Genesis 15, 17

Abrahamic Covenant, take 3

Last time we looked at chapter 12 where God introduced the covenant as a blessing of 1) Abram’s seed (ultimately the Messiah), 2) promised land, 3) a great nation and 4) blessings and protection (for Abram specifically and the nation in general). Moving forward to chapter 15, God ratifies the covenant. In other words, He makes it official, per se. A covenant is ratified when an animal sacrifice is cut in two and the parties walk between the two parts of the animal. Kinda gross, yes, but effective. As kids we would talk about being blood brothers with our best friends. Prick our fingers so they bleed and then touch fingers or shake hands allowing the blood to touch together. We tried it once but we were too scared to push the needle deep enough to produce blood. So we just went and played baseball instead.

I reckon so

In chapter 15 God speaks to Abraham. He reaffirms to him that from his own seed He will bring forth a great nation. This took some faith on Abrams part because he and Sarai were old and they had never had a child. But Abram responded with faith and in Genesis 15:6, we read a very well-known and significant verse, “Then he (Abram) believed in the Lord; and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” This verse is quoted by Paul in Romans 4 and Galatians 3 as a foundational principle of the gospel. Abram was saved (declared righteous) because of faith, not by works. In this chapter, God also told him his people would live in a foreign land for 400 hundreds years (Egypt) but ultimately, God would judge the evil nation and release his people back to the land of promise, Canaan.

God told Abram to bring Him a heifer, female goat and ram. He cut them in two and laid each half opposite the other. That night, a flaming torch (an appearance of God) passed between the animals and the eternal covenant was ratified. 15:18 says, “On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.’”

The sign

The final part of the covenant is given in chapter 17. The sign of circumcision of the covenant people is given with instructions. This was a clear and physical sign of the covenant people but also proved to be a blessing of God for health reasons as well. Also, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham which means “father of many nations”. A year later, Isaac was born and the rest is history.

Issues of the heart

I know this wasn’t the most exciting devotional study. But it is the roots of our spiritual heritage. The blessings were first given to the nation Israel. But in Jesus, these blessings were extended to all nations, which includes us. Just as Abraham “believed” and God granted him righteousness, (as if he never sinned), we also are called to believe. To believe, biblically, is not just mental ascent of God, but placing our full heart and faith into God through Jesus. Place your full trust in Jesus by faith today or reconfirm it in prayer before him. It’s not a religious system, it’s not ceremonies, it’s not any form of works. It’s an issue of the heart. The promise of righteousness and the transformation of your heart is by faith, and faith alone. Commit and re-commit. To re-commit doesn’t mean you need to be saved again and again. It is once and for all. To re-commit is like re-committing your vows of marriage. You are simply re-affirming what is already done. Amen.