We all make promises to others. Some are promises we make to family and friends, and others are legal promises that carry stiffer penalties if they are not kept. How do we know if someone will keep a promise? Children, and even some adults will say “Cross my heart and hope to die!”, or they “pinky swear”. We make marriage vows, promising to be loving and faithful to our spouse. Legal promises usually involve signing myriads of legal documents, often for major purchases like houses or cars, and promises are made to make monthly payments. Our Scripture today involves a major promise that was made, called a covenant in the Bible. Let’s look at what the promise was, and who was involved in this promise.
Our Scripture reading involves a major promise, or covenant, that God made with Abraham (called Abram here, as God had not yet changed his name.) As our Scripture passage begins, we read “After these things” (vs. 1). What are “these things” the author is referring to? If we look back, we see in chapter 12 that God called Abram out of Haran (in modern day Syria and eastern Turkey), where his family had been living, so he headed south. He wound up in Egypt where his wife was nearly taken into Pharaoh’s harem. In chapter 13 Abram’s nephew Lot and his family separated from him, and they moved to the area around Sodom and Gomorrah. In chapter 14 Lot was kidnapped and taken hostage by a group of warring kings and their armies, so Uncle Abram came to his rescue, battling those kings and rescuing Lot. This was a lot of stressful excitement for a man in his late seventies! Our Scripture picks up after all of that. After all of this stress, the Lord spoke to Abram, and reassured him that he didn’t need to fear anything, as He was his shield. The Lord would protect him from all harm, and He would be his reward (vs. 1).
Abram possibly thought back to another promise that God had made to him several years earlier, when he was 75. At that time God promised him many descendants, enough to make a great nation (Genesis 12:1-3). He also promised the land of Canaan to him and his descendants. Now, possibly five to ten years later, he still had no children, and did not possess the land. His heir was Eliezer, his chief steward. Abram posed God a question, as any gifts He would give him could go to a “descendant”, as he had none (vs. 2-3). God brought Abram outside and, as it was night, He told him to count the stars he could see. There are numerous stars on a clear night away from any outdoor light. That, God promised, was how many descendants he would have, and Abram believed Him (vs. 4-6).
Even though Abram believed Him, God wanted to seal this promise by establishing a covenant with him. A covenant is a legal, binding agreement between two or more parties. The word for covenant in Hebrew is “beryith”, and it comes from a root word meaning “to cut”. In the ancient lands of the Bible, when one person made a covenant with another person, animals such as cattle or sheep were cut into large segments, and placed opposite each other. Then the two making the covenant would walk between the severed animals to seal the promises made, in essence saying that if one broke the covenant, they would be like those animals, and a curse was upon them. This ceremony symbolized total commitment.
Abram cut up several cattle, placing their pieces opposite each other (vs. 9-11). Then after sunset, when it was dark, God appeared as a bright and burning light, passing between the severed pieces, (vs 17), thus establishing His covenant promise with Abram and his descendants. Even though it was delayed, Abram had descendants through Isaac, Jacob, and his twelve sons, along with the innumerable spiritual descendants among those who are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When God made this covenant with Abram, He reaffirmed His prior promise to him. Abram believed God, knowing that His Word was enough. He believed the Lord, and God credited it to him as righteousness, (vs. 6), sealing it with this covenant.
About 2,000 years after Abraham, God made a new covenant with man. This time it was not sealed with the blood of bulls and goats. This covenant was sealed with the Blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:13-15). Those who have accepted Him as their Savior receive the promise of salvation and forgiveness of sins. Just as He was with Abraham, God is the shield and exceedingly great reward to all those who are a part of this new covenant (vs. 1). We have no cause for worry, for God will protect and defend us. The Creator of the universe is active on our behalf.
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