“AFTER THESE things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great” (Genesis 15:1, Amplified Bible).  

One may wonder why God may have begun this conversation with “Do not be afraid.”  Abram had just refused a great material reward from the King of Sodom, and had just confirmed the blood covenant with a ceremony with Melchizedek.  God says “fear not” many times in Scripture.  He knows that we have these opportunities to doubt, and that doubt can bring fear.  Abram refused the earthly king’s reward, but was promised a reward from the King of Kings.

This is a wonderful lesson about the character of God for our lives.  When we forsake and cease to depend upon our worldly strengths, (the strength of our flesh, our old unregenerated nature, our inherent dishonesty, human manipulation) and rely entirely on God, through His Word which represents the blood covenant, then God says to us like He said the Abram, “Fear not, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great.”  In other words, “You have depended upon the exchange in the blood and not on the King of Sodom, therefore, I am free to really bless you.  I AM your King!”

In Genesis chapter 14, there was the passing of the blood covenant elements between Melchizedek and Abram and then Abram tithed to Melchizedek.  I believe that the tithe that Abram paid to Melchizedek was more significant than many of us, including myself, can imagine.  From the standpoint of the recipient the tithe is to enable him to bless others.  From the standpoint of the giver, the tithe cleanses the rest of what he/she owns and receives from the corruption of the world and Satan.

I can only guess what prompted Abram to pay tithes.  Perhaps Melchizedek instructed him.  Perhaps this was something that Abram intuitively knew, or maybe it was a custom in his idol worship.

However, I can surmise this much that Abram was so completely taken aback with the radical implications of this blood covenant with deity that he would have given or done anything.  As it ends up, he did just that in Genesis chapter 22.

Abram had some questions about God’s promise to bless him and reminded God about his most serious infirmity, being without child.
Genesis 15:2-6 says,
2 “But Abram said, ‘Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’
3 Then Abram said, ‘Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!’
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.’
5 Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’  And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

The apostle Paul used this over and over as his main doctrinal reference for our righteousness, and especially in Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4:16 says,
16 “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.”

Believing in the finished work of the Cross is what made us righteous, keeps us righteous and what, by grace, transforms our lives to the righteous holiness of God.  In Galatians chapter 3, Paul warned his people to not count on their works for continuing their righteousness and to move on with their maturity in Jesus.

Abram was not afraid to ask questions.
Genesis 15:7-11 says,
7 “Then He said to him, ‘I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.’
8 And he said, ‘Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?’
9 So He said to him, ‘Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’
10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.”

The blood covenant ditch was prepared.
The animal carcasses were cut in halves and set on each side of the ditch to bleed into it.  Blood would flow into the ditch and both covenant parties would wade through the blood.

The Lord did not directly answer his question, but went directly to demonstrate His answer through the blood covenant.  It should be the same with us.  Often we want God to do this thing or that thing, and we need to go back to see what He has already done through the blood covenant.  To see what is already ours, we need to pray Ephesians 1:16-20, that the eyes of our hearts may see revelation knowledge, the very personal rhema of God speaking to us.  The three parts of this Ephesians Scripture that God suggests that He wants us to see are:

1.  His purpose for our calling and for our lives.
2.  His inheritance to equip us for living out that calling.
3.  His power to bring about both of the above; the power of the resurrection!
Ephesians 1:16-20 says,
“16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,”

I believe that God wanted Abram to see the finished work of the Cross, just as He wants us to see and believe.  
When we see the finished work, then we can concentrate on our calling.  We are called to abide in the Vine as in John chapter 15, or in other words, to be in strong real-time communion and fellowship with Jesus.  John 15 goes on to say that when we keep that relationship right, then fruit happens in our lives.  First, fruit for our character.  Then, fruit for our provisions, and finally fruit to extend the Kingdom.  We are not to be task oriented, but rather we need to be relationship oriented.  We turn things upside down so many times and concentrate on doing this or that for God, and often we forsake the relationships that are so important in our lives, including the main one, with God Himself.  

When your relationships are right, God’s fruit will animate your tasks!  I cannot help but to comment here: the primary issue for relationships with others and with God is truth!  Too many people try to maintain relationships without honesty; it will not work!  Also, God will not tolerate it!  His name is Truth!  You will be unable to really see God and receive His revelation knowledge without absolute truth!

God speaks in the dark, in the ditch.
Genesis 15:12-17 says,
12 “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
13 Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.”

The following is what most likely happened in those days in the blood covenant ditch.
Each party would walk the ditch towards the other, each proclaiming the blessings if the covenant conditions were kept and the curses if the conditions were not kept.  As they reached each other they would often even press an open wound to the other’s open wound, often in their wrists.  They would exchange coats, weapons and pledges.  Sometimes they would exchange rings and signets.  They would exchange weaknesses and strengths and they would become more closely related than their “milk” brothers.  Nothing held back, nothing!

