Zonderkids

I’ve started over reading the Bible chronologically again this year, so I find myself in the same place where I was last January—in the book of Genesis. Genesis means origin, so it’s the perfect name for the stories in the Bible that include creation—both of the natural world and the invention of human sin. We see the first man, the first woman, the first family.

In the Genesis story, we watch as God created His good world. By the end, He made animals and man (Adam), and Adam’s job was to care for God’s creation and name all the animals. God had called His creation “good” and “very good” (when it came to humans), but then God said something wasn’t good. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” It wasn’t just during those six days of creation that God was in the “making” business. He’s a constant Creator. He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, then he removed one of Adam’s ribs. He used that bit of bone to make a woman, Eve.

So Adam and Eve lived happily in this perfect paradise for some unnamed amount of time. God had given them one rule, that they shouldn’t eat from one particular tree. That was it! Just that one thing to avoid. Then the serpent showed up, and its main objective was to get them to break that rule. He didn’t use force or violence or threats. The serpent used doubt. It said to Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” And Eve answered that yes, they weren’t supposed to eat from that particular tree. She said that if they did, they would die.

Then the serpent said, “You will not certainly die. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The Enemy used a grain of truth mixed with lies to sow doubt into Eve’s mind, because, as we see in the next few verses, their eyes were opened, and they didbecome aware of good and evil. Part of what the Serpent said was right, but his motivation for convincing Eve to disobey was never for her good.

So Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam. Then, they became aware of right and wrong and they also realized that they were naked, so they made clothes from fig leaves. They hid from God, and God called to them, “Where are you?” Then Adam said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Of course, God knew exactly what had happened. He wanted them to say it aloud, to practice confession, the first step in repairing their relationship.

Adam blamed their sin on Eve, and Eve blamed it on the serpent. Then God started handing out judgments. He cursed the serpent to crawl on its belly. He declared that Eve and the women who followed her would have pain in childbirth, and there would always be conflict between women and men. And Adam would be cursed to have to work the hard ground to eke out a living, then he would die.

At first glance, this feels like a pretty depressing story, but reading through it again recently, I came across something I hadn’t noticed before. When Adam and Eve first discovered that they’re naked they made ridiculous clothes for themselves. How does anyone even sew fig leaves together? But after God speaks to them, chastising them for their disobedience, He makes better clothes for them. “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

Before God kicked them out of His perfect garden, He made them more appropriate clothes, clothes that would protect them from the harsh elements they would encounter outside of the garden. They felt shame over their nakedness and hid, but God—in his great mercy and grace—covered them with love and care. God’s kindness to us is more than we could ever deserve!