“And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”” (Genesis 15:7-16)

In the olden days, it is often quoted that “your word was your bond”. With the number of times I had to sign my name on mortgage papers, I am guessing that line doesn’t mean as much as it used to. No longer can we say, “take me at my word” or “Let’s shake on it” as those phrases don’t hold meaning anymore.

I’m not sure “your word” counted for too much back in ancient times, either. Take this whole idea of a covenant. When this was made between two people, they would cut the animals in half, then each walk in between them to symbolize that if either of them broke the covenant, then cutting them in half would be the appropriate response.

And it is that fact that makes this passage so powerful as a promise of God. Notice who walks through the covenant promise? God ALONE. Abram was sound asleep – meaning that this was a one-way covenant. It had nothing to do with Abram or his (or anyone else’s) actions. This is an unconditional covenant with all of the responsibility squarely on God. This journey He took Abram on is purely to develop the line of Jesus, while showing that He is all-patient and all-powerful.

Our God is an amazing God! Can you share a time when you saw God act unconditionally on your behalf?