The Seven Signs of Covenant.

In Ancient times men made blood covenants with each other and there were seven signs of a covenant. Just three of the signs would make the covenant legal.

The Seven Signs of Covenant.
1.
Each man handed his outer garment to the other, symbolizing that everything belonging to one also belonged to the other.
Jesus gave us His robes of righteousness and clothed Himself in our garment of sin.
2.
Exchanging sword, bow, and other weapons indicated that each was pledging himself to the other’s defence; placing his power, as it were, at the other’s disposal.
Jesus pledged His sword (the Word of His mouth) to our defence.
3.
They each cut themselves in the wrist to make their blood flow and then joined their right hands and forearms together in a gesture from which we get the modern handshake. The idea here was that the blood from one was now mixed with the blood from the other. The two had become one. In some cultures a bride and groom still cut themselves and mingle
their blood this way, and the American Indian notion of becoming “blood brothers” is also derived from this. (The Hebrew word translated covenant literally means to cut so that blood flows. It could apply to the animals, the men, or both.)
We use the phrase, “blood is thicker than water.” It usually refers to the strength of family relationships, but its original intent was different. It meant that the blood of the covenant surpassed the birth waters. Covenant relationships exceeded family ties in strength and durability.
Jesus had His wrists cut, and healed so as to leave scars as evidence of the covenant.
4.
They let the cut heal in such a way as to leave a visible scar on their wrist. This was to alert people that they were stronger than they appeared to be, since others stood behind them pledged to their defence.
Jesus allowed His blood to flow into and over us, cleansing us of all our impurities.
5.
They shared a ceremonial meal, usually of bread and wine. It was another way of uniting them since to this day middle-Easterners believe that sharing from the same loaf of bread or the same flask of wine binds the participants together. Melchizedek and Abraham shared such a meal.
Jesus shared a covenant meal with us and asked that we do this with each other as a memorial to Him. It is also bread and wine.
6.
Still another way was for each to take a portion of the other’s name, similar to the way the bride takes the name of the groom in Western culture. (When God entered into a covenant with Abram He changed his name to Abraham, requiring us to exhale when we speak his name. The exhaled breath symbolizes the Ruach Elohim or Spirit of God that the Lord breathed into Adam upon his creation.)
Jesus gave us the right to use his name.
7.
And finally they built a monument or memorial to the ceremony. This could be something as simple as a pile of stones or as complex as a forest or a flock of animals, such as when Jacob and Laban formed their covenant.
They went through such ceremony because their lives depended on their covenant partners. There could be no doubt in their minds as to each other’s reliability.
Jesus built a monument, His covenant flock, and said the gates of Hell would not prevail against it.
And as in Abraham’s case, all we have to do is receive it. It’s unconditional and perpetual.