In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram. —Genesis 15:18
The Hebrew word for covenant literally means “to cut in pieces.” The ceremony required an animal to be sacrificed and cut in half. The parties to the covenant then made “the walk of death” in a figure-eight pattern between the cut pieces, symbolizing total commitment to each other. The participants then no longer lived for themselves but for their covenant partner.
God knew Abraham could never keep his part of the covenant, so He caused a deep sleep to come upon him. Jesus took Abraham’s place and accomplished what Abraham could not do—establish an eternal, unbreakable covenant (Genesis 15:18).
When Jesus took the “walk of death” in our place, He became the guarantee of God’s promises (Hebrews 7:22). He took Abraham’s place to secure the blessings of the covenant, and He took our place at Calvary to secure our salvation. This is the great exchange: In covenant with us, we exchange our death for His life; our disease for His healing; our weakness for His strength; and our brokenness for His wholeness.
Jesus, thank You for entering into blood covenant with me.
I know that friendship with You in covenant transcends all
other relationships. You are exclusively my first
love and passion in life. Amen.
