The Backdrop:
Pop quiz: What material did Adam and Eve use to create their first garments the moment they saw that they were naked?
If you’re thinking fig leaf material, you’re right. Now, use your imagination for a minute to picture what it would be like actually to wear fig leaves for clothes. In fact, take a minute to make a pro and con list for wearing fig leaves.
I’m thinking your con list is bigger than your pro list. There just isn’t much advantage to wearing fig leaves. As Adam and Eve were realizing this, they probably thought, “What have we done!?” Then it got worse. Then it got better.
The What:
Genesis 3:16-21 records the consequences Adam and Eve faced (and that we face!) because of their disobedience. Read this passage from your Bible or print the verses below. As you read, number each consequence you see. Also, look for something God does that might have made Adam and Eve smile, at least a little. Draw a smiley over this when you see it.
The Word:
“To the woman [the LORD God] 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.”
The So What:
The consequences were earth-shattering. Literally. You’ve probably heard phrases such as “this fallen world” or “the fall of man.” Genesis 3:16-21 records that fall. Do you think Adam and Eve had any idea what was behind eating the fruit? No way. If they did, they wouldn’t have taken the bite. However, that’s how the enemy works: He never reveals the whole picture. In fact, if you haven’t run into this little saying before (the author is unknown), it’s time you did:
“Sin takes you farther than you intended to go;
“You pay more than you intended to pay;
“You stay longer than you intended to stay.”
Here’s the cool thing about God: He is always nearby to rescue us. Go back to Genesis 3 and find the smiley you drew. Write down the act God did that probably made Adam and Eve smile.
Replacing fig leaves with garments of skin was huge. Adam and Eve got to trade in their breezy, damp fig leaves for warm, dry leather and fur (most likely). So at the moment of the world’s fall, God did something kind for us. You might say it was His first act of mercy, and He’s been doing it ever since.
Wrapping It Up:
What does this scene in Genesis 3 tell you about God?
What do you have going on right now that has taken you farther away from God than you ever thought it would?
Do you want to get back to God? Give yourself a moment to experience God covering you the way Adam and Eve experienced it. Replace the consequences of separation from God with the benefits of closeness. Read the passages below from your Bible. Read each passage as a prayer and let your heart be covered by God’s merciful hand.
Romans 5:15-21
Ephesians 1:5-8
2 Timothy 1:9-10
No matter what it is, God is waiting for you to reach out to Him. In fact, He can’t wait to extend mercy to you. It’s one of His favorite things to do.
