Imagine a world with no traffic jams, air pollution, crime, ugly buildings, and crowds. The garden of Eden was more beautiful than any scenic spot on a remote tropical island. It was a perfect world with lush, trees, flowers, waterfalls, birds singing, streams, and breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. God created a total paradise for mankind to live in as a love gift from Him.
God created everything in perfection. A perfect place for a man to live and enjoy the presence of God. But man fell for the temptation of the satan and was never given access to this paradise, that God gave them. One thing we have to realize is that sin came into a man not because he committed murder, robbery, adultery, or any other sin which we see as bigger sins. He fell because he didn’t obey God’s command. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death. Let’s see how God paid for the sin committed by Adam and Eve and also how he gives salvation from sin and death for all people in the world.
Choosing not to Sin
One lesson Genesis teaches us is that God hates sin. As believers who have the power of the Holy Spirit working within us, we can and must choose not to sin. The devil will always come to tempt us; but the choice to give in to that temptations is ours, just as it was Adam’s and Eve’s.
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
--Genesis 3:4-6 NKJV
God has given free will for man to choose, and the beauty of God’s love is that he never forces it on anyone. The man fell by choice. The devil, or tempter, is the Father of Lies (see John 8:44), deceiving and seducing us to sin. Every lie he tells us challenges the authority of God’s Word. When we take our own authority and make decisions apart from God’s guidance, we are easy prey to satan’s deception.
Satan deceived Eve by saying that they will become like God if they eat the fruit. He even came to Jesus and tried to deceive Jesus by showing him the kingdoms of the world and its glory and said “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me”. But Jesus rebuked and defeated satan by the word of God. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Adam and Eve fell for the fruit of the tree which looked delicious, what they didn’t know is the consequence of disobeying God.
The Covering of the Fig Leaves
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
-- Genesis 3:6-7
Sin has created a problem. When Adam and Eve violated God’s word and ate the forbidden fruit something happened. Though they were naked earlier they were not ashamed, but when they disobeyed God they felt ashamed
Now they go about trying to solve this problem of shame. They are in fear (Genesis 3:10), knowing that they cannot stand before God in this condition. The glory that covered their body is gone and Paul says in Romans 3:23 that All have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. Sin has brought shame and nakedness. So, Adam and Eve try to solve the problem of shame and they want to cover it up, they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
The Religions of the world are about fig leaves. What do I mean by “fig leaves”?
The fig leaves represent all humanistic attempts from mankind throughout the ages to "get right" with God through self-efforts. The religions of the world teach good works and Karma that you have to work your way to heaven. You have to start covering your shame of sin by your own effort by sewing fig leaves. But the bible says it is through faith we overcome sin.
When man sins, he is ashamed of himself. He is afraid of coming before God and often attempts to hide from God by skipping church, not studying the Bible, not spending personal time with God, etc. And man attempts to solve the problem created by sin. In his own way, a man wants to cover up sin, shame, guilt, and fear.
But when the wind blows and the sun comes up and when the rain comes down, the fig leaves cant hold it for long. It will fall off and cannot completely cover the shame from the sin that man has committed.
No matter how hard a human tries or whatever he does, he cannot find a solution to the problem of Sin. He cannot work his way towards righteousness for in the book of Isaiah 64:6 it says, the righteousness of man is as filthy rags.
The First and the Last
God himself made the first blood covering for them. At the very beginning, God showed that man and God cannot get back together based on anything a man can do. It's like climbing to the stars on a stepladder. It simply will not work. So God made clothes for Adam and Eve out of the skins of animals, that is, He shed the first blood to provide a covering for man.
If we can try to understand this very carefully, Jesus died on the cross 2000 years ago, even then it was God who made the last and final sacrifice for all.
God made the first sacrifice for sin and he also gave the last sacrifice for sin. At first, he covered them with the tunics of the skin of the animal that died for covering the sins of Adam and Eve. So a life for a life, a sacrifice had to be made to give life to another, to cover the sins of another.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
-- John3:16
Likewise, the blood of Jesus is the final price for sin that God paid to redeem his people out of sin. The blood of Jesus is more precious than the blood of any animal and it has the greatest power to forgive your sins and covers your shame and even gives you faith instead of fear.
God loves you. In fact the bible says that God is love. Knowing man cannot save himself as all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, he sent his son Jesus Christ to this wicked world.
People can say how can God understand my pain, agony, my tears, and my problems? Yes, Indeed he understands because he walked on this earth as a human. He knows your name. He understands everything in your life. He carried your pain, agony, depression, sin, and shame on the cross. So he very well understands you than any human being can.
Trust in Jesus. Because he alone can give the solution to the problem the sin has created.
“ if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
-- Romans 10:9
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