In the ancient world, covenant ceremonies were very serious. When animals were cut and laid opposite each other, both parties would normally walk between the pieces. The message was clear:
“If I break this covenant, may I become like these animals.”
This is why later in the Bible God rebukes Israel for breaking covenant in exactly this context:
“The men who violated my covenant… I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.”— Jeremiah 34:18
So the act symbolized accepting the penalty of death if the covenant was broken.
But in Genesis 15 something astonishing happens.
Only God Walks Through the Pieces
Abraham does not walk through the pieces. Instead, he falls into a deep sleep.
Genesis 15:17 says:
“A smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the pieces.”
These represent the presence of God.
So the covenant becomes one-sided. God alone walks between the sacrifices.
In effect God is saying:
“I will guarantee this covenant. If it fails, the responsibility will fall on Me.”
That is an extraordinary statement. Because throughout history humanity repeatedly fails God. If the covenant depended on human faithfulness, it would collapse immediately.
But this covenant depends on God’s faithfulness alone.
The Covenant and the Cross
This is where the connection to the cross becomes profound.
In a normal covenant, the one who breaks it pays the price. Humanity is the one that breaks covenant with God again and again. Yet in Genesis 15 God had already symbolically declared that He Himself would bear the consequence.
The cross is where that covenant logic reaches its fulfillment.
The penalty of covenant breaking—death—falls not on humanity but on Christ. The One who walked through the covenant ceremony ultimately bears the cost Himself.
In other words, the covenant with Abraham already pointed forward to the gospel.
Why Hebrews 6 Mentions the Oath
Hebrews 6:17–18 explains that God did this so the heirs of the promise would have strong assurance.
God did two things:
- He made a promise.
- He confirmed it with an oath.
The writer says these are “two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie.”
The heirs of that promise are those who belong to Christ, as Galatians 3:29 says.
So the covenant was never merely about Abraham having many descendants. It was about God establishing a promise that would ultimately bless the entire world through Christ.
The Security of the Covenant
Because God both promised and swore an oath, the covenant rests entirely on His character. That is why Hebrews says believers can have strong consolation and firm hope.
Our confidence does not come from our ability to keep covenant with God.
Our confidence comes from the fact that God has bound Himself to His promise.
He swore by Himself because there is nothing greater than God.
Why This Matters
The covenant shows the depth of God’s commitment to His word.
God did not simply say He would bless Abraham.
He swore an oath.
He established a covenant.
And He ultimately fulfilled the cost of that covenant in Christ.
That is why the writer of Hebrews says believers can “flee for refuge” to the hope set before them.
The covenant is not fragile. It rests on the unchanging nature of God.
And because of that, the promise cannot fail.
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