More Than Medicine
More Than Medicine
DWDP - Gen. 3:20-21 The Trial of Blood
The scarlet thread of redemption begins in the Garden of Eden with a profound act of divine mercy. When Adam names his wife "Eve," meaning life, it reveals a remarkable spiritual transformation—the first humans had repented of their rebellion and embraced God's promise of a coming Redeemer.
This episode of "Devotions with Dr. Papa" explores Genesis 3:20-21, where we witness the origin of blood atonement. After Adam and Eve's failed attempt to cover themselves with fig leaves, God sacrifices an animal to clothe them properly. This becomes the first link in the scarlet thread that weaves throughout Scripture—from Abel's accepted sacrifice and Noah's burnt offerings to Abraham's test with Isaac and the Passover lamb in Egypt. Each blood sacrifice foreshadows the ultimate atonement that would come through Christ.
Dr. Jackson powerfully reminds us that nothing we do can erase even a single sin. No religious activity, moral achievement, or social status can atone for our transgressions. When standing before God's judgment, only one plea remains valid: trust in the blood of Jesus. As the beloved hymn declares, "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood." The animal skin garments in Eden point directly to Calvary's cross, where God's plan of redemption reaches its perfect fulfillment in Christ's sacrifice. This timeless truth offers us the same path to restoration that Adam and Eve discovered—repentance, faith, and the divine covering that only God can provide.
Join us next week as we finish examining Genesis chapter 3. Until then, remember that true contentment comes only through trusting and obeying God—a lesson first learned in humanity's earliest days.
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Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr Robert Jackson.
Dr Robert Jackson:Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your Bibles and let's look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word, who is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dr Robert Jackson:Today we're in Genesis, chapter 3, verse 20 and 21. Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The Lord God, made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And clothed them. Previous verses that we've discussed pronounced the great curse which we have discussed at length. God also promised a coming Redeemer. When God promised a Redeemer, instead of doubting God's Word like Adam and Eve did when Satan first tempted them, this time they believed God's promise.
Dr Robert Jackson:Now, how do we know that? Well, look at what Adam named his wife. He didn't continue to bow up in further rebellion and anger after God had pronounced the curse. He didn't name her Cursed One or Rebellious One, a repentant heart, a trusting attitude and a willingness to now submit himself to the Lord and obey God's original command to be fruitful and multiply by naming her Eve, which means life. Now, why would he do that? Well, it's because she was to become the mother of all the living. Obviously, both of them had repented of their rebellion and were now willing to do what God expected. Well, what God expects of all of us, which is to trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
Dr Robert Jackson:Many of you remember that song from way back when, when most of us in our childhood sang hymns out of the hymn book and we learned that the only way to be happy in Jesus was to trust and obey. And what's true for you and me today was true for them Trusting and obeying God is the only way to experience true contentment in this life. Now, there's a lot of truth in that hymn and I want to say that again. Dear listener, get that down deep in your heart. Trusting and obeying God is the only way for you and me to experience true contentment in this life. God promised that the seed of the woman would bring eventual salvation to all mankind. So they chose to believe that particular promise and they set about to obey His command, to be fruitful and multiply.
Dr Robert Jackson:True faith in God's Word is always preceded by personal repentance. So Adam and Eve repented of their rebellion and they began to obey God. That was true for Adam and Eve and that's true for you and me. True repentance is always followed by sincere obedience. When you and I meet so-called Christians who are all talk and no action, in other words, hypocritical folks, their repentance is fake. Adam and Eve had no way to see into the future and understand the long-term consequences of their brief rebellion against God. But I do believe they repented. They cast themselves on the mercy of God. Therefore Adam named his wife Eve, meaning life, because she was the mother of all living.
Dr Robert Jackson:Now let's look at verse 21. Now we've talked about this verse briefly, let's talk about it at length. Today. The Lord, god, made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Here is the beginning of the scarlet thread, the trail of blood that runs throughout Because of their grievous sin. God made coats of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed them himself. With great sadness, adam and Eve watched as God killed one or maybe two of their former friends, spilling their blood to make for them a covering to atone for their wickedness.
Dr Robert Jackson:Listen to this verse in Leviticus, chapter 17 and verse 11, and you'll better understand. For the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement. That word atonement means a covering To make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood, by reason of the life, that makes atonement. You see, elsewhere the Bible says without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins, there's no remission of sins. Adam and Eve in this experience, they learned from the very start that a man-made covering that means the fig leaves was inadequate and only an atonement provided by God himself would suffice. That's why God had regard for Abel's blood sacrifice a little bit later and rejected Cain's vegetable sacrifice, which led to Cain's wrath and eventual murder of his brother Abel. Much, much later, when Noah exited the ark, he sacrificed animals in a blood sacrifice as God directed him.
Dr Robert Jackson:And we see this trail of blood, the scarlet thread, continuing to weave its way through the scriptures. And then later, abraham, upon God's direction, nearly sacrificed Isaac, his only son. But then God provided a substitute when he pointed out a ram in the thicket, which then points to our eventual substitute the Lord Jesus Christ. The Hebrews sacrificed the Passover lamb on the night before leaving Egypt, creating a permanent picture of our eventual Passover lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that scarlet thread continues to weave its way through the Holy Scriptures.
Dr Robert Jackson:The Levitical system of sacrifices, instituted by God through Moses, involved many blood sacrifices, but each one pointed to a promised Messiah who would one day come and deliver us from our sin. And you see, that trail of blood is woven into the warp and woof of the sacred pages, and Holy Scriptures can only be understood in the context of the scarlet thread that is woven throughout. The scarlet thread of blood sacrifice is continuously pointing to the climactic event in Scripture, which is the cross of Calvary, where God, the Father, poured out His just wrath on the sin of man, on His only Son, who paid a debt we could not pay and died a death he did not deserve to provide for us a salvation so great that we can barely comprehend. But please understand that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. As Peter told us, the trail of blood started in the garden when God sacrificed a lamb to cover Adam and Eve's sin. He continues to cover our sin today with the blood of Jesus, our Passover lamb.
Dr Robert Jackson:Now let me ask you a question what can you do to erase a single sin? The answer is nothing. We sing a song out of our hymn book that says what can wash away my sin? And the answer is nothing but the blood. When you stand before God in heaven and he says why should I let you into my heaven?
Dr Robert Jackson:Dear listener, don't start saying anything about how good you are, or your lack of badness, or your church attendance, or singing in the choir, or going to the women's missionary union, or giving money to the church, or that your granddaddy was a preacher, or that you were a Republican and you voted for Donald Trump. Don't say any of those things. The only right answer is that you trusted in the blood of Jesus. This is my only hope, this is my only plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. O Lamb of God, I come. You're listening to Devotions with Dr Papa. If you like what you hear, share it with your friends, follow, like, share or download it. We'll be back again next week to finish up Genesis, chapter 3. And until then, may the Lord bless you real good.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, dr Jackson's books, or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their webpage at jacksonfamilyministrycom. This podcast is produced by Bob Slone Audio Production at bobslone. com.
