When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
– Genesis 3:6-21 NIV
The Story of Adam and Eve
What does Genesis 3 have to do with the arrival or “advent” of Jesus? Why start Advent there?
3 reasons:
- The coming of Jesus was necessary because of the events in Genesis 3.
- The coming of Jesus was first promised in Genesis 3.
- The work of Jesus was first illustrated in Genesis 3.
Adam and Eve’s sin corrupted all that God had made and called “good.” As a result, humans were exiled from the Garden of Eden (a place representing the uninhibited presence of God with man).
As God dealt with Adam and Eve’s sin, He confronted Satan and promised that somewhere along the line, from Eve’s offspring, a Savior would come who would forever rid Satan of his power to separate God from man.
But before God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, he clothed them.
Immediately after their sin, Adam and Eve were ashamed of what they had done and “sewed fig leaves together” to try to cover themselves up because they were afraid to stand naked before God as they once had. ut the coverings they made could not cover them.
In order for Adam and Eve to be properly clothed, a sacrifice had to be made.
In His kindness, God perfectly clothed Adam and Eve with a garment provided through the death of another—in this case, an animal. They exchanged the coverings they made for the ones God created for them.
In the same way, through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we have been clothed with the righteousness of God. A sacrifice has been made on our behalf which perfectly covers our sin and allows us to stand before God.
Reflect
Even though Jesus made the righteousness of God available to us, we are often tempted to cover ourselves with serving, being nice, being successful, advocating for a particular people group or value, not engaging in a particular sin, etc. Where are you choosing to “cover yourself?” In what area of your life do you need to put on the righteousness of God as your covering?
Pray
Father, today I choose to put on Your righteousness and to take off whatever I’m trying to cover myself with. Holy Spirit, help me to give up the control of trying to cover myself and help me to pick up the dependence to rely on what Jesus has done for me. Amen.