Genesis 3:1-7  Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”  “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 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.

Did you ever think how good Adam and Eve had it in the Garden. God had created them and placed them in a place that was good. And they enjoyed a close relationship with their Father in heaven. Sure, they had some guidelines, rules intended for their good so that their life could stay happy. But they grew dissatisfied. They wanted more. They began to feel that God’s rules were restrictions. They thought they were being cheated out of some pleasures, missing out on something. So they took matters into their own hands and went outside of the plan God had for them. They ate the forbidden fruit. They disobeyed God.

What a surprise and shock that must have been. For the first time in their lives, they experienced guilt and the fear of punishment. They now knew what bad was. They knew the difference between good and evil, and it wasn’t pleasant. They didn’t know what to do, so they tried to hide. They wrapped themselves up in some leaves, longing to be back where they had been. What a sorry picture to see them standing there.

But that is not the end of the story. God came looking for them and found them in their guilt and shame and sin. They tried to make excuses, but to no avail. According to his perfect justice, God must punish them. They had done wrong. On that day, Adam and Eve began their life-sentences of pain, sweat and sorrow until they returned to the dust from which they had come.

Yet God loved them still. He would not forsake them. We see His Grace for His disobedient yet dearly loved children. The Lord made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.  God made clothes so that as they went through this world, they would be reminded of His continued care. Their clothing was visible proof that God still loved them. It would be a reminder of God’s promise of a final victory, of the Savior, who would one day allow them to go back to the warmth and comfort and joy of the Father’s house. That must have sustained them through life.

That is the good news for you. God has a covering for you to wear, a robe of righteousness.

“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:10)

That covering came to you through the life, suffering and death of Jesus Christ. He took your sins and paid for them on the cross, rising again so that you might live again with God for eternity in His presence.  Your faith and trust in Jesus Christ assures you of your forgiveness.

A song I learned from the Ongoing Ambassadors for Christ song book sums this up:

I am covered over with the robe of righteousness that Jesus gives to me…
I am covered over with the precious blood of Jesus and He lives in me…
Oh, what a joy it is to know My heavenly Father loves me so!
He gives to me my Jesus.
When He looks at me, He sees not what I used to be, but He sees JESUS.

Thank God for that!