What's the blood all about?
The two people walking the ditch of blood are exchanging who they are with one another.  That means that both have to die to who they were before they entered the ditch of blood.  They exchanged natures, identities and even names.

Jesus died to who He was, the Creator.  How much will you hold back of who you were?  How much of your flesh to you wish to hold on to?  To the same degree that you hold on to your old identity, to that degree you fail to receive the nature of the one with whom you cut covenant, in this case, Jesus!

Why did God put Abram to sleep?
If Abram had walked through this blood covenant ditch to exchange his curses for God’s blessings, it would not have worked.  Why?  It was because Abram was unable to keep his end of the bargain.  He would have failed in the promise, or at least his children would have failed, and for sure, you and I, as his spiritual children have failed.

How did God deal with this?  How did God, in His mercy and passion to bless Abram and you and me, pull this off?  
I submit that the two persons who walked the blood covenant ditch were the Holy Spirit, representing the Father, and Jesus, representing Abram and you and me!  Notice, the two people were a “smoking oven and a burning torch.”  Abram saw this entire ceremony while in a deep sleep; he had little to do with it.

Upon looking up the Hebrew implications of the words “smoking oven” and “burning torch” they seems to indicate the fire of God’s wrath.  We know that God’s entire wrath was put upon Jesus at the Cross in order to allow God to offer us His blessing.  That is what happened in a pre-figure (a shadow of the future work of Jesus) in that bloody trench.  

I don’t think that it is a stretch to say that God appeared unto Abram as recorded in Genesis chapters 12-15 as the incarnated Jesus, the crucified and resurrected One.  Many Scriptures tell us that God never changes.  

James 1:17 says,  
17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

We also know that Jesus was crucified before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). In John 8:56 Jesus said that Abraham saw His incarnation.

Paraphrasing the unsaid message may be like this:  “Okay son, I want to bless you with children so that I may have my purpose done on this earth, which is to purchase mankind back from Satan.  It is going to take the life of My Son to accomplish this because He is the only perfect One with whom I can make covenant.  If you were to walk this ditch, you would fail, you would be without child and My Messiah could not come to redeem you and your descendents.  But if My Son, Jesus, were to walk this ditch on your behalf, then when you and your descendents do indeed fail, My Son will die on their behalf.”  Now that is Good News!

How could God die on behalf of Abraham’s descendants?  God would have to become God-incarnate!

John 1:1-4, 14 says,
1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Abram’s main activities for this blood covenant ceremony were:
1.  Obeying God to cut and prepare the animals.  Absolute obedience to God's authority, nothing held back or questioned.  This is a must if one is to receive God's blessings.

2.  To keep the vultures away from the covenant promise (spiritual warfare).  After that he fell asleep.

3. To believe the unbelievable, the promise.  To believe that God was offering to exchange His very life, the life of His Son, for Abram’s life of being childless.  Romans chapter 4 states that Abraham believed beyond human hope, believed that God, who calls those things that be not as though they were, could perform that which He promised.  Also, in the exchange was the promise that Abram’s descendants would receive the Holy Spirit, the very personhood of God in their spirit.

God speaks His covenant purposes and promises.
Genesis 15:18-21 says,
18 “On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates –
19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’”

What was the significance of this blood covenant ceremony?
What did Abram see?  What was its real meaning?

Walking the blood trench.  The Man (Jesus) in the ditch was Abraham's seed but was also Deity.  What must have Abraham thought?  In the blood covenant exchange Abram received forgiveness, i.e., the cutting away of his very sin nature, his very character, his very personhood.  This extends far beyond merely the removal of sin, as we often characterize it.  For instance, we can be very grateful that when we fail in our lives, when we perform in a way that is not like the character of God, that God forgives us, or removes that particular transgression.  However deeper forgiveness is experienced in the fact that not only are our “sins” forgiven, but our “sin nature” is removed, that being our very old carnal flesh nature.  It is removed, or “forgiven,” going into Jesus and we receive His nature in exchange.

When we receive revelation on this, then we experience our true identity.
When we experience our true identity, then our lives will line up, little by little, with God’s holiness.  When this occurs, then we can resist the devil and accomplish spiritual warfare for our families, the world and ourselves.  We need all three: Sit, Walk, and Stand.  Ephesians 2:6, 4:1, and 6:11.

Experiencing our new identity has far reaching effects.  Our sin is no longer ours it is His.  Our cancer and other infirmities are no longer ours, they are His.  Our failures are no longer ours, they are His.  

