In Abram’s day, the blood covenant signified an
absolute and unbreakable guarantee of a man’s
word. Nothing short of a blood agreement could
have convinced Abram of God’s desire to bless
him. By cutting the covenant with him, Almighty
God communicated His unfailing love and fidelity
on a level Abram could understand. God was establishing
a love relationship with him that could not
be broken without the penalty of death.

In order to see just how that covenant compares
to the one we have with the Father today,
we need to see what the covenant God cut with
Abram involved. That way we can begin to see
clearly why ours is even better.

In Abram’s society, when two families made
covenant together, they gave to one another
everything they had and all they represented.
They were no longer two, but one. Families
bound themselves together in blood agreements
in order to fill in the gaps created by each other’s
weaknesses and needs. Where the first tribe was
strong, the second was weak. Where the second
tribe was strong, the first was weak. Together,
they were both strong.

These two families drew up the terms of
their agreement and discussed them until each
article was fully and mutually agreeable. Then
they chose representatives and a place to cut
the covenant.

As they prepared for the solemn ceremony, at
least three large animals were sacrificed. Their
carcasses were split down the spine, and the
halves were placed on the ground opposite each
other. The result was a trail of blood between the
halves. This path was called “the way of blood.”

When the covenant ceremony began, the two
representatives exchanged their coats. This signified
the mutual exchange of authority. By this
act the covenant representatives were saying,
“All that I do, all that I have is now yours.”

Next the covenant representatives exchanged
their weapons. Through this they were saying,
“My strength is now your strength. Your enemies
are now my enemies.”

After the coats and weapons were exchanged,
then came the walk of blood. Twice the representatives
walked through “the way of blood,” stopping
in the center. There they pronounced their pledges
of loyalty, making promises to each other that
could never be broken. This pronouncement was
called “the blessing of the covenant.”

A curse was also pronounced. The curse was
the penalty for breaking the terms of the agreement.
They swore by their god, thereby making
him third party to the covenant.

Next came the cut of the covenant. The
representatives cut their hands and wrists and
bound their wrists together so that their blood
would intermingle.

After their loyalty was sworn to each other, the
families joined their names together as a permanent
sign that they had become one. Finally, they
ate a covenant meal of bread and wine together.
The bread signified their flesh, and the wine signified
their blood. The covenant meal represented
their willingness and commitment to lay down
their lives for each other.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries