by Victoria Jang
Many know how the story goes. Adam and Eve disobeyed God; they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and now knew that they were naked. Shame and fear entered their lives. God, being a holy and just creator, could not ignore the situation and carry on as though nothing had happened. Thus, the serpent was cursed, and Adam and Eve were banished from the direct and unfiltered presence of God.
“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19 ESV)
There is, however, a crucial detail here that must not be missed. Right as they were being exiled from the garden of Eden, “the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). This last act of God’s direct provision is significant on many levels.
On the surface-level, it was God’s provision for Adam and Eve’s physical bodies, now about to be subjected to the harshness of the wilderness outside the garden. The garments of skin, much more reliable and sturdy than the fig-leave-loin-clothsituation that Adam and Eve put together for themselves, was God’s gift of protection. The garments of skin would protect them from the heat of the day and warm them in the cool of the night, a token of God’s ever-present care for His creation’s wellbeing and safety despite their disobedience. Even as Adam and Eve turned away from their creator, God continued to provide for them, better than they could provide for themselves.
On a different level, by making for Adam and Eve garments of skins, God was acknowledging a new reality that sin had brought into the world. Previously, before the relationship between God and His creation was marred by sin, there was no need for covering of the body or any form of work or possession; God’s direct presence and provision in the garden were sufficient to fully sustain the entire creation order, humans included. However, now that the relationship was severed by sin, the same system of intimacy was no longer possible. Despite this, God continued to look after His people in new ways, providing for their new needs, staying faithful through change. In our volatility, through all of our inconsistency, God remains the same, “yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Lastly, the garments of skin were an expression of God’s sacrificial love for His people, foreshadowing the coming of Jesus from the very start. An animal was needed to make the garments of skin; an animal needed to be sacrificed in order to make the garments. Thus, God’s reaction to our sin, from the very beginning, has been sacrificial love. Before Cain or Abel or any other human being could bring a sacrificial offering to God, our Lord was the first to sacrifice an animal to offer us protection.
But, of course, garments of skin, sturdy as they are, cannot provide eternal protection. Over time they wear and they tear, requiring replacements. Does that mean that God’s provision and love for us do the same? Not at all. The garments of skin gifted to Adam and Eve were but a shadow, only a glimpse of God’s redemptive plan for His creation.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)
"But God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)
The ultimate sacrifice, the pinnacle of God’s redemptive love for us came in the form of Jesus Christ. He took our place and was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, so that by his wounds we could be healed (Isaiah 53:5). The first sacrifice was a temporary fix, a palliative only aiding the physical body; the final sacrifice is an everlasting reconciliation, a cure not just for the body but for our souls. Christ has secured for us an eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12), finishing what we could never even begin to do. He has now taken off our dirty, worn, and torn ways of dealing with our fallenness before God and clothed us with his own righteousness.
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10a)
In our disobedience, Christ came in full obedience, sacrificing himself for our redemption. In our rebellion, Christ came in perfect submission, not withholding anything to get us back. This is what all of creation has been groaning for since day one (Romans 8:22); this is what God’s deepest longing has been since the moment He caught our scared eyes hiding in the bushes. Ages and ages have all led to this. Just to win us back, just to bring us back into His arms.
From the very beginning, God has been love. There at the start was already sacrifice, grace, and mercy for us. That is who God has been, and that is who He will be forevermore. If His love has persisted through all space, all time, all history, then surely it will not tire of chasing after your soul. If He did not spare even His own son but gave him up to save you, then what more could He desire but to have your heart.