Promise Made In Blood!

Genesis 15; Genesis 16; Genesis 17; Luke 6
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Scripture

Genesis 15

8 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”

9 The LORD told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. 11 Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.

12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 15 (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) 16 After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

17 After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. 18 So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—19 the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Observation

God made a promise to Abram and God showed Abram how serious He was about keeping this promise by walking through the blood of the animals that had been cut in half. I understand that this ritual was a common way of making covenants back in that day. The parties involved in the covenant would take animals and cut them in half then they would separate the two halves leaving a trail of blood between the two pieces. Whoever was making the covenant would walk between the two halves, walking through the blood that was on the ground and the significance was this; may what happened to this animal happen to me if I fail to keep this promise with you. It was a serious agreement. I believe that marriage ceremonies back then used this kind of ritual.

Maybe we need to start that ritual all over again!

God walked through the halves by Himself. He made the promise to Abram. It was going to happen no matter what.

Application

May I be a man of my word when I make a promise.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I love this story because it shows me Your heart. You do keep all of Your promises. Help me to keep mine. Help me to be dependable. Help me to be faithful. Nothing is impossible with You.

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