Outside the Garden

Friday, we ended with Adam giving the woman the name Eve and with the reminder that their failure did not erase who they were.

The next thing God does is easy to overlook.

Adam and Eve had tried to cover themselves with leaves. They knew something had changed, they felt ashamed, and they tried to fix the problem themselves.

But their covering was not enough.

So, God made clothing for them.

Genesis does not tell us what kind of animal the clothing came from or describe its death. But clothing made from animal skins means an animal’s life had to be taken.

This is the first time in Scripture that something dies to cover human shame.

Adam and Eve used leaves.

God provided something better.

Their leaves represent what we still try to do with our own sin and shame. We hide, make excuses, blame someone else, or try to do enough good things to make up for what we have done.

We try to create our own covering.

But leaves could not repair Adam and Eve’s relationship with God. They could not undo their sin or remove their shame.

Something else had to provide the covering.

This becomes an early picture of something we will see throughout Scripture.

Later, animals will be sacrificed at the tabernacle and Temple as the people seek forgiveness and restoration with God. Those sacrifices will have to be repeated again and again.

Another animal.

Another sacrifice.

Another reminder that sin brings death and that humanity cannot cover itself.

All this points forward to Jesus.

When Jesus dies on the cross, He does not bring another animal to be sacrificed. Unlike the sacrifices that had to be repeated, He is the ultimate sacrifice for eternity.

From the garden to the Temple to the cross, God provides the covering for our sin and shame that we cannot provide ourselves.