Let’s look at Genesis 17:1-5 for a
moment and examine this agreement
God made with Abram:

And when Abram was ninety years
old and nine, the Lord appeared to
Abram, and said unto him, I am the
Almighty God; walk before me, and
be thou perfect. And I will make
my covenant between me and thee,
and will multiply thee exceedingly.
And Abram fell on his face: and
God talked with him, saying, As for
me, behold, my covenant is with
thee, and thou shalt be a father of
many nations. Neither shall thy name
any more be called Abram, but thy
name shall be Abraham; for a father
of many nations have I made thee.

Notice particularly that God said,
“As for me….” You see, Abram did not
have to accept God’s deal. He was not
being forced to do anything—it was
his own free choice. God laid out His
proposition and Abram accepted it. It
gave God access to the earth and gave
man access to God. At this time man
had no real knowledge of God’s nature.
People only knew what their fathers
had passed down to them. After
Adam died and several generations
passed, no one really knew much
about God anymore.

You need to understand the authority
that was placed in the covenant. This
was an absolute agreement
between God and Abram, sealed on
both sides. God sealed His side of the
agreement by swearing by Himself
(Genesis 22:16). In other words, there is
no higher state that God can swear by,
so He swore by Himself. Technically, if
He ever broke the covenant, He would
have to destroy Himself.

The Hebrew word covenant means
“to cut where blood flows.” This is the
strongest agreement in any language.
A covenant is a contract, or agreement,
made between two parties and sealed
by the shedding of their blood. Once
this is done, the covenant can never
be broken. Every heathen tribe on the
face of the earth has a blood covenant.
The blood covenant between God and
man was marked and sealed in man’s
flesh through circumcision (Genesis
17:10-14). In other words, circumcision
was “the cut of the covenant.”

From that time forward, Abram was
a covenant man with God. God even
changed his name to Abraham. In
Genesis 18:17-33 we find God consulting
with His covenant man about the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Can you see the strength of this covenant?
It was powerful!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries