Messianic Mission (Part 3): The Mysterious Covenant of Avraham

In part 2 of this study, I discussed various individuals who all connected Avraham to the coming of Yeshua. Most Christians and even most Messianic Jews sees the only connection between Avraham and Yeshua is as the channel through which Yeshua would ultimately be born, or they see a symbolic picture of His death in the Akedah (the sacrifice of Yitzchak/Isaac). However, there’s much more to Avraham’s connection to Yeshua and what we see in the “New Testament” (B’rit Chadasha) than just being Yeshua’s ancestor.

The “Hidden” Covenant

No one seems to see this “mystery” in the book of Genesis. When people think about the Avrahamic Covenant, they tend to only think about the covenant of circumcision discussed in Genesis 17, but “the mysterious covenant of Abraham” that I am referring to is what in Judaism is called, “the covenant between the pieces” in Genesis 15.

This is the relationship covenant between all human believers – the descendants of Avraham –  and Hashem (G-d).  There is no other foundation for us to have a relationship with Hashem (G-d) and us than this covenant.  The covenant that Hashem gave to Isra’el through Mosheh (Moses) formed Isra’el into a people, a Community, a nation, but it did not establish their relationship with HASHEM.  Their relationship was formed BEFORE any of the events happened that we associate with the Exodus. For example, in Shemot (Exodus) 2, we read,

And the Children of Isra’el groaned because of the work and they cried out.  Their outcry because of the work went up to God.  God heard their meaning, and God REMEMBERED HIS COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB.  God saw the the Children of Isra’el; and God knew. [Shemot (Exodus) 2:23-25, Chumash]

For those who may not know, the Chumash contains the five books of Mosheh (Moses) in both English and Hebrew, as well as includes some rabbinical commentary, and it is used in every mainstream synagogue across the United States.  But here in Shemot (Exodus) 2:24, we see that everything that we read in Exodus, from that time onward, is the result of “God remembering His covenant with the Patriarchs of Isra’el.”

THE RELATIONSHIP COVENANT

— A Promise of a Son

As I have said, the relationship covenant is not the Mosaic covenant, but it is the covenant that God entered into with Avraham in Genesis 15.  So to understand how this is, in actuality, is the relationship covenant, we will need to analyze Genesis 15.  Genesis 15 begins by saying,

After these events, the word of HASHEM came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield for you;  your reward is very great.”
And Abram said, “My Lord, HASHEM/ELOHIM What can You give me seeing that I go childless, and the steward of my house is the Damascene Eliezer.” The Abram said, “See to me You have given no offspring; and see, my steward inherits me….” [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:1-3, Chumash]

— Avram – A Prophet?

Hear we can see that Avram is seeing this conversation going on between him and HASHEM in a vision.  In the book of BaMidbar (Numbers), Hashem told Miriam and Aaron,

Hear now My words.  If there shall be prophets among you, in a vision shall I, HASHEM, make Myself known to him; in a dream shall I speak with him.  Not so is My servant Moses; in My entire house he is the trusted one.  Mouth to mouth do I speak to him, in a clear vision and not in riddles, at the image of HASHEM does he gaze.  Why did you not fear to speak against My servant Moses?” [BaMidbar (Numbers) 12: 6-8, Chumash]

Here HASHEM says that He will speak to prophets and make Himself known to them in a vision, and in dreams shall He speak with them.  Thus, since He spoke to Avram in a vision, then by this description, this would make Avram a prophet.

— The Question

But it was during this dialogue between Avram and HASHEM that Avram says, “What can You give me seeing that I go childless?” and since HASHEM has not given him any children, the only one person who would be left in his house after Avram died who would inherit his belongings would be his servant, Eliezer from Damascus.

But then we are told,

  That one will not inherit you.  Only him that shall come forth from within you shall inherit you.”  And He took him outside, and said, “Gaze, now, toward the Heavens, and count the stars if you are able to count them!”  And he said to him, “So shall your offspring be!”  And he trusted in HASHEM, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:4-6, Chumash]

Here HASHEM tells Avram that he would have a son who would inherit his things, a son that would come from his own body.  To give him a visual, He has him go outside and look up into the heavens at the stars.  He tells him that his “offspring” would be as the stars of heaven.  There would be that many!

