But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it (the Promised Land)?’ So the Lord said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.’ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half (Gen. 15:8-10).
Imagine a bride walking down the aisle to her groom.
They’ve said their vows, exchanged rings and signed the register. The couple not only make promises to each other, but they also enter into a legally binding ‘till-death-do-us-part’ contract.
Today, we make a contract by writing some commitments on a piece of paper and signing at the bottom. In Abram’s day, you sliced up an animal and walked between the pieces. In effect, you were saying, ‘If I break this covenant, may the fate of these animals be my fate!’
So here, God is not only making a promise but also binding Himself to that promise. Why? So that we can be doubly confident. A divine promise ought to be enough, because God never lies. There’s a lovely little phrase in Isaiah 25:1 that literally says God is ‘faithfully faithful’. We have a faithfully faithful God. But we get the bonus of having His promises signed and sealed in a covenant! ‘How can I know?’ asks Abram in Genesis 15:8, and God’s answer to that question is to call for the animals and to make a contract. This is how you can be sure, because it is signed and sealed in blood.
On the night before Jesus died, that contract was remade and reaffirmed. Here’s Matthew’s account of the Last Supper:
Then [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:27–28).
What did Jesus promise? He promised to forgive our sin. Whatever guilt you’re carrying or whatever shame stains your soul, Christ promised to forgive you and, indeed, all who come to Him. But He didn’t just make a promise. He made a covenant – He bound Himself to His promise. He signed and sealed it through bread and wine, and the following day, as He died on the cross, He delivered on that promise. He died in our place, that our sin might be forgiven. He shed His blood for us, and He remains true to that covenant to this day.
God is ‘faithfully faithful’ (see Isaiah 25:1). Meditate on this glorious truth. At the cross, we see God’s covenant love and faithfulness in action. Jesus’ broken body and shed blood are our guarantee that, no matter how heinous our sin or how frequently we have offended God, He will forgive us when we come to Him. He knows how frail we are, how battered by sin. Today, accept God’s invitation to bring your weary, burdened soul to Him and receive afresh His promise of forgiveness.
Elizabeth McQuoid is Commissioning Editor for Keswick Ministries and part of Deeside Christian Fellowship in Aberdeen, an independent evangelical church.
