Christ in the Fall (4)

In our previous posts on Genesis 3, we have traced out the Lord Jesus as contrasted with Adam and Eve, as calling to Adam and Eve, and as conquering for Adam and Eve. Today, we see Him typified in the covering provided by the LORD God for Adam and Eve. 

The Covering 

The immediate result of the fall was that "the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked" (v7). 

From the moment when they became conscious of "good and evil" in the broadest moral sense, they knew that nakedness was unsuitable for the presence of God. A covering was required, "and they sowed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (v7). 

This covering showed some awareness of need, but did not properly assess God's righteousness. It did not cover them as God intended them to be covered. God intervened and "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them" (v21).

Thinly veiled under historical detail is a symbolic meaning which is expanded upon through Scripture. 

The Covering of Works

Adam and Eve were exposed before God, and they knew it. So "all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Heb 4.13). With the backdrop of their disobedience, they were conscious that they were unfit for His presence. 

Thus they endeavoured to solve the problem by the application of initiative, ingenuity, and industry. They "sowed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (v7). However, even with this covering they were aware that they remained unfit for God's presence, for when they "heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day ... Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden". 

All of their efforts did not give peace to the conscience or assurance of acceptance. Is this not, in embryo, the problem of man-centred religion which has been perpetuated down through the centuries?  Adam and his wife must learn that nothing of man, no work or endeavour, will satisfy God's demands, or give peace to the troubled conscience. 

The Covering of Grace

However, on the principle of grace alone, another covering was soon provided. Consider:

The Source: This covering was provided by God Himself! "Unto Adam ... did the LORD God make coats of skin, and clothed them". This is most important because it was God before whom they were exposed, and His covering would meet His own requirements! It was not man's ingenuity, but God's idea. It was God's plan and not mans. 

The Sacrifice: The fact that "coats of skin" were used is the first record of the sacrifice of an animal. God had previously stated that sin would bring death (Gen 2.17), and here the death of an innocent victim, for the purpose of making the man acceptable before God, clearly indicates the inflexible character of God's righteousness. 

The Symbolism: Once again, the spiritual import of these historical details is evident. The covering required for acceptance with God is provided by God, and obtained through sacrifice. At the very dawn of humanity's existence God provided an object lesson on His intended means of salvation. 

The Son of God, sent by the Father, would come to provide salvation for the world (John 3.17). To do so He must die, suffering the punishment for our sins, dying the death we deserve. His life would voluntarily be given. He would offer "one sacrifice for sins" (Heb 10.12). More than that, His personal acceptance before God would become the acceptance of those who trust Him. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5.21). Upon believing, a person is placed "in Christ", and therefore declared righteous, treated as righteous, and accepted with the same acceptance that is Christ's before God! 

"Behold a spotless Victim dies,

My surety on the tree;

The Lamb of God, the Sacrifice,

He gave Himself for me"

(Anonymous)

"So dear, so very dear to God,

More dear I cannot be;

The love wherewith He loves the Son;

Such is His love for me!"

(Catesby Paget).

Christ in the Fall (2)

In our previous post we noted that Genesis 3 presents the Lord to our view in at least four aspects. He is:

1. The Contrast

2. The Caller

3. The Conqueror

4. The Covering

Having already considered Him as the great Contrast with Adam and Eve, we now see Him as:

The Caller 

After the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve, "they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the Garden in the cool of the day ... And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, "Where art thou?"." (v8-9)

Undoubtedly the "LORD God walking" is a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son of God. He made man for fellowship, and now He comes down to Eden. Between His Creation of Man in Ch 2, and His Call to Man in Ch 3, sin has "entered into the world" (Rom 5.12). 

He calls "Where are you?" (v9 ESV). It was not, of course, that He was unaware of Adam's sin. It was not that He was ignorant which tree Adam and Eve were cowering behind. His call to Adam was to expose Adam to Himself. It was a call of grace. Adam must face the fact that he was not where he was before, he was separated from God, shamed before God, and under sentence from God. Yet now, in wonderful grace, he was sought out by God.  

The Caller was the Son of God. He had stooped to the garden, He was seeking the guilty, He was showing grace! How this reminds us of His incarnation. He who was the Son of God stooped to become the Son of Mary. He who was Holy, and the object of angelic praise, "came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1.15). He who was the Lord of glory showed unfathomable grace: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8.9 ESV). He had come to "seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19.10), and this required His sacrificial death upon the Cross. 

May we who were guilty, condemned, separated, and hiding from God, never forget His grace in seeking for us:

"O the love that sought me,

O the blood that bought me,

O the grace that brought me to the fold!

Wondrous grace that brought me to the fold."