God the Father entered into an eternal covenant with His son before the creation of the world. God chose blood covenants (the ultimate and final one being Christ’s sacrifice on the cross) as a way to both relate to us and reveal more of Himself to us. God designed the terms of blood covenant to demonstrate His airtight, immovable faithfulness and love toward us. God shares His heart and plan for us to be restored to relationship with Him. He is a God who loves to reveal more of Himself into our hearts and understanding. He desires for us to know Him more closely. He wants us to know Him intimately. God desired that we would know Him and understand more about His deep and abiding love for us, gaining insight into just how serious He is about being faithful to us.
Covenants may vary in format, but their essence is the same: a covenant is an intensely loyal bond entered into by two parties, individuals, or groups. An interesting point to note is that a blood covenant is an UNBREAKABLE bond entered into for life. It covers everyone represented by the two parties as well as all their descendants, including those yet unborn.
The terms of the covenant are constructed and then sealed through a series of steps, including:
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- a ceremony with the exchange of gifts
- the exchange of belts and weapons
- the pledging of solemn promises
- oaths
- the shedding and mixing of blood
- an exchange of names
- a covenant meal
- a covenant memorial
- a covenant scar
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While each step in the cutting of covenant is important and brimming with meaning, I only want to highlight two: the exchange of gifts and the exchange of belts and weapons.
In the exchange of gifts, covenant representatives exchanged tunics as a symbol of their now combined goods and assets. This tunic exchange said, in effect, “All I am and all I have is yours. I am at your disposal. All you need to do is ask.”
In the exchange of belts and weapons, the covenant representatives exchange their belts and weapons with one another. This signified a pledge of unending loyalty and that one would fight and protect the other’s interests. In essence, the exchange of belts and weapons said, “I will stand with you, even if you are in the wrong. I am here for you. I will hold nothing back to pledge my loyalty to you—even if it means my death!”
All the steps of the covenant, lead to an understanding—a pledge and unshakable commitment between the two parties. The parties involved become one entity. Their formerly separate interests and lives are now merged into one. Their destinies, purpose, and common interests are now one. Former enemies are now one.
The covenant entered into is airtight and permanent. The covenant love is for the other party rather than for one’s self. True covenant mentality, in its richest and purest form, is God-given and opens the door for us to understand even more how much God loves us.