Covenant Established: Christ, Canaan, Countless Generations
It’s amazing how much we miss when we read the Bible because we do not understand the culture of Biblical times. If you don’t know the customs surrounding ancient covenants, you might miss one of the most amazing Old Testament accounts pointing to Christ and mentioned on The Bible from A to Z page for Set C @ https://thebiblefromatoz.com/c.php.
It happened one night in Genesis 15. Melchizedek, that illusive priestly king, has just blessed Abram, and God reminded Abram once again He will bless him. Abraham asked how in the world this can be when he is still childless.
God replied by telling him to count the stars, if he could, because that’s how numerous his offspring will be. Then God told him to cut a three-year old heifer, a three-year old female goat, and a three-year old ram in half. He obeys and then falls into a deep sleep about sun down.
“And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. (Genesis 15:17).
Fire and smoke! It’s God passing between those two halves.
This is where knowing ancient customs really gives depth and meaning to the Biblical account. A covenant is basically a legal agreement between two parties. In ancient times, covenants usually had a greater and lesser party with the greater party promising something (such as protection) to the lesser one in exchange for something (such as servitude or a tribute). The two parties ratified the covenant by cutting some animals in half with the lesser party walking between the two pieces to symbolize “so be it done to me” (split in half – a pretty bad punishment) if I break this covenant.
God, even though He was the much greater party, walked between the pieces Abram split signifying HE would take the punishment for a broken Covenant! He took that punishment when He sent His son to die for our sins.
HOW AWESOME IS THAT! The King of the Universe promises to take our punishment when we sin. His Son died an awful death on the cross to take our punishment. I get excited just typing it. You can’t help but see His love for His people when He walked through those pieces, and you can’t help but love Him in return.
Follow The Bible from A to Z as we study more about God’s love revealed throughout Scripture.