Faithfulness and Covenant Love

Abram was a very faithful guy.  More faithful than I probably would be.  God told him to get up, leave home, move somewhere he had never been, and that God would give him that land.  In Genesis 15, we read about the covenant made between God and Abraham.

A description of a covenant ceremony is in order.  Basically, this is what happens.  The two covenant parties would cut several animals (in this case, a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, a dove and a pigeon) in half lengthwise, lay the two halves on a path, and walk between the two lines of animal halves.  The two parties agree that what happened to the two animals would happen to them if they failed to fulfill the oath.  Then, you’re done.

So, what happens with God and Abram?  God causes Abram to fall asleep, where He reveals more to him about his destiny.  But He also keeps Abram asleep until the right time.  Then, just as Abram woke, He saw a firepot with a blazing torch passing between the animals.

What that means is this:  God had created a unilateral covenant with Abraham.  God was in effect saying, “The burden of keeping this covenant is upon Me.”  God was giving His oath that He would be faithful to the terms of the covenant even despite the faithlessness of those whom He made a covenant with.

Let this be a reminder to us all that God’s promises are rock solid.  They are there for us, and He will always prove faithful to us.

Capital Punishment

For those who read the story of Noah, one cannot help but read the passage at the end of the story where God demands an accounting for the life of his fellow man.  Reading the passage, you see that in essence, God was deeming capital punishment not just permissible, but expected.  Why would a loving, kind God, who is our Beloved Father, not just allow, not just condone, but demand the life of a murderer?

The simple answer is this:  We are made in the image of God Himself.  To allow someone to take the life of another person, who was made in God’s image would be tantamount to defiling Himself.  Humanity is special in God’s eyes, and to allow people to wantonly take another person’s life would be to treat God with disdain.

If you read through the bible, you will notice that murderers and criminals were condemned to die, and the elderly and infant (the least capable of defending themselves) were to be protected at all costs.  In today’s world, the liberalist agenda has reversed those orders.  Criminals and murderers are receiving more and more protection from the system.  In contrast, men like Jack Kevorkian are taking lives and promoting “euthanasia.”  Our president-elect has made it very clear that he is supportive of abortion and would work to further abortion rights in America.  If there is any more telling evidence that our nation and our world is heading in the wrong direction from that desired by Holy GOD, I would be shocked.

I realize that God’s way is not the most popular way.  It just happens to be the right way.