Page 15 - Why Israel?
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WHY ISRAEL 9
“The Departure of Abraham” by József Molnár.
Abraham obeyed God’s command to leave his home and trek to an unknown land, initiating the opportunity for God to fulfill His promise.
an unknown land, initiating the opportunity for God to fulfill His promise. In response to Abram’s obedience, God solidifies and confirms His covenant through a covenant-cutting ceremony (see Genesis 15).
In the Ancient Near East, it was common for two people to make a covenant by cutting animals in half, splitting the halves, and then walking in between the pieces to make an oath. By walking between the split animals, each person was swearing that if they broke their part of the agreement, they would meet the same end as the sacrificed animal.
However, in Genesis 15, only One party walks through the pieces: God Himself, in the form of a “smoking oven and a flaming torch” (Genesis 15:17).
(Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
