Covenant of Blood | Pastor Woodie Fultz | From Stone to Fire Series

Devotional

Day 1: Sandals On, Staff in Hand

The Israelites stood in doorways smeared with lamb’s blood, sandals strapped tight. They tore roasted meat with teeth, bread without yeast sticking to their hands. Moses’ words hung in the air: “Eat it in haste.” Their belts cinched, staffs gripped, they waited for the shout to move. God didn’t call them to decorate graves but to ditch slavery. Preparation preceded promise. [03:25]

This meal wasn’t about comfort but covenant. The blood marked their obedience; the posture revealed their readiness. Slaves don’t get farewell parties. Freedom demands immediate response. Jesus later told His disciples to shake dust from their feet when rejected - another kind of readiness.

How many blessings have we missed because we preferred slippers to sandals? What doorframes in your life still need blood-applied obedience? Take inventory: What’s your “staff” - the thing you grip while waiting to move? When did you last check your spiritual laces?

“And thus you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.”
(Exodus 12:11, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to show you one area where He’s saying “Get ready” instead of “Get comfortable.”
Challenge: Physically lace your shoes today while praying, “I’m ready to move when You say.”

Day 2: Slaves Marching as Soldiers

Four hundred thirty years of brickmaking ended at midnight. Pharaoh’s wails echoed as former slaves shuffled out, shoulders hunched from whips yet called “armies” by God. No swords, no strategy - just a promise. Yahweh didn’t need their strength, only their surrender. The Red Sea would prove it. [05:40]

God names us what we’re becoming, not what we’ve been. These cowering masses would birth warriors like Caleb and David. Your resume of failures means nothing. He calls addicts “sober,” worriers “peaceful,” sinners “saints” - because covenant renames.

What Egypt-label still sticks to you? “Broken.” “Rejected.” “Damaged.” Tear it off. Who does your Father say you are? Write that name on a sticky note. When the old shame whispers tonight, read your new title aloud.

“And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.”
(Exodus 12:51, ESV)

Prayer: Confess three lies you’ve believed about your identity. Replace each with a covenant truth.
Challenge: Text one person this phrase: “God calls you __” (fill in a Christ-given identity for them).

Day 3: Seven Lambs at Beersheba

Abraham shoved seven ewes toward Abimelech. Dust swirled as the Philistine king squinted. “Why seven?” The answer thrummed with covenant math: seven meant completion, oath, divine witness. This well became “Beersheba” - the well of sevenfold swearing. Blood-bonds outlast treaties. [21:10]

Covenants cost. Abraham sacrificed livestock; God sacrificed His Son. Cheap grace demands nothing. True covenant transforms strangers into family, enemies into allies. Jesus offered living water to a Samaritan outcast, turning Jacob’s well into a salvation site.

Who’s your “Abimelech” - the person you’ve avoided but need to reconcile with? What “seven lambs” (tangible gesture) could bridge that gap? Will you let a well of strife become a well of oath?

“So that place was called Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.”
(Genesis 21:31, ESV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for His sevenfold oath to you through the blood. Name one relationship needing covenant repair.
Challenge: Write a forgiveness note (send or burn it) for someone who “seized your well.”

Day 4: From Blood Trench to Living Water

Covenant walkers trudged through animal blood, exchanging belts. Abraham knew this ritual. Centuries later, Jesus told a woman, “You’ve had five husbands.” But He didn’t walk through her shame - He became the trench. His blood mingled with hers at the well, making her a witness. [36:18]

Every covenant requires a mediator. Animal sacrifices pointed to the Lamb who’d say, “Drink My blood.” The woman left her jar - her survival tool - to proclaim Messiah. When you’re tethered to Living Water, you stop clinging to broken cisterns.

What jar are you still hauling? Approval? Control? Old wounds? Let it drop. How would your day change if you believed His blood already covered every failure?

“Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.’”
(John 4:13-14, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Christ to expose one “jar” you’re trusting more than His covenant.
Challenge: Drink a glass of water today as a physical reminder to thirst for Him alone.