— Bereshith (Genesis) 15:6

We then come to that verse that we see quoted by both the believing Pharisee, Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) and Ya’acov (Jacob; trans. “James”):

And he [Abram] trusted in HASHEM, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:6, Chumash]

This verse is quoted in the following references:

• For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:3, NASB)
• yet, with respect to THE PROMISE OF GOD, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to Go, and being fully assured that WHAT HE HAD PROMISED, He was able to perform.  Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness. (Romans 4:20-22, NASB)
• Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. (Galatians 3:6, NASB)
• You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. (James 2:22-24, NASB)

Why would this verse be quoted so much in the “New Testament”?  It is a rabbinical technique familiar to Yeshua and his disciples that if you want to bring a whole chapter to remembrance, you only have to quote one main verse, and in this case, it is Bereshith (Genesis) 15:6.  In the English translations of the Christian and Messianic Bibles, they translate this verse the same way:

 Then he BELIEVED in the LORD, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6, NASB)
Then he BELIEVED in ADONAI, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6, TLV)
Then he BELIEVED in ADONAI, and He credited to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6, CJB)

Here we can see that all three versions, the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and both Messianic versions, the Tree of Life Version (TLV) and the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB), all translate the verb, which is the first word of the sentence in Hebrew, v’he’emin as “believed;” whereas, the Chumash translates it as “trusted.”  In the Apostolic Bible Polyglot Greek-English Interlinear, its translation of the verse into English agreed with the Chumash, “And Abram TRUSTED in God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness.”  Some may not realize that there is a difference in English between “believed” and “trusted.”

“Believe” vs. “Trusted”

In English, the word “believe” means “to mentally accept something as true, or to feel sure of the truth;” whereas, the word “trust” means “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength or someone or something.”  So here we can see that the distinction between these two are two-fold: (1) to “believe” is focused on self; whereas, “trust” is dependent on someone or something else other than self; and (2) there is no cost in “believing;” whereas, there is a cost involved in “trusting.”  For example, I asked a college class, “How many of you believe that I would not purposely do anything to hurt you?” Everyone raised his or her hand.  I then asked them, “Who is willing to lend me their credit card?”  No one volunteered.  They “believed” me, but they did not “trust” me.  And there are many people who may “believe” God – they “believe” that a God is possible, they “believe” that a God exists – but they do not “trust” Him.  But Avram “trusted” God, it was his continued “trust” in God that “was accounted to him for righteousness.”

The Making of a Covenant

Then in the rest of the chapter, we have the making of what becomes the relationship covenant between Avram and his descendants and HASHEM.  We read,

He said to him, “I am HASHEM Who brought you out of Ur Kasdim to give you this land to inherit it.”
He said, “My Lord, HASHEM/ELOHIM: Whereby shall I know that I am to inherit it?” [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:7-8, Chumash]

So here we see Avram questioning what HASHEM has told him.  Avram is presented as this great man of faith, yet when HASHEM tells him that He will “give [him] this land to inherit it,” he questions this, and he asks, “Whereby [or how] shall I know that I am [going] to inherit it?”  It is his question that prompts the making of this covenant.

— What is a “Covenant”?

At this point, we first need to define the idea of a “covenant.”  There are many people who believe that “a covenant” is no different than “a contract” or “a peace treaty,” but considering how “contracts” and “peace treaties” are viewed and handled in the United States, those are really bad examples.  Particularly, since most U.S. businessmen are trying to get out of their contracts 30 seconds after the sign it, and the U.S. government has violated every “treaty” that they have ever signed with Native American tribes.  If you ask any Native American, they will be happy to share with you how incredibly unreliable the word of the U. S. government has been.  Therefore, why I see the need for me to define the word “covenant.”

A covenant (Heb. b’rit; Gk. diatheke) is a life or death agreement in which two parties legally commit to bind themselves together in a special bond or a stronger than “kinsman” (blood or family) relationship for life.