What was the real, the true bottom line, promise to Abram?
Galatians 3:13-14 says that God promised the Holy Spirit to Abraham’s descendents.  What does this mean?  I submit that the Holy Spirit is the very person of God and God promised that He Himself, through the Holy Spirit, would be Abram's inheritance via this blood covenant.  The other side of this coin is that God’s inheritance would be the very spirit of Abram and Abram's descendents, which is a spirit separated from God.  This is what happened to Jesus on the Cross.  He was separated from God the Father and the Holy Spirit so that you and I could inherit the very personhood of God Himself.

Galatians 3:14 (Amplified Bible) says,
14 “To the end that through [their receiving] Christ Jesus, the blessing [promised] to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit.”

The true promise to Abram, and to you and me, was the Holy Spirit.  To put it in other terms, it was to receive the very nature and character and personhood of God into the human race, at least to Abram’s descendents (those who believe and have the faith of Abram).  

This is The Great Exchange of Identity!
This is the very bottom line of the blood covenant exchange, His Spirit for our spirit.  It was not even a restoration of what Adam had lost, for Adam had forsaken the Spirit of God prior to the resurrection of Jesus.  Now we receive the Holy Spirit after the resurrection, and the very personhood of the resurrected Jesus, over Whom death and Satan has no more dominion or power!  Praise His name forever!

Our inheritance is not simply the blessings that come from God (healing, removal of shame and guilt, removal of the curses that came with our old nature).  Our inheritance is far beyond, no matter how exhaustive one makes the list of blessings.  Our inheritance is Christ Himself, through the Holy Spirit.  

To Moses He said, “I AM.”  To Abram He said, “I AM in the ditch with you right now.  I am swearing to receive your curse and give you My resurrected blessing.”  To you and me He is saying the same thing!  “I AM in the ditch with you, receiving your infirmity, your curse and giving you My blessing.”

God cannot lie, nor does He change.
Hebrews 6:17 says,
17 “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath.”

You may ask:  “If this is so complete, if this blood covenant is so inclusive, if it was to Abraham's seed, and if his seed is Christ and if I have Christ, then why is this not working for me?”

I am glad you asked.  You may be thinking that this whole thing is too good to be true, or perhaps you think that you are not worthy enough to experience this great exchange.  Maybe you have heard about this and you think it is for others, or maybe you have heard this and think that it is too radical and that those who expound it are just faith freaks.  Maybe you have never heard of it.  It is called the Gospel, the Good News!

Listen!
1.  The blood covenant on your behalf is complete, there is nothing left out, there is nothing that has yet to be accomplished.  

2.  Notice, however, that even with the promise to Abram in Genesis chapter 15, that God told him that there would be a time of apparent failure.  He told him that the Hebrew nation would go into Egyptian bondage for 400 years and then would come out.  

3.  God works His works on the basis of death and resurrection.  One cannot receive the blessing of resurrection without the pain of death.

4.  In the experience of “death” during your walk with Jesus you will also notice that you have an antagonist, an enemy to your inheritance: Satan and his team of fallen angels and demons.  Abram was called to chase away the vultures from the blood covenant ceremony, that being a type of our standing against the devils that are attempting to block our inheritance.

5.  You must experientially inherit the blood covenant through the Word of God planted in your heart as in Mark chapter 4.  John 6:63 confirms this idea.  Also notice in Mark chapter 4 in the parable about the Word of God, that Jesus emphasizes that seeds do not grow overnight.  He stated in verse 4:23-24 that we have the responsibility of hearing and taking responsibility for what we hear; i.e., obeying what we hear and keeping it as a seed in our heart.  Notice in Mark 4:26-32 that Jesus warns that the seed starts out very small, and then takes time to grow into the fruit intended.  

6.  Jesus warned in Mark 4:14-20 that Satan would use all his resources to steal the seed of the Word.  Going through the process of spiritual warfare and of continual death and resurrection is called “overcoming.”  This is our calling here on earth.  

While on the Isle of Patmos, John spoke one common theme to each post-resurrection church as recorded in the Book of Revelation.  He ended each of his letters with an exhortation that they become overcomers.  It is God calling to all of us saying, “Will anybody sign up for this Overcoming Ministry I have?  It pays well, good fringe benefits, life insurance, a promise for eternity, but in the meantime you may not be too comfortable.  You see, I have gained the victory over your enemies, as I promised Abraham, but now you, My Body, must exercise that victory over the circumstances and enemies in your realm of influence.  But fear not!”

A major part of our spiritual warfare responsibility lies in the proclamation of God’s Word to the spiritual enemy.

The Good News is radical!  
It is a complete exchange of your personhood for the Holy Spirit, or His personhood.    It is the Great Identity Exchange!  However, not all people experience the radical exchange.  Some don't believe, some are lazy, and others give up while Satan is stealing the seed of the Word that Jesus plants into their hearts.