How to Trust God’s Promises

Yesterday John Slade spoke to us in part two of our series “Friend of God” on the topic of How to Trust God’s Promises. I wonder what stood out to you particularly from John’s talk? If you missed it you can catch up here.

The thing that strikes me most about the encounter between God and Abram in Genesis 15 is how God arranges the covenant ritual. He has Abram slaughter several animals, cut them in half and arrange the halves to form a kind of walkway between them. This was common practice at the time for two parties forming a covenant. Both parties would then walk through the halved carcasses as a symbolic act to illustrate what would happen to either of them if they broke the terms of the covenant.

What amazes me about all this is that when the time comes for the ritual to take place, it is only God who passes through the carcasses. Abram is left watching on as God (in the form of a smoking firepot) passes between the animals to make the covenant. 

Why is this important? Because this was an agreement between God and Abram, but it is God alone who bears the consequences for the covenant being broken. This is slightly different from the other covenants that God makes with Israel, where there are clear consequences for Israel when they break the covenant. This initial and deeply significant covenant with Abram is the beginning of that central story of Scripture which finds its climax at the cross of Calvary.

We know that all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). All of us have broken the covenant with God and deserve death. However, just as God Himself passed through those animal carcasses, Jesus took upon Himself the consequences for our sin on the cross. Even at this very early stage in human history with the covenant between God and Abram, God is foreshadowing the cross and showing that it is in His nature to forgive and it is His desire to restore humanity.

As we continue through this series over the next few weeks, try to spot the moments where Jesus is revealed. You might be surprised to find that there are hints even in this first book of the Bible of God’s master plan for salvation!