So here we can see that a covenant goes beyond just “an agreement between two parties,” like most “contracts.” A covenant is literally “a life or death agreement.”  Also, once two people enter into covenant with one another, they also enter into “a bond or relationship” that is stronger than what you have with your own family or blood relatives.  There is an old saying, “Blood is thicker than water.”  Most people interpret it to mean that there is no stronger bond than the family bond.  However, some of this old saying has been deleted.  It originally said, “The blood of the covenant is thicker/stronger than the water of the womb.”  IT originally meant that there was no bond stronger than that of a covenant bond, even that of one’s own family.  The covenant is the strongest bond or relationship that any two people could enter.  This is why “marriage” is presented in the Bible as a type of covenant; however, many do not treat marriages today as a covenant.  Instead, they treat them as “a contract.”  Something to be broken 30 seconds after the “contract” is made, or much like how the U.S. government views its “treaties.”  However, this is not how HASHEM views the covenant, and I will also say that all of the biblical covenants are asexual (non-sexual), except the marriage covenant (Malachi 2:14), which is the only sexual covenant between a man and a woman.

— Purposes for a Covenant

I have heard many Christians say, “I am glad we have a relationship and not a covenant.”  This only proves that they do not understand the covenant.  Covenant is all about relationship.  In fact, there are three purposes for which we can see in the Bible for why people would enter into a covenant relationship with one another:

1.  To strengthen or intensify an already existing relationship.  This was the motivation for the covenant that HASHEM made with Isra’el at Mt. Sinai and why David entered into covenant with Yonathan (Jonathan).
2. To resolve a relational conflict or differences.  This was the reason why Ya’acov (Jacob) and Lavan (Laban) entered into covenant in the book of Bereshith (Genesis).
3. To reconcile and re-establish a relationship that had been broken.  This is the motivating reason for the “new covenant,” in the “New Testament” (or B’rit Chadasha) and for the future “Millennial covenant” called “the covenant of peace” (Ezekiel 34:25-31; 37:15- 28).

There is a future covenant coming with the Messianic Kingdom, and it will focus on universal peace, prosperity, security, and blessings.  And of course, with every Divine Covenant, there is more Scripture.  So looking at the spectrum of eternity, the Bible is not finished.  It is finished as far as what we have, but it is not finished in comparison to what is still to come.

— A Covenant – A Two-Sided Relationship?

In a covenant, both parties are to maintain ’emunah (faithfulness, firmness, reliability, trustworthiness) and chesed (mercy, lovingkindness, steadfast covenantal love, favor, grace) with one another.  These are not one-sided, but they are to go both ways.  Also, chesed is not about what you feel, it is about what you do.  It is about being faithful to the covenant and going above and beyond what is normally required.  Finally, in a covenant, both partners are supposed to do everything that they can to help one another succeed. When we compare this to the mainstream teachings of Christianity, we can see that mainstream Christianity does not truly teach covenant, since they believe that God has done it all and there is nothing left for people to do but “believe.” Many of them want HASHEM to help them to succeed, but they don’t go out of their way to help HASHEM to succeed.  Thus, what they call “a relationship” is only ONE-SIDED, and it is not really a relationship at all.

— 4 Types of Covenants

It is important to note that not every covenant is the same.  There are actually FOUR different types of covenants, and these four are the following brief descriptions:

1. Patriarchal Covenant: Self-imposed obligations of a superior party for the benefit of an inferior party.  Covenantal terms: “Father” and “son” (example: Davidic covenant)
2. Suzzerain or Vassal Covenant: A one-sided disposition imposed by a superior party upon an inferior party.  Covenantal terms: “lord/master” and “servant/slave.” (example: Mosaic Covenant)
3.  Land Grant Covenant: A Gift, usually allotment of land, was given by a king to a servant or individual as a reward for a job well done.
4. Parity [Mutual] Covenant: A two-sided agreement between two parties, both of which voluntarily accept the terms.  Covenantal terms: “brother” or “friend.” (examples: Abrahamic covenant; Messianic covenant; and marriage]

Some may argue with me about the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 15 being a Parity Covenant, but I will show this is what it is, and that it is through this covenant that God acquired the people and nation of Isra’el to be His people, rather than at Mt. Sinai, as many believe.

