Adonai, God, made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
- Genesis 3:21 CJB
God said the wages of sin is death, hence the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament and in the New--up to the point of the Victory of the Cross. The blood of the animals didn't cleanse people of their sins, but God made it so that the blood covered their sins.
Which brings me back to Adam and Havah/Eve in Genesis 3:21. They had sinned and felt their nakedness (spiritual as well as physical). The wages of sin is death... but, it seems, not solely for the sinners. In order for their now-sinful spiritual and physical nakedness to be covered, God had to shed blood in order to cover their nakedness and, therefore, their sin.
If you don't know this already, you may appreciate learning that the Hebrew meaning of Yeshua is Salvation; so every time you read the word "salvation" in the Old and New Testaments, you're reading the name of Yeshua/Jesus.
Yeshua/Jesus -- the Last Adam, aka as the Second Adam to some -- God come to Earth in the flesh, shed HIS OWN BLOOD to pay for OUR sins, should we choose to receive the Redemption He paid for us, and all that comes with that, that is, what is required of us as Born Again in the Spirit.
I find that what I call "a first" as written about above also connects to another "first" found in Matthew 15:21-28 CJB.
Yeshua left that place and went off to the region of Tzor and Tzidon. A woman from Kena‘an who was living there came to him, pleading, “Sir, have pity on me. Son of David! My daughter is cruelly held under the power of demons!” But Yeshua did not say a word to her. Then his talmidim came to him and urged him, “Send her away, because she is following us and keeps pestering us with her crying.” He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Isra’el.” But she came, fell at his feet and said, “Sir, help me!” He answered, “It is not right to take the children’s food and toss it to their pet dogs.” She said, “That is true, sir, but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their master’s table.” Then Yeshua answered her, “Lady, you are a person of great trust. Let your desire be granted.” And her daughter was healed at that very moment.
This woman was a Gentile. She didn't have the benefit of the heritage and generations of teachings the Hebrews did. Most of them missed the signs of the time; she had no idea about what to look for--only what she could see with her own eyes and hear with her own ears. She, untutored, through her powerful love for her daughter (a perfect love that cast out all fear), believed He, Yeshua/Jesus, could set her daughter free from the demonic prison that held the girl and their family captive. She wasn't going to let go of this. But it wasn't her persistence that made the difference--it was her total trust in Him and His authority--that she had either witnessed or heard about.
Just as Yeshua/Jesus was the First Fruits of the Resurrection, this mother was the first fruits, you might say, of the Gentiles.
Havah/Eve persuaded Adam to sin, which led to God's first sacrifice to cover mankind's sins that required blood to be shed.
The First Adam sinned and brought death upon us. The Last Adam redeemed us, giving us the choice to choose eternal resurrected life or the eternal second death.
Yeshua/Jesus shed His blood to cleanse our sins, first, when we receive what He did for us on the Cross, and then each time we repent for our sins.
Havah/Eve "persuaded" the First Adam to sin; the Gentile mother "persuaded" Yeshua/the Last Adam to Save.
The Gentile mother's love caused her to not leave Yeshua/Jesus alone until He saved her daughter. Yeshua/Jesus' love for us is what kept Him on the Cross; it certainly wasn't the nails.
The love of that mother opened the door to Redemption for Gentiles. The love of our Lord not only opened that door but keeps it open as long as possible for even the most rebellious to receive the Gift of Grace and Redemption He paid for us with His blood.
As Pastor J.D. Farag says, it's a matter the the A, B, C's:
Admit you're a sinner.
Believe Jesus paid with His blood on the Cross to redeem you.
Call on the Lord and ask Him to lead you.
Signing off now... thankful to have left the New Age Deception for the Faithful and True Rock of Ages...
The peace of the Lord be upon you and yours.
Thank you, Joyce, for publishing this. It's not just uplifting, but also, informative. You have given me much to think about and act upon. You are an incredible blessing in my life.
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