Blood Covenant

Covenant is defined as, the mutual consent or agreement of two or more persons; to do or to forbear some act or thing; to enter into a formal agreement; to stipulate; to bind ones self. Covenant is not a contract. True covenant has unlimited liabilities whereas a contract has limited liability. In a contract the parties agree to and are only responsible to fulfill the terms, which have limits, to what has been stated in the body of the contract. When these agreements are fulfilled, the contract ends. However, unlike a contract, there are no limited terms in a covenant. A covenant is not an agreement, but commitment to the success of what has been stated in the body of the covenant. A covenant is only fulfilled upon the death of one of the covenant partners. Although the Bible reveals eight covenants from the Garden of Eden to Jesus Christ, the main focus of covenant in the Bible is only on two; the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant in Christ.

When God entered into the covenant with Abram, we see some very striking events that took place. Among them was the changing of Abram's name to Abraham, (a prince of God) and his wife Sarai's to Sarah (princess of God.) In other words, God lifted them into His royal family before He made a covenant with them. The Abrahamic Covenant is the basis of Judaism and also Christianity, "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29) The covenant that God established with Abraham, bound Abraham and his descendants by indissoluble ties to God, and it bound God to Abraham and his descendants.

Although God had spoken to Abraham when he was seventy five years of age, in a sense, the covenant was officially established when he was ninety nine, "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations." (Genesis 17:1-5)  

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul gives us some details concerning this covenant. "Abraham did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness." (Romans 4:20-22) Abraham made and unqualified committal of himself and all he was or ever would be, to God. In other words, as we see in Romans, Abraham was, fully convinced that what God had promised He was also able to perform, to the point that he gave himself to God in utter abandonment of self. It meant that all Abraham had or ever would have was laid on the altar and it also meant that God must sustain, protect and provide for Abraham and all of his descendants. 

The seal of the covenant was circumcision. Every male child at eight days of age was circumcised, and the circumcision was the entrance into the Abrahamic Covenant, this included Abraham and every male in his household. (Genesis 17:10-13, 23-24) When a male child was circumcised, he entered into the covenant, and that child became an inheritor of everything connected with the covenant.  Next, we see Abraham's total abandonment of self to God when asked of God to offer the son of his flesh, Issac, as a sacrifice to God. (Genesis 22:1-10) We see that Abraham did not hesitate, though it meant giving up all he held dear. However, "the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, so he said, Here I am.And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (Genesis 22: 11-12) God had found a man that would keep the covenant; He had found a covenant keeping man. 

Now that we have some background and although much came to pass for nearly two thousand years during the Abrahamic Covenant, we come to the New Testament, and see Jesus and the disciples gathered together that night before the Crucifixion. "When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve^[a] apostles with Him. Then He said to them, With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.
And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you." (Luke 22:14-20) 

The old blood covenant between God and Abraham was the basis on which the New Covenant was founded. Now we can understand that when Jesus said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood..."
the disciples, although they may not at that time have completely understood the full extent of this New Covenant, when they entered covenant with Jesus in that upper room, they remembered the covenant that God has established with Abraham and possibly understood that they were entering into the strongest, most sacred Covenant known to man. 

Jesus brings us a New Covenant having displaced and fulfil1led the Old Covenant, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God. He takes away the first that He may establish the second." (Hebrews 10:9) As the Old Covenant was sealed with circumcision, the New Covenant is sealed with the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and new birth. (Ephesians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 5:17) The Old Covenant had the Levitica1 Priesthood. The New Covenant has Jesus as the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) and believers as the royal and holy priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9)  The Old Covenant could not take away sin, it merely covered it. (Hebrews 10:4) The New Covenant through the blood of Jesus cleanses sin, takes it away. (John 1:29) The Old Covenant did not give eternal life, but only a promise of it, whereas the New Covenant gives eternal life. (1 John 2:25) 

Although the covenant between God and Abraham was a most wonderful covenant with many blessings, (Hebrews 6:14), the New Covenant through Jesus Christ is even greater, because, Jesus is the "Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." (Hebrews 8:6) So, "Let us hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering, for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23) and walk out this greater covenant between God and man bringing glory to God for His wonderful work of redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ. The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you...