THE COVENANT RITUAL

After asking His question, HASHEM had him prepare things for a well-known covenant ritual discussed in a variety of sources; in fact, it was still practiced in Africa, I have heard it was still being practiced.  HASHEM had Avram take the following animals yo use for this covenantal ritual:

A 3-year-old heifer                                                    A turtle dove

A 3-year-old she-goat                                                A young pigeon

A 3-year-old ram

Each of the animals were divided in half, except for the birds, they were to remain whole.  Once divided, each half of the animal was placed across from the other half making a walk way of blood between the two halves, called “the walk of death.”  In this ritual, the parties involved would take turns walking in figure eights through the pieces and then meet in the middle where they will exchange vows and curses.  Some have speculated that it is from this ritual where the infinity symbol has been derived.

Once the two individuals meet in the middle, they exchange a series of the following items:

1. They Exchanged Possessions.  These possessions represented one another’s possessions, strengths, and liabilities.  For example, they would exchange their weapons, and the belt that would hold them, and then promise to teach them how to use it.  All that Party A owned (or would ever own or have) would now belong to Party B, and all that Party B owned would belong to Party A. In this case, all that Avram owned or would ever own), and this would include himself, all his possessions, his liabilities, his future children and descendants would all belong to HASHEM, and Avram’s enemies would be HASHEM‘s enemies, and all that belonged to HASHEM, including Himself, His strengths, possessions, wealth, power, Spirit, His enemies, as well as any liabilities now belonged to Avram.
2. They Exchanged Names.  The exchange of names were done both by Avram and Sarai taking an “H” from HASHEM‘s name, making their names now Avraham and Sarah, and HASHEM took Avraham’s name, thus becoming the “G-d of Avraham.”
3. They exchange vows (blessings and curses).  Then they would exchange vows that they would do for one another (blessings), plus they would exchange vows of what they would do to the other, if they ever broke the covenant.  One of these would definitely be that the offending party were to die a physically painful death illustrated by the pieces of animals that they had just walked through.

However, when it came time for the ceremony, HASHEM put Avram “in a deep sleep” [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:2], the same phrase that is used with Adam in Genesis 2:21.  This indicates that HASHEM is going to do something creative and transforming here. In this “deep sleep” “a dread, a great darkness fell on him.” [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:12].  HASHEM then said to Avram,

know with certainty that your offspring shall be aliens in a land not their own, they will serve them, and they will oppress them four hundred years.  But also the nation that they shall serve, I shall judge, and afterwards they shall leave with great wealth.  As for you: you shall come to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.  And the fourth generation shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite shall not yet be full until then. [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:13-16, Chumash]

 After HASHEM prophecies the events we know to be the Exodus,  we read,

  The sun set, and it was very dark.  Behold – there was a smoky furnace and a torch of fire which passed between these pieces. On that day HASHEM made a covenant with Abram, saying “To your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River: the Kennite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite; the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, the Emorite, the Canaanite, The Girgashite, and the Jebusite. [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:17-20 Chumash]

In a vision, Avram saw “a smoky furnace” and “a torch of fire” walk between the pieces.  Now both groups of Jewish and Christian scholars and rabbis identify the “smoking furnace” and “torch of fire” as representing HASHEM.   Therefore, this makes this covenant unlike any other covenant that is presented throughout the Tanakh (aka, “Old Testament”).  It is the ONLY COVENANT where HASHEM is presented as going through the blood ritual of the ceremony to establish the covenant with an individual and his family.  Although blood is shed at all the other covenants established in the Tanakh (aka, “Old Testament”), HASHEM is never seen participating in any of those blood ritual parts of those ceremonies.  Now all of the interpretations of this covenantal ceremony that I have seen have said that this was just an elaborate way for HASHEM to say, “I Promise.”  Christians scholars say that by HASHEM going through the pieces by Himself, He changed the character and nature of the covenant from being a “conditional covenant” to an “unconditional covenant.”  This is where the “alleged experts” and me part company.

Let Us Go Deeper

If HASHEM walked through those pieces Himself – which is what most commentators state – then this covenant would NOT have been valid.  In order for this covenant to be valid, BOTH parties had to walk between the pieces.  Since Avram was “in a deep sleep,” am I saying that the Avrahamic covenant is not valid?  Not at all!!  I disagree with the “alleged experts” who say that when HASHEM walked between the pieces that He changed the character and nature of the ceremony.  I mean if He walked through Walmart, it would not it to becoming a luxury hotel.  It would still be Walmart.

