The God of the Covenant (Day 5: Roots & Shoots)

• The Ornament: The Stars
• The Scripture: Genesis 15:1–21

The Surface Reading

We usually remember God’s promise to Abraham as a peaceful night under the stars. God tells Abraham to “count the stars” and promises him that his descendants will be just as numerous.

We treat it as a sweet bedtime story about trusting God’s plan.

But if we keep reading the chapter, the story goes into a strange and specific ritual. God commands Abraham to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon. Abraham cuts the animals in half and arranges the bloody carcasses in two rows. It feels horrific, archaic and confusing. 

A Closer Look

Guide: Rob Bell (What is the Bible?, Ch 7)

To understand this scene, Rob Bell reminds us that we still use the phrase “cut a deal.” This phrase comes directly from the ancient world.

In the Ancient Near East, when two kings made a covenant, they didn’t sign paper. They cut animals in half and walked between the bloody pieces together.

It was a visual, visceral oath. They were saying: “If I break my promise to you, may what happened to these animals happen to me.” It was a blood oath of self-destruction.

In Genesis 15, Abraham prepares the ceremony. But then, a deep sleep falls on him.

In the darkness, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch (symbols of God’s presence) appear and pass between the pieces.

Here is the shocker: God walks through the blood alone.

Abraham is asleep on the sidelines. God does not make Abraham walk through the pieces. God is effectively saying: “I am making this promise. If this covenant is broken—even if you are the one who breaks it—let the violence fall on Me, not you.”

The Lens of Shalom

Guide: Lisa Sharon Harper

Why would God make such a dangerous, one-sided promise? To understand the strategy, Lisa Sharon Harper says we have to look back at Babel (Day 4).

At Babel (Genesis 11), humanity tried to “make a name for themselves” by hoarding power and building a tower. They broke the peace between nations by demanding uniformity.

In Genesis 12, God calls Abraham and says the exact same thing, but with a twist: “I will make your name great.”

God gives Abraham exactly what Babel wanted—a Great Name—but he changes the purpose. At Babel, the name was for Power (to stay in one place). For Abraham, the name is for Blessing (to go out to all places).

Harper argues that God chose Abraham as the direct answer to the brokenness of Babel. He didn’t choose one family to exclude the others; He chose one family to rescue the others. The promise—”In you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed”—is God’s plan to heal the nations that were scattered at the tower. And God is so committed to this rescue plan that He walks through the blood to guarantee it will happen.

The Question

We often feel like our relationship with God depends on our performance—we have to “walk the line” perfectly to be accepted.

But the Covenant of Abraham suggests that God’s commitment to you is based on God’s character, not your consistency.

Where are you exhausted from trying to “keep up your end of the deal”? Can you rest today, knowing that God has already walked through the valley for you?