Day 5: The Seven-Week Stride

Israel’s sandals wore thin during seven weeks from Passover to Sinai. Former slaves became covenant partners, tripping toward Pentecost. Forty years in the desert couldn’t erase those formative weeks. Transitions aren’t detours - they’re destiny incubators. [43:44]

God uses appointed times to recalibrate purpose. The disciples’ 50-day journey from crucifixion to Pentecost turned cowering fishermen into fiery witnesses. Your wilderness has expiration dates. That endless-feeling trial? It’s training for promised land warfare.

What transition feels pointless today? Job change? Health battle? Relocation? Write “Beersheba” over it - this struggle is your oath-well. How might this season be preparing you for Pentecost-level power?

“You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD.”
(Leviticus 23:16, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for one difficult transition that strengthened your covenant walk.
Challenge: Set a 7-day phone reminder: “This transition is my training ground.”

Sermon Summary

Passover sets the stage as God’s appointed start to a seven‑week transition, a covenant journey that begins with blood and ends in fire. Exodus 12 dresses Israel for motion, belt fastened, sandals on, staff in hand, because Passover either makes a person leap or limp. The word itself can mean both, so the question lands sharp. Will the challenges of the day make someone limp, or will the promises of heaven make that person leap. God brings Israel out “as an army” though they are slaves, so dependence on Yahweh becomes the curriculum. They do not know warfare, governance, or even Yahweh by His covenant name, but the Lamb’s blood on the door marks them out and teaches faith before they can explain doctrine.

Covenant then steps to the front. Abraham’s scene with Abimelech in Genesis 21 shows how covenant works. Abimelech sees that God is with Abraham and seeks an oath. The Hebrew swearing is to “seven oneself,” not a pinky swear but an appeal to the sacred fullness of seven, the completeness that belongs to God. A seized well must be settled because covenant runs two ways. Abraham comes prepared for peace, not for war. Covenant is cut, animals divided, blood pooled in a trench. Belts are exchanged, strength for strength, and both parties walk arm in arm through blood, sevening themselves with promises. Abraham sets apart seven ewe lambs as witnesses, pulling on God’s number, then names the place Beersheba, the well of the sevenfold oath. Israel will learn later that covenants are irrevocable, and that truth centers on Jesus, the Lamb slain once for all. At another well, Jesus offers living water to a Samaritan woman, sealing that the well story now flows with eternal life.

Once the angel passes over, it is time to move. Covenant refuses to let anyone stay a slave or hide in a comfort zone. A seven‑week appointment lies ahead, from Passover to Pentecost, not pointless but purposeful. The call now is to seven oneself to God, to come back under the blood on the doorpost, to renew the oath in the Lord’s Supper, and to say with life and lips, Jesus is Lord. In covenant, His strengths are theirs, and their strengths are placed in His hand for His purposes.

Key Takeaways

1. Leap, do not limp at Passover Passover calls for readiness and motion, not delay. The word itself presses a decision, because transition either cripples or launches. Faith leans on the blood and steps out with belt, sandals, and staff. Haste is obedience when God says move. [04:21]
2. Covenant cuts deeper than promises Biblical oath is not sentiment, it is sacrifice. Covenant is cut in blood, with exchanged strength and sworn loyalty that costs something real. Jesus, the Lamb slain once for all, fulfills every walk through the trench. His irrevocable blood secures peace, not war, between God and His people. [22:19]
3. Name the well of oath Abraham names Beersheba, the well of the sevenfold oath, so memory gets nailed down. Naming keeps covenant history from drifting into fog, and it calls present life to align with what God witnessed. Mark the places where God made peace and secured provision. Let those names train desire and decision. [30:59]
4. Seven yourselves to God now Sevening to God is covenant talk for whole‑life commitment anchored in God’s completeness. This is not a quick prayer to feel better, it is an oath of belonging that places strength, plans, and gifts in His hands. Under the blood on the door, the church receives His strength and gives its own. Now is the time to step back under that covering. [44:33]
5. Transitions are appointed, not pointless The in‑between is not wasted space, it is scheduled formation. God uses moves, disruptions, and detours to fit people to their appointments. The seven‑week arc to Pentecost still trains desire to walk by promise, not by comfort. Honor the timing, and let covenant carry the church forward. [43:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:23] - From Stone to Fire launch
[00:59] - Seven-week transition after Passover
[03:03] - Ready to move, Exodus 12
[03:56] - Leap or limp
[05:02] - Out as armies, not slaves
[08:22] - Knowing Yahweh by covenant
[11:37] - Covenant expands faith
[13:48] - Abimelech seeks an oath
[16:49] - To seven oneself explained
[22:19] - Cutting covenant in blood
[29:56] - Beersheba, the well of oath
[34:56] - Jesus offers living water
[37:41] - Covenant moves people out
[43:44] - Seven-week destiny period now

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Exodus 12:11 (ESV)
“In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.”

