21 Unto Adam also and to his wife
did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
(Gen 3:21)
There was a brief period in the annals of time in which mankind had no
awareness whatsoever of sin and was held to be wholly innocent owing to that
ignorance. But that sinless period did not survive the lives of our first
parents of Eden – Adam and Eve. Having intentionally chosen the tainted fruit
of Satan (Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) over that of the Lord Jesus
Christ (Tree of Life), these forebears of the human race brought the penalty of
sin (death) upon all Creation and not merely upon mankind. The beauty of God’s
Creation was immediately subjected to the penalty of sin brought upon it by
that federal head (Adam) who had been granted dominion over the land, the
animals, and the ocean seas. Until their willful disobedience, death did not
exist in God’s Creation.
Eve was definitely in the transgression for going before the ill-minded Tree,
stopping there, communicating in ungodly fellowship there with the Serpent, and
then allowing herself to be deceived thereby. But Adam was not deceived. He
likely ate of the fruit out of love for his bride knowing the dire
consequences; just as Christ died for His Bride, the Church, knowing full well
the terrible means of that death. The justification for a male-only clergy may
derive from the tendency of the soft heart of woman to be easily deceived out
of a tender regard that is not tempered by judgment. 12 But I suffer not a woman to
teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then
Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but
the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be
saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with
sobriety. (1
Tim 2:12-15) Paul
gives the reason for this principle as being based upon the nature of Eve to be
easily beguiled by the serpent (seduced, nasha, in Hebrew). Compare
meaning of beguile here: 14 Having eyes full of
adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart
they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: (2 Peter 2:14)
Whatever attracted Eve to hear, and believe, the serpent; she was distracted to
say the least from the one commandment of God.
Sin has a terrible consequence. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans
6:23) Wages of
which sins? ANY AND ALL! A single sin brings the penalty of death for God will
not countenance sin in His Heaven. There does, however, remain a Balm in
Gilead! The prophet, in anticipation of
the coming Redeemer, wails, 20 The harvest is past, the summer
is ended, and we are not saved. 21 For the hurt of the daughter of
my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is
there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my
people recovered?
(Jer 8:20-22)
The daughter of his people is being recovered in the strong testimony of the
Church and her people. Unfortunately, most of our modern ‘institutions of
worship” are anything but the Church and Bride of Christ. So knowing that our
sins warrant death, what is that remedy in Gilead?
Before their disobedience to God, the first man and woman (husband and wife)
were not guilty of sin. They were naked but this was not a matter of concern
for they recognized no need for a covering for their nakedness. But sin brought
an abrupt halt to that innocence. Instead of listening to that Ancient Voice
that first spoke at their quickening TO LIFE, they looked for a ‘different’ and
strange voice – the same for which many churches search today with itching
ears. Seek and ye shall find works
both ways. If we seek God, we shall find Him by and by; but if we seek the
devil, never to worry, he stands in the natural setting around us – as near as
the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil!
Becoming suddenly aware of the terror and guilt of sin, read the account of our
primal parents’ action in the Garden: 9 And the LORD God called
unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice
in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that
thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that
thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom
thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the
woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent
beguiled me, and I did eat.
(Gen 3:9-13)
God desires to know WHERE we are with respect to His Word. Where are you? Are
you in the bushes of Scripture study, or do you stand on the heights of the
mountain peak? Where art thou?
God is concerned for us. He seeks us first before we seek Him. He loves us
before we are even able to love Him. He calls us and chooses us before we are
able to choose Him.
We are condemned by the words of our own mouths. I was afraid, because I was
naked; and I hid myself. We hide from God because we are afraid – not of
God, but of the curse our sins bring. Atheist, too, know and tremble at the
mention of the name ‘Jesus Christ!” It is for this reason that they hate Him
and suffer no one to use that name either in prayer or speaking. Adam now KNEW
of his nakedness. He and Eve tried to cover their sins by the work of their
hands. . . . . she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were
opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they SEWED FIG LEAVES TOGETHER,
and made themselves aprons.
(Gen 3:6-7) Fig leaves make a sorry
covering for the sin of nakedness, but those are perhaps more than many
beach-goers wear today. Our good works cannot cover our sins – only the
unmerited grace of God will suffice.
Now, the sin of the crowning masterpiece of God’s Creation (Man) caused much
sorrow for God even though He was fully aware that man would fall in Eden. He
knew this as evidenced in His preparation of a Lamb for the Sacrifice before
the worlds were made. But God loves His creatures that He has made – all of
them. I have had many pets in life. I loved every one of them. I was saddened
by their death. I have two cats today that dictate how long my wife and I can
stay overnight from home. I feel the full responsibility God gave mankind in
the Garden eastward at Eden – . . . . have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon
the earth. (Gen
1:28) That means to
CARE for them!
If you have ever had a pet that you loved dearly, you will
have only a hint at how much God loved us, and even the beasts of the field,
the domestic animals, the fowl of the ari, and every creature of His making.
All animals are God’s pets. Imagine His agony in killing an innocent animal –
the very first death of all Creation – in order to cover the sin of Adam and
Eve. Go leap years farther and imagine what the death of that small, innocent
animal represented to God the Father!
God knew that in order to cover the nakedness of Adam and
Eve, an innocent animal must forfeit its life. But even more, He realized that
the death of that innocent animal to cover the physical shame of Adam and Eve
represented yet another innocent Being that must die in the fullness of time to
cover our spiritual nakedness and sin – the Lamb of God! The same Lamb that
would take the place of Isaac whom Abraham intended to sacrifice on the same
Mt. Moriah upon which Our Lord was crucified! 8 And Abraham said, My son,
God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them
together. (Gen 22:8) The same Lamb of God referenced in Revelations
repeatedly: 8 And all that dwell upon
the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of
the Lamb FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. (Rev
13:8)
So, knowing the love of God for you and me, and for every living creature (and
especially for His only Begotten Son), you now have some hint of with what
dreadful agony God the Father experienced when He sacrificed an animal to make
a covering for the nakedness of Adam and Eve. His love for us commanded the
sacrifice! His only Begotten Son would, some 4,000 years hence, consummate the
ultimate sacrifice and become the sacrificial Lamb whose blood would purchase
for those who are the Elect of God a pure White Robe of Righteousness to cover
their nakedness, shame, and sin.
Have you been fitted for your Robe?
