DISCOVER BIBLE | "COVENANT CUTTING!"

1. Introduction

a) The Bible is full of wonderful stories and special truth. What we want to do is to discover the Bible.  

b) Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." 

c) Nurture and grow your understanding of the Bible as you read and discover the Bible.  

2. A most unusual "Covenant Cutting!"

a) Read Genesis 15:12-21... 

Genesis 15:12-21 New International Version (NIV)  

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” 

i) Verse 12: "A deep sleep" in Hebrew refers to a trance. God had put Abram into a non-participative state for this Covenant-cutting. It is a "one way" Covenant, in which God provides everything in the Covenant without any qualifications to be met by Abram!

ii) Verses 13-16: The terms of this Covenant are clearly set forth. It is what God will do for Abram. Nothing in return is required.

iii) Verse 17: A "smoking pot" and a "flaming torch" make the "figure 8" around the animals. They remind us of the smoking cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (God Himself!) that will lead Israel in the wilderness journey.

iv) Verse 18: The Covenant promise of God to Abram is given!

b) Read Genesis 17:1-8... 

Genesis 17:1-8 New International Version (NIV)  

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. ² Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

³ Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. ⁷ I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”     

i) God now reviews this Covenant with  Abram. One significant Covenant even is the exchange of names! The "HA" from JHAWEH, the root of JHWH, is added to Abram: AbraHAm.

ii) And, note this well! From this time on, JHWH will describe Himself as "THE GOD OF ABRAHAM."

iii) In addition, Sarai will have a new name... SarHA (Sarah), as explained in Genesis 17:15. The Covenant with this man and his wife is irrevocable, and becomes the foundation for our later prophetic events.