Genesis 3:7-10
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves things to gird about. And they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, “Where art thou?” And he said, “I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
A while back I heard an artist on television singing a song named, Naked Under My Clothes. The opening lyrics went, Yeah, I’m naked under my clothes, Thank God nobody knows I got a secret I’m afraid to expose it, that I’m naked under my clothes. I have to admit I thought those were some of the funniest lyrics I’d heard in a long time. And while they seem nonsensical, they really are quite insightful. Think about it. Aside from the obvious, there’s certainly an emotional and psychological aspect to dressing ourselves. A lot of thought goes into dressing. We don’t just dress to cover ourselves. We dress to impress. We dress to influence. But we always seek to accentuate the positive, while ensuring to hide and cover physical imperfections, embarrassing bulges and every negative attribute we possibly can. Our clothing choices speak to our fears, our ambitions, hopes, dreams and status in life. But above all else, our clothes cover our “nakedness”. And nakedness is not just physical, but spiritual as well.
As we look at our scripture this morning, please note if you will, that neither Adam or Eve were actually naked at the time the presence of God arrives. They had recently conspired to cover themselves with fig leaves. Consequently, they literally had something on, albeit clothes of their own making. But in their panic and overwhelming guilt, they confessed their sins. Their attempt to cover themselves wasn’t enough to free them from the emotional and psychological bondage created by their disobedience. They still felt naked under their coverings. They needed an advocate, a tailor and a friend. Instead they decided to trust a Serpent.
After being tricked by the Serpent, Adam and Eve responded in the way most of us do. They became overcome with guilt, and fear. They became overcome with guilt because of their blatant disregard for the commandment God personally gave them. And they became frightened of the consequence of their action. They ignored all logic and became fearful of a God that had never been anything but gracious and kind to them.
The Serpent did the only thing you need to to do to control, convince or persuade folk to abandon their personal relationship with God. He got Adam and Eve to question the character of God and His love for them. He began with discrediting the Word of God, and then followed that up by discounting the love of God. Once you fall for that, guilt and fear become your master. You’re guilty because you’ve rebelled and have declared yourself an enemy of God and His Word. And because you understand the power and majesty of the Lord, you find yourself cowering in fear at your potential fate. God could destroy you in a blink of an eye. So in response, you become susceptible to artificial coverings and inadequate clothing from unauthorized entities to hide your shame.
If I may continue with this clothing analogy, I would remind us all that in different ways and at various times, we all have tried on outfits of our own making to cover and validate ourselves. Often we use the attire of the world to make ourselves look better. Sometimes it’s education, employment, business acumen, family heritage or even church affiliation. But whatever it is, ultimately we discover nothing but Jesus can cover our sins.
Not only is God’s Word holy and true, but His love is beyond compare. The covering of God is the only covering that you’ll ever need. While humanity tries to provide temporary solutions to hide, disguise, or modify the maladies in our lives, God sent His only Son as a cloak of covering for our sins, failings and shortcomings. The Bible declares, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Roman’s 8:1 Guilt no longer rules our lives. We can come before