Seal the Deal.
When the sun had fully set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a fiery torch passed between the animal pieces. – Genesis 15:17 ISV
It was a different kind of season for Abram. The Lord had prospered him beyond measure, blessed all of his endeavors, and made the man’s success as undeniable as his calling. Everyone could see that God was with him. It was clear that Abram was in the right place. He was doing the right thing. He had the right God. But what he didn’t have was a son.
One night God called to Abram and promised to make his descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram believed the promise, but then chose to ask for a sign. God obliged by instructing him to offer a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove and a pigeon. Abram obeyed, slayed the animals and then arranged them in pieces before the Lord. Soon thick darkness fell on the land, and a smoking fire pot and a blazing torch began to pass among those pieces. The Lord had just made a covenant.
In ancient times, people entering into a covenant would cut animals like the ones just mentioned in half, arrange them in a specific order, and walk between the pieces as a sign of fidelity to the agreement being made. This gesture was done to affirm that if either party ever broke the covenant, the violator would deserve the same consequence as the animals. So when the Lord passed among the pieces in the form of a fire pot and a torch, He used fire to guarantee the fulfillment of His word. Since God was the only one to pass between the pieces, He was the only one obligated to fulfill the covenant. He willfully took on the responsibility of manifestation to teach Abram that people can bring faith, but only God can bring fulfillment. And for Abram, fulfillment began with fire.
The Lord came to Abram in fire to shift him from a realm of faith to a dimension of sight. In so doing, He opened the eyes of Abram’s understanding and allowed the man to see manifestation, not just long for it. That illumination enabled Abram to believe and receive from the very place that God had released the promise. In that place he would become Abraham, the father of many, and eventually, the Father of Faith. As those grafted into his lineage of faith, our very foundation is connected to covenant and to the fire of God.
Like a torch that binds together the frayed ends of a rope, the fire of God seals every prophetic promise through the power of Holy Spirit. When Holy Spirit releases that fire, He binds our lives to faith and fulfillment and empowers us to take up the torch of the Word (Eph. 1:13). As we embrace Him, we intensify in purpose, manifestation and intimacy with God because we know He has already sealed the deal. And if ever we are tempted to doubt, all we have to do is go outside and count the stars.