Scripture: Genesis 12:1-3 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Devotional: What is a covenant? It’s not really a word we use much from day to day except when reading the Bible. But a covenant is foundational to the lives of those who follow Christ. Understanding God’s covenant with His people, with us, and what it means to live as covenant people, is essential to every believer.
This week in our devotions we will dive into the significance of covenants, established by God and found in Scripture, so that you might more fully know and understand our covenant-keeping God and be spurred on in your commitment to Him.
Today’s passage contains the beginnings of the covenant that established God’s chosen people Israel, the Abrahamic Covenant. God chose Abram and called him to leave his own people and go to an unknown place where God would establish a new a great nation. Can you imagine?
We see this covenant affirmed later in Genesis 15: “So 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.” Abram 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… As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him…When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land…”
In the ancient world, it was common to “cut” a covenant, involving the cutting of an animal. It was called an oath of malediction. In other words: "May something bad happen to me if I don't keep my word to you.” They would take the animal and cut it in half, then they would do what was called a “covenant walk”, walking between the two halves of the animal they had cut. They would then roast the animal on a fire and have a big meal signifying the covenant. It was a serious oath saying: "If I don't keep my word to you, may what happened to these animals happen to me." The covenant was irrevocable.
Deep stuff.
But consider the significance of God entering a covenant with people. God demonstrated the “covenant walk” through the smoking firepot that passed through the pieces of the animals Abram had cut. He’s promising Himself, committing Himself to this thing, knowing full well that people weren’t likely to be able to keep the covenant.
Hold on to that for later this week.
Reflect:
- Based on this passage and these details regarding a covenant, what do you see as the differences between a covenant and a contract?