But if Avram did not participate in the blood ritual, then ask yourself, how did HASHEM make “a covenant with Avram”?  And even if Avram had walked the pieces with HASHEM, then the covenant would have ended when Avram died.  It would not have been an eternal covenant.  Instead of just being an elaborate way to say, “I Promise,” I believe that it kept its conditional character and nature, and rather than HASHEM walking between the pieces just for Himself, HASHEM walked the pieces for BOTH  Himself AND as Avram’s legal proxy.  Instead since Avram did not walk through the pieces himself, HASHEM allowed him to see HASHEM walk through the pieces for him and Himself, and watched Him establish the covenant with him.

For HASHEM to walk between the pieces for the both of them, HASHEM not only represented Himself, but He also became the legal proxy/substitute for Avram and all of his descendants.  Thus, by doing so, HASHEM took upon Himself not only His own legal obligations to satisfy the requirements of the covenant — but He also took upon Himself ‘Avram’s and his descendants as well.

So What Did This Mean?

So what did this ceremony mean for both HASHEM and Avram?  I believe it meant the following:

For HASHEM	For Avram (as Avram’s Legal Proxy)
For HASHEM, it means that He promises to that He does all that He can to keep the covenant.	As Avram’s legal proxy, He promises to see to it to do all He can to make sure that Avram and his descendants maintain and keep the requirements of the covenant.  This explains the reason for the giving of the Torah, the sending of the prophets to get the people to repent and return to the Torah, the need for the sending of the Messiah Yeshua, His death, burial, and resurrection, so that the yetzer ra (evil impulse/sin nature) could be dealt with, the sending of the Spirit, so the community of Isra’el could be empowered to walk in obedience to the covenant.
It also means that if Avram or any of his descendants break the covenant, He promises to pursue that individual, even to the third or fourth generation, and see to it that He dies a physically painful death.	And if Avram or any of his descendants were to sin and break the covenant, then as Avram‘s legal proxy, HASHEM promised to die a physically painful death, represented by the pieces He had walked between.

Therefore, Avram’s assurance that he would receive the land (as well as all the other promises HASHEM has made) were based on this PROMISE OF LEGAL PROXY which HASHEM made when He walked through the pieces.  Also once Avraham and Sarah died, HASHEM became the covenantal Father to Avraham’s descendants.  This is why HASHEM is ONLY the Father to the people of Isra’el, for there is no other people that HASHEM has entered into blood covenant with in the world.  This is the reason that Isra’el is able to refer to God as ‘Aveinu (Our Father).

 The Mosaic Covenant – Not the Relationship Covenant?

There are many who have been misguided into thinking that the Mosaic Covenant is the great relationship of the Tanakh (Scriptures), but is not really true.  The Sinaitic Covenant did NOT replace or annul the PROMISE OF LEGAL PROXY, nor was it given to establish a relationship between HASHEM and and Isra’el; rather, it was given to establish Isra’el as a People, a Community, a Nation, and to regulate it in its conduct and attitude towards HASHEM and with others as well (both inside and outside of the Community/Nation.  It was the “covenant between the pieces” [Bereshith (Genesis) 15] that established Isra’el’s – and every believers’ relationship – with HASHEM, the Holy One of Isra’el, and this point is easy to demonstrate.

In Shemot (Exodus) 24, after Mosheh (Moses) reads to the people all the words of the Torah, the people respond, “We will obey every word HASHEM has spoken” (Shemot/Exodus 24:3).  Then, the next day, we read,

He sent the young men of the people of Isra’el to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings of oxen to HASHEM.  Mosheh [Moses] took half of the blood and put it in basins; the other half of the blood he splashed against the altar.  Then he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud, so that the people could hear; and they responded [again], “Everything that HASHEM has spoken, we will do and obey.”  Mosheh [Moses] took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT which HASHEM has made with you in accordance with all these words.”  Mosheh, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, and seventy of the leaders went up; and they saw the God of Isra’el.  Under his feet was something like a sapphire stone pavement as clear as th sky itself.  He did not reach out His hand against these notables of Isra’el; on the contrary, they saw God, even as they were eating and drinking. [Shemot (Exodus) 24:5-11, CJB]

