All commentators agree that this verse uses the physical rite of circumcision as a powerful metaphor for a necessary internal transformation. The command is to remove the 'foreskin of the heart'—to cut away sinful desires, rebellion, and stubbornness. This shows that God has always been more concerned with the inner spiritual reality of His people than with mere outward religious acts, a theme the Apostle Paul later emphasizes in Romans 2:29.