The plan of God for man and the whole
of creation was brought into dismay by the disobedience of man. It all happened as God had warned man
about eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge and evil. The harmonious relationship man had experienced with God, his wife,
nature and himself, and would have continued to experience, was entirely disrupted.
Man became at ought not only with God but also with others, with nature and
with himself. Death as God had foretold would take place if man ate of the forbidden
tree. And on the day that Adam ate it, it happened. In essence death is a
separation. In physical death there is a separation between man’s spirit and soul
with his body. In spiritual death the entire man - spirit, soul and body - is separated
from God. Without a reconciled relationship with God, separation between man
and God will take place eternally.
Let’s reflect a little on Genesis 3:14-16.
Here, we see the judgement God pronounced on Adam, Eve his wife and the serpent.
The consequences of each of their role was delineated. The serpent was cursed for its role in
the deception. The place it was assigned to would be in the dust. It would also
be forever at odds with humankind. And God told Eve that her offspring would crush
the serpent’s head. This is the grace of God foretold. It is a prediction which
Christ Jesus finally fulfilled when He crushed and defeated Satan and his
scheme at the cross. What
a gracious God! Woman was also told she would experience pain in childbirth. And
that marriage would also be impacted. The woman would become dependent on her
husband and he would rule over her. This power struggle within a marriage was
brought about by the fall. The relationship God had at creation with all of nature was also brought
into disrepute as well. The ground was cursed because of man’s disobedience. Henceforth,
man would need to strife and work to live. The ground would only yield to him
with much struggle. And mankind would eventually die and become dust where he
was created from. Everything God said was true. Ever since the fall, mankind
was put under tremendous burden.
In verses 20-24, we see the grace of God. He made a provision for
the man and woman. He made garment from the skin of a sacrificed animal to
cover them. The fig leave garment was substituted by the skin of an animal that
gave its life to provide the covering. This is Calvary foretold. God sent Jesus
His Son so that His righteousness could be our covering. And He is mankind’s only
means to redemption and restoration with God. And we, who have acknowledged His
Lordship in life, are covered with His righteousness. And every time the Father
looks at us, He sees not what we used to be, but He sees Jesus.
There is a great impact on man’s quickened conscience. He will forever
be in a dilemma and be in conflict within himself. While he may know what is
good, he will also struggle with his inner resolve and desire to do what’s
right. And doing what’s right does not come easily and automatically. That’s
the dilemma. And man also would find himself with the propensity to gravitate
toward evil. This is caused by the spiritual death between man and God because
of the disobedience. Here in verses 23-24 we see another spiritual truth. It is
not possible for fallen man to remain in continual fellowship with the Lord.
The reason is obvious. Our holy God cannot allow defilement into His presence. The
expulsion from the garden highlighted this truth. God barred Adam and Eve from
the way to the tree of life, a symbol of Divine presence. A sinner has no right
or access to that presence. The flaming sword is the sword of justice that
would deny his access. Thank God in Christ we find a new and living way to the
presence of God.
What do we say for the rich lessons
from these verses? God has made the provision for our righteousness. We, who have
made Him the Lord of our life, are covered by the righteous garment provided through
His sacrifice. Our dilemma created by a quickened conscience can now be fixed
when we return to Christ, and yield to His Lordship. He came to deliver us from
a life of uncertainty. Hallelujah! What a God!
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