Mosheh (Moses) has the young men “offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offering of oxen to HASHEM.”  He then takes the blood and puts it in basins and the other half he sprinkles on the OUTSIDE of the people.  The Book of the Torah has been written on the OUTSIDE of them (on stone tablets and on scrolls) and so, the blood was sprinkled on the OUTSIDE of them.  Interestingly, Mosheh (Moses) refers to this blood as “the BLOOD OF THE COVENANT” [Shemot (Exodus) 24:8), and then he, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, and seventy of the leaders go up and have a community feast with HASHEM.  They have now heard the commandments THREE TIMES [once from HASHEM speaking them and twice by Mosheh (Moses)] before Mosheh (Moses) goes back up the Mt. Sinai to get the two stone tablets and the commandments regarding the Tabernacle.  It is while he is gone, that the Golden Calf travesty happens.

While Mosheh (Moses) was up on the mountain getting the two tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments and the instructions for the Tabernacle, he children of Isra’el were being involved in he Golden Calf travesty.  In Exodus 32, we read,

HASHEM spoke to Mosheh [Moses], “Go descend – for your people that you brought up from Egypt has become corrupt.  They have strayed quickly from the way that I have commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, prostrated themselves to it and sacrificed to it, and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.'”  HASHEM said to Moses, “I have seen this people , and behold!  It is still a stiff-necked people.  And now, desist from Me.  Let My anger flare up against them and I shall annihilate them; and I shall make you a great nation.” [Shemot (Exodus) 32: 7-10, Chumash]

Mosheh (Moses) began to intercede for Isra’el.  He did this before going down the mountain to see what was happening himself.  Instead, he began to intercede for them to HASHEM.  And what Mosheh (Moses) does during his intercession proves that the covenant that HASHEM has just given them was NOT the relationship covenant.  He does not appeal to the covenant that they had just made with HASHEM, nor does he bring up how he, Aharon, Avihu, and the seventy leaders had eaten a feast with Him, and had even saw HASHEM – No, he does not to even mention any of this.  So what does he mention?

 REMEMBER FOR THE SAKE OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND ISRA’EL, YOUR SERVANTS, TO WHOM YOU SWORE BY YOURSELF, AND YOU TOLD THEM, “I SHALL INCREASE YOUR OFFSPRING LIKE THE STARS OF HEAVEN, AND THIS ENTIRE LAND OF WHICH I SPOKE, I SHALL GIVE TO YOUR OFFSPRING AND IT SHALL BE THEIR HERITAGE FOREVER.” [Shemot (Exodus) 32: 13, Chumash]

What happened after Mosheh (Moses) appealed to this covenant with Avraham and the patriarchs?  We read,

HASHEM RECONSIDERED REGARDING THE EVIL that He declared He would do to His people. [Shemot (Exodus) 32:14, Chumash]

When the relationship was being threatened because of what the people had done, Mosheh (Moses) did not appeal to the Sianitic covenant at all.  Instead, he appealed to the covenant that HASHEM had made with Avraham and that had been passed down among the other patriarchs.  So it is “THE COVENANT BETWEEN THE PIECES,” which is the RELATIONSHIP COVENANT – Not Mt. Sinai.

And in the letter written by the second-generation Pharisee, Sha’ul Paulus (Paul), he writes,

Here is what I am saying: the legal part of the Torah, which came into being 430 years later, DOES NOT NULLIFY an oath sworn by God, so as to abolish the PROMISE.  For if the inheritance comes from the legal part of the Torah, it no longer comes from a PROMISE.  But God gave it to AVRAHAM through A PROMISE.  (Galatians 3:17-18, CJB)

When did HASHEM give this PROMISE to Avraham?  When He walked “between the pieces.”

IN PART 4 OF THIS SERIES –
I will examine how what we are told in the “New Testament” actually addresses this PROMISE that HASHEM made when He walked through the pieces.

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