Feb 23, 2011

Only God walked through the valley of blood

Continuing with my study of Genesis 15, I am awe struck at the level of theology contained in this chapter. I’ve even read where some theologians write that Verse 6 is the most important verse of the Bible. I don’t know about that claim, but I understand their point.

The fact that Verse 6 explicitly spells out that Abram was accounted as righteous by the Heavenly Father by belief in His promise makes it an important verse. But studying the passage on this occasion, I am taken by the fact that it was God alone who passed through the sacrificed animals to ratify the covenant with Abram.

Covenants of this nature were usually ratified by the two parties joining hands and then walking between the halved sacrifices. The point of note here in Verse 17 is that this covenant is not a promise bound to two parties. In this covenant, God bound Himself to His own promise to Abram. Abram didn’t walk through the pieces with God, only God passed between the pieces.

I love how this scene reinforces the truth that salvation is by God’s grace alone, it is not merited by man, but a free gift of God.

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