When Adam and Eve yielded to the snare of Satan, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings” (Gen. 3:7). Having lost their covering of God’s glory, Adam and Eve tried in vain to cover themselves by sewing fig leaves together. The fact that they even tried to make clothes for themselves showed that they realized their need for a covering.
I am fully convinced that before the fall the first man and woman did not see their physical nakedness as shameful. They may have been without clothing as a means of covering, but I believe they were covered with the glory of God.
Because they were accustomed to being blanketed with God’s glory, after they sinned they made themselves a covering (Gen. 3:7). When they first gained sight of self, they realized how empty and exposed they truly were and even “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8).
The instant they yielded to temptation they lost God-consciousness and gained self-consciousness. They lost sight of God and His glory. And at that point they tried through their own works to substitute the natural for the supernatural by being covered by fig leaves rather than God’s glory, which they had known.
The Scriptures declare later that they heard the voice of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day saying, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:8–9).
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And Adam answered, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Gen. 3:10).
God wasn’t inquiring as to their physical location in the garden. He wanted to know, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Gen. 3:11).
Adam responded by blaming his wife and God when he said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12). When God asked the woman, she blamed the devil. “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen. 3:13).
Nothing has changed. Mankind still refuses to take the blame for anything. When there’s a tragedy, God is still blamed. Insurance companies even avoid the financial responsibility for certain liabilities based upon “an act of God.” The world blames God, and the church blames the devil. Yet sometimes it’s neither God nor the devil who is responsible—it’s you!
Now when all these events took place, God did something marvelous. He initiated the first blood sacrifice. We must remember that after Adam and Eve sinned, they ran from the presence of God. Previously clothed with His glory, they were now naked and ashamed. In desperation, they attempted to cover themselves with leaves.
That is when God selected some animals, perhaps lambs, and killed them. He covered the man and woman with the skins of the slain animals (Gen. 3:21). I believe the animals had just been killed and the skins were still moist with blood when God used them to cover Adam and Eve.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Gen. 3:21, KJV).
Please note: God’s first sacrifice covered Adam and Eve’s sin with animals’ blood. His final sacrifice covered you and me with the blood of His only begotten Son. When the Bible says, “It is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11), the word atonement means “to cover.” That is why I believe the shedding of blood had to be a part of the covering. When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their close communion with God. But through the blood covenant, God was declaring that their sins were atoned for. The blood would one day bring back the fellowship and joy. {eoa}
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