Faith is not Obsolete

The Abrahamic covenant is one of the most interesting covenants that God had established with man. It not only was the basis of Judaism and Christianity but it also reveals various types and symbols that are indicative of the new covenant. One of the first things to note is that when God called Abram, he did not question God but responded to the call, "So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him..." (Genesis 12:4) His action sets an example for all believers. As Abram separated himself from all that was familiar, in the same way, believers are called to separate themselves from what is familiar, that is worldliness, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) Keep in mind, that Abram did not have a copy of the Bible that he could turn to, to confirm what God was speaking to him or to build his faith. (Romans 10:17) He flat out obeyed God without question. This is a lesson that many believers need to learn.

Another point concerning Abram's call, is that he was seventy five years of age. You may be thinking, "Well what does age have to do with anything?" According to studies, on the average, eighty five percent of all people who accept Christ do so before the age of eighteen. This does not insinuate that adults do not receive Christ, but the older a person is, the less likely they are to respond to the gospel. Why is this? Studies reveal that people get so regimented in their life styles, that is, set in their ways, they do not see the need for a change. In short, the world system has conformed them in such a way that they can only see a worldview of life. Therefore, the negative, anti-Christ picture painted by the world is what they tend to believe concerning the church and or Christianity. Simply put, "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." (2 Corinthians 4:4) So, the fact that Abram was seventy five years of age when he responded to God's call is amazing in and of itself.

Although God had called Abram, He had not yet established His covenant with him. However, look at Abram's next response to God, "And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him,"So shall your descendants be. And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:4-6).  Abram believed God, that is, he made an unqualified, irrevocable committal to God. In other words Abraham gave himself to God in utter abandonment of self. How many believers today can honestly say the same about their commitment to God after entering the New and better covenant with Him through Jesus Christ?

Up to this point, God had not established His covenant with Abram. It wasn't until Abram was one hundred years of age (twenty five year after God's initial call) that God cut a covenant with him.(Genesis 17:17) First God changed Abram's name (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude) (Genesis 17:5) and then sealed the covenant through Abraham's blood (circumcision) which bound Abraham and his descendants to God and God to Abraham and His descendants. (Genesis 17:10-11) Yet for twenty five years prior to God cutting covenant with Abraham he held fast to his commitment to God, "And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." (Romans 4:19-22) What a testimony of unwavering faith towards God.

In my years as a church leader, there are several things that greatly move me. One of these is the life of Abraham. Abraham, a man like any other man called by God, but one who did not believe what his flesh (senses) revealed, but believed God, period. A man of great faith in whom we can all learn a great deal from when it come to trusting God. However, there is another thing that also moves me but it stands opposed to what we should learn from Abraham. In the New Testament of the King James Version of the Holy Bible the word "faith" appears two hundred forty three time. The word "believe" appears one hundred twenty one times. The word "believed" appears one hundred fifteen times. The word "believest" eight times. The word "believeth" forth five times and the word believing eight times. However, the majority of church leaders today approach the words faith and believe as though they are obsolete or even offensive and yet "without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6)

For Abraham, his faith pleased God and it is recorded, "Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things." (Genesis 24:1). This does not say an occasional blessing here and there, but blessed in all things. The Holy Spirit spoke this wonderful words through the apostle Paul, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32) This sounds exactly how God blessed Abraham due to His faith and yet when talking with most Christians they see Abraham as though he was more than just a man. I believe the only thing that separated Abraham from most Christians was his unwavering faith in God. I say this because Paul also tells us, "For there is no partiality with God." (Romans 2:11)

With that said, I want to challenge you to look at the accounts of Abraham's life as revealed throughout the entire Bible. Meditate on what God's Word reveals and you will see you own faith grow, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)