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Ever since the time of Adam and Eve, the Lord has showed His love and compassion for the people of His Creation. After those first two people had sinned by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they had been afraid to be in His presence because they had known that they were naked. Genesis 3:9-10 says, "And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked ; and I hid myself." So just as having disobeyed the Lord's command about eating fruit from that tree had made them realize that they had been naked, sin in a person's life will also make that individual feel naked when he or she stands before the Lord in judgment. Adam and Eve had not been very comfortable with their predicament. By the same token, those people that leave this existence NOT SAVED will also NOT be very comfortable when they stand before the Lord in judgment. Fortunately, though, no one has to endure that kind of discomfort because God has ALWAYS showed His love and compassion for the people of His Creation.

In the case of Adam and Eve, He had showed His love and compassion by providing them with a covering for their sin. Genesis 3:21 says, "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them ." That verse says that He had made garments from animal skins and that they had used those garments to cover their nakedness. His gesture had showed the first animal sacrifices in the Bible. Their gesture of having received those garments shows that they had been the first people in this existence to receive God's salvation. By giving them clothing, the Lord had showed His forgiveness for their sin and their disobedience. Not coincidently that whole scenario also figuratively pictures the death of Jesus on the cross that would occur about four thousand years later. The death of the animals had provided covering for the nakedness of Adam and Eve. The death of Jesus on the cross provides covering for the sin of ALL those people that have come to Him by faith. David wrote in Psalm 32:1, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered ."

About fifteen hundred years after Adam and Eve had been forced out of the Garden of Eden because of their sin the children of Israel had been put in Egyptian bondage through no fault of their own. By that time the Great Flood had already happened. Abraham had already been born. Joseph had already saved much of the known world during a very severe famine that had occurred during his lifetime. Lastly as was just indicated, the children of Israel had been placed in bondage in Egypt because their growing population had caused the Egyptians to feel threatened. However, the Egyptians had been very cruel taskmasters towards the children of Israel. In fact, they had actually made their lives very hard and very miserable. Exodus 1:13-14 says, "And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour." So the Lord had raised Moses to deliver His people from their bondage .

He had initially sent Moses to Pharaoh to demand the freedom of His people. But when Pharaoh had stubbornly said that he would not let them go, God had sent a variety of plagues upon the people of Egypt. After having sent nine fairly troubling plagues, though, the final plague that He sent had been the severest by far. He had said through Moses that He would send a death angel through the land and that that angel would kill the first born child of every Egyptian family. Exodus 11:4-6 says, "And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die , from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more." However, the Lord had once again showed His love and compassion for His people by making for them a way of escape.

The children of Israel had been protected from the destruction of the death angel by spreading the blood of a lamb over the lintel and the side posts of their house. Exodus 12:21-24 says, "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover . And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you . And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever." So that night of destruction and agony throughout Egypt had been the very first Passover for the children of Israel. But the Lord through Moses had instructed them to continually observe that night as their Passover once each year forever. So just as the covering for Adam and Eve that was discussed above had been symbolic in God's plan of salvation, the first Passover in Egypt had also been very symbolic in His plan.

It was stated above that the death of Jesus on the cross provides a covering for the sin of ALL of those people that come to Him by faith. More specifically, it is actually His shed blood that had resulted from that death on the cross that provides the covering for sin. Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ ." I John 1:7 says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin ." So, one can see a clear picture of biblical salvation by examining the animal sacrifice that had been offered in the Garden of Eden and the spreading of the blood of the Passover lamb during the very first Passover.

The blood of Christ has the power to COVER the sin of even the vilest sinner. His blood also causes the death angel of the final judgment to PASS OVER all of those people that have come to Him by faith. Therefore, true biblical salvation is ONLY possible for those people that have come or that will come by faith to the "Creator of Everything" who is also Jesus. The Scriptures confirm from cover to cover that there is simply no other way. God had offered the first animal sacrifice in the Bible. He had also used Moses to lead in the very first Passover for the children of Israel. The reason for all of His efforts is very simple. II Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." He simply does not want anyone to leave this existence eternally separated from Him.

Life Application : A person would do well to receive God's ONLY covering for sin and to paint the blood of Christ on the doorpost of his or her heart. Those things are done ONLY by seeking the Lord, by committing to Him, by trusting in Him, and by entering into a personal relationship with Him.