Yesterday I read a verse in the Bible that rocked me, and I've been stunned by it even today. I was reading Genesis 2-3 for a project here, when a little verse grabbed me like never before-
(3:21) And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
A simple verse, I've read it hundreds of times over the years. And I know the meaning of it- a sacrifice was made to pay for their sin, etc. I know all that.
This time, though, God struck me emotionally with it. If you read back in ch.2, you see that Adam got to name all the animals- he cared for them, and knew them all, like household pets. Now, the Bible doesn't say how long Adam & Eve were there before they sinned- it could have been days, months, years, even decades. No one knows. But Adam knew all these animals, and I'm sure he loved them, like we love those critters in our own lives.
After they sinned, and that perfect communion with God was broken, this verse says that God, who created the first life, then took the first life- an innocent animal. One He had made. One Adam had named. One Adam knew. Now, because of their sin, this animal was slain, and they were clothed with this dead animal's skin. I can't imagine the shock, horror, and despair Adam & Eve experienced in that moment- seeing all this take place before their eyes, through their cries & sobs. This animal they knew and loved, taking their punishment, covering their shame.
To me that would be like, as a child, had I done something terribly bad, my father taking my dog, slaying him in front of me, and saying, "This is your fault. He's taking your punishment." That's a horrific thought for any of us, yet that's exactly what God did.
I choke up just thinking about this- the grief of that moment for Adam & Eve, and the realization of the gravity of their sin, that God should do this.
They were expelled from the Garden, and from their perfect environment for intimacy with God.
Then I think about what God did to restore us to Himself, in sending His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for our sins, to clothe us again in the righteousness of God. I imagine the shock, horror, and despair of the Father, and all Heaven with Him, as Jesus was mutilated and brutalized and crucified, for our sins. Seeing all this take place before the eyes of Heaven- The Son they all knew and loved, taking the punishment of our sin, covering our shame.
And now, through Jesus Christ, whom God joyfully raised from the dead, we too can be restored to intimacy with God, and a new perfect environment one day to come...
"just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the the one Man the many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19
Rob