Genesis 21:22-32 (ESV)
[Passage recounts Abraham’s covenant with Abimelech, including the exchange of seven ewe lambs as witnesses.]

John 4:13-14 (ESV)
“Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

Observation questions

What specific instructions did God give the Israelites for eating the Passover meal, and what do these details symbolize about readiness? ([03:25])
In Genesis 21, why did Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs during his covenant with Abimelech, and what does this act represent?
How does Jesus’ offer of “living water” in John 4 contrast with the physical well the Samaritan woman relied on?

Interpretation questions

Why might God command the Israelites to eat the Passover meal dressed for immediate travel, even though they were slaves with no military training? What does this reveal about His view of their identity?
The Hebrew word for “swear” (shaba) literally means “to seven oneself.” How does the number seven (symbolizing God’s completeness) redefine the weight of covenant promises?
Jesus’ interaction at the well ties covenant to eternal life. How does His offer of “living water” fulfill the deeper longing behind Abraham’s well of oath in Genesis 21?

Application questions

The sermon emphasized that challenges can make us “leap” in faith or “limp” in doubt ([04:21]). What current situation in your life feels like a decision point between leaping (trusting God’s promises) or limping (resisting change)?
Covenant requires exchanging strengths with God ([26:17]). What personal strength, skill, or resource have you been hesitant to place fully in God’s hands for His purposes? What would surrendering it look like practically?
Abraham named the well Beersheba to mark God’s covenant faithfulness ([30:59]). What “wells” (specific moments, answered prayers, or breakthroughs) in your life need naming to remember God’s faithfulness?
The seven-week journey from Passover to Pentecost was a “scheduled formation” period ([43:44]). How might God be using a current transition or disruption in your life to prepare you for a future appointment?
The sermon warned against viewing transitions as “pointless” ([38:30]). What practical step could you take this week to reframe a frustrating delay or detour as purposeful training in dependence on God?
Covenant calls believers to “seven themselves” to God—a total commitment ([44:33]). What area of compromise or half-heartedness in your walk with God needs to be replaced with a “sevenfold oath” of loyalty?

Sermon Clips

43s

“You can't stay the way you were. You can't stay slaves. You can't stay in your comfort zone. We've got a journey to take. We've got appointed times ahead of us. We've got important things to do. God has a purpose for you. You can't stay where you are. Covenant always moves us out of the mundane nature of how we thought our lives were already framed. It says, have something brand new for you that you never even imagined. You may not fully understand covenant. You may not even fully understand the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, but the deed is done. We are moving into covenant. Get up.”

40s

“The concept of covenant instructs us long before the covenant that God made with Abraham. You remember where God said, prepare a covenant, sacrifices, and he gets everything ready. And then God puts him in a deep sleep, and he has a dream, and God comes down, and he walks through the covenant sacrifice. We're gonna talk about that, that process in a minute. But they walk he God walked through that. Then Abraham woke up, and it was all over. And God was demonstrating you couldn't walk through the covenant with me because of your sin, because of who you are, so I came down and did it for you.”

29s

“Never diminish your transitions as pointless. God has an appointment in your future. We would have never been able to walk into what god called us to do if we had not gone through all of those moves. That doesn't seem right to us. That doesn't compute. But we when we look back, we knew it was true because we knew what we would have been if we hadn't gone through those transitions.”

35s

“If you're in this house today and you need forgiveness of sins, forgiveness comes through the blood of the lamb. If you need to be free of a habit or free of a situation, freedom comes through the blood of the lamb. Your covenant, the covenant with God that you didn't earn and you couldn't walk through the ditch with Jesus. He walked through for you so that you could just receive it. You can receive it today.”

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Covenant of Blood | Pastor Woodie Fultz | From Stone to Fire Series | Reigning Church