighth day?

In 1935, professor H. Dam proposed the name “vitamin K” for the factor in foods that helped prevent hemorrhaging in baby chicks. We now know vitamin K is responsible for the production (by the liver) of the element known as prothrombin. If vitamin K is deficient, there will be a prothrombin deficiency and hemorrhaging may occur. Oddly, it is only on the fifth through the seventh days of the newborn male’s life that vitamin K (produced by bacteria in the intestinal tract) is present in adequate quantities. Vitamin K, coupled with prothrombin, causes blood coagulation, which is important in any surgical procedure. Obviously, then, if vitamin K is not produced in sufficient quantities until days five through seven, it would be wise to postpone any surgery until some time after that. But why did God specify day eight?

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On the eighth day, the amount of prothrombin present actually is elevated above one-hundred percent of normal. This is the only day in the male’s life in which this situation will be the case under normal conditions. If surgery is to be performed on a baby (in this case circumcision), day eight is the perfect day to do it. Vitamin K and prothrombin levels are at their peak on this day in the entire life of the person.

References :

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=13&article=1118

Now isn't that just amazing? It reminds me of one of my favorite passages in the Bible,

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)

I hope this was edifying to you...