The Powerful Old Covenant (Part 1)

Abram did this with the heifer, the goat, and the ram. He cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other, (see Genesis 15:10).

At this point in the ceremony the covenant partners stood facing each other in an open field. The animal lay cut open between them.

Then the partners literally walked through the mass of blood. One would walk through and come back on the left side. The other would walk through, turning toward the right. Together they patterned a figure eight.

Remember, this ritual of "making covenant" was somewhat common in those days between men. I suppose that’s why the Bible doesn’t go into every detail. Today, if I said that two men entered into a contract, you would naturally know that words were written on paper, the two men signed their names on the paper, and they shook hands. Further, the contract would be notarized by an independent third party. All I said was, "Two men entered into a contract," and you knew what happened.

==> In Scripture, when it says "he cut the animals," and then "an horror of great darkness fell upon Abram," it is enough to know that GOD AND ABRAM HAD WENT THROUGH THE WALK OF DEATH TOGETHER.

Step 6: Mark on the Body

The sixth step in the covenant-making ceremony was a mark placed on the body in the old culture, it was the "STRIKING OF HANDS."

In the Hebrew culture the hand includes what we would call the wrist. The covenant partners made an incision on their wrists, and the two would then put their wrists together, mingling their blood in what is called "the striking of hands."

Some primitive cultures still practice this, taking an abrasive substance like gunpowder and rubbing it in to darken the area under the skin and make the wound more pronounced so that there is a permanent mark on the body.

Some traditions say that the modern custom of waving our hand in greeting originates from the practice of raising hands in such a way to reveal the covenant mark. By doing so, one person let another know that he or she had a covenant partner. This suggests that the origin of the handclasp, as in the SHAKING OF HANDS, comes from the cutting of a covenant.

The two individuals would clasp hands as the blood from their freshly cut wrists flowed together. The covenant mark on the wrists or palms might be what is referred to in Isaiah 49:16, in which God states, "I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands."

Step 7: Pronouncement of Blessings and Curses

The seventh step in covenant making was THE PRONOUNCEMENTS OF BLESSINGS AND CURSES. This occurred in the presence of the witnesses after cutting the heifer, walking through the pieces, and striking the hands.

At this point in the ceremony the partners faced one another, and each said these words: "SO LONG AS YOU KEEP THE TERMS OF THIS COVENANT, blessed shall you be when you go out and when you come in. Blessed shall you be when you rise up and when you lay down. Blessed shall be your wife, blessed shall be your children, blessed shall be all that you put your hands to."

Because the culture revolved around an agrarian or agricultural economy, he would also say, "Blessed shall be your oxen, your donkeys, your fields, and the produce of your fields."