When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.
The act and word “circumcision” in the Old Testament and New Testament have both similar and different uses. In the OT when a man was circumcised, it was an outward, physical action that was to reflect what the man believed in his heart. The “cutting away” of the skin was to reflect the “cutting away” of sin in the heart. This is why in the above passage the LORD said, “Today, I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” The physical sign of circumcision was an outward sign, done by man, of an inward condition, completed by God. In the New Testament we read about circumcision, especially in the books of Romans and Galatians. In the New Testament circumcision is spoken as the heart of faith is circumcised for Christ. In the NT circumcision continues the inward change of heart done by God, through faith in Christ. The outward, physical practice of circumcision is not required in the NT for our salvation. The outward demonstrations of our inward circumcision is the demonstration of love to those in the body and to our neighbor. The point of the above passage was that before the nation of Israel entered the promise land they needed to, internally, allow God to sanctify their hearts. They needed to identify with God as His children. The same is true of us today if we want to enter the promise land of blessing with Him. We need to, by faith, allow Christ to cleanse our wretched hearts and cleanses us from all sin. Our inward faith will be demonstrated in an outward walk of obedience in love for Him and our neighbor. That is the circumcision of the heart that happened then and must happen now.
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