The Covering
Now the man called his wife\’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them (Gen 3:20-21).
This is considered the first prophecy of the atonement sacrifice of Christ. Adam and Eve had tried to cover themselves, but it was not adequate. Then the Lord made a covering for them by shedding the blood of an innocent animal, prophesying of the atonement that Jesus would make by shedding His blood for our sins.
There is nothing we can do to cover our sins. Our good works will never balance the evil and make us acceptable to God, or cover the shame and wounding that sin does to our soul. Only the Lord can cover our sins. For us to even try to cover ourselves is an affront to the cross of Jesus, by which our redemption was purchased.
Just as Adam and Eve\’s first response to their sin was to look at themselves, feel naked, and then try to cover themselves and hide, we can still go through the same process even after we become Christians and have the knowledge of the cross. However, regardless of how we feel, we must run to God when we sin, not away from Him. The price that He paid is enough to cover even our worse sins. When we refuse to go to the cross, and try to carry the guilt ourselves, we are saying that the cross was not enough, and this sin is so great that we will have to pay the price ourselves. This is a tragic delusion, and a pride that is not only an insult to the cross of Jesus, but a fundamental departure from the faith that the cross is enough for our salvation. We are assured in 1 John 1:7-9:
- Ask that God will sanctify every marriage. Covenant being made in it is season, that there will be no ungodly influence over marriages and weddings especially in the house of God.
- Ask that the Lord will visit every marriage and home experiencing delay in child – bearing (Gen 18:1-15). The Lord will return to them at the time of life, and they shall have children. Is anything too Lord for the Lord?
- As you bear physical fruits, God the husbandman is waiting for the fruit of the spirit to be manifest in your life. Choose one fruit of the spirit which you fall short of e.g. self – control. Meditate on what it means to have that fruit manifest in your life.