The Power of the Covenant
Understanding the steps of the covenant making ceremony causes many Bible verses to spring to life with meanings that may not have been previously considered. In many ways, the covenant is the foundation of our faith and the epicenter of what we understand about our relationship with God.
Definition: A covenant is a mutual commitment between two parties who bind themselves together with specific obligations to fulfill.
A covenant is an effective way for God to help humanity understand the intensity of His love for them.
By making a covenant with humanity, everything God had would belong to them - all the blessings of heaven would be theirs.
So God found Abram and established this covenant relationship and the blood covenant between Almighty God and humanity was born.
"Covenant" becomes a word that describes God’s relationship to you and me.
"He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." 8But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" 9So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him." (Gen. 15:7-12).
17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land...." (Gen. 15:17-18).
Sacrificing a heifer was the language of contracts in those days. Abram knew he was about to make a contract with God.
Making a covenant would be a way God could demonstrate His deep desire to have fellowship with humankind.
The Covenant-Making Ceremony.
Step One: The Exchange of Robes represented an exchange of identity.
Step Two: Exchange of Belts represented an exchange of strength.
Step Three: Exchange of Weapons symbolized an exchange of enemies and declared that the covenant partners would protect each other from harm.
Step Four: Blood Sacrifice. Every time a blood covenant was made, a sacrifice was needed. Life must be given.
Step Five: Walk of Death. The partners literally walked through the mass of blood from the divided heifer.
Step Six: Marks on the Body. Each covenant partner made an incision on their hand or wrist and the two would then put their hands together, mingling their blood.
In Isa. 49:16, God says to Israel, "I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..."
Step Seven: Pronouncement of Blessings and Curses. These pronouncements signified that two people were entering into oneness.
Step Eight: Covenant Meal. The covenant partners fed each other the first few bites.
Step Nine: Exchange of Names. So, every time my name is pronounced, it tells people who my covenant partner is.
When God made covenant with Abram, his name changed from Abram to AbrAHam.
God takes Abraham’s name. From this point on, He calls himself, "the God of Abraham."
When God made a covenant with Abram, he put the "H" from His name into Abraham’s name and changed Sara’s name to Sarah. The Hebrew letter "H" is the sound of breath, generally signifying the breath or presence of God. The significance of the letter "H" symbolizes the presence of God being put in the middle of Abram’s name as a symbol that God is his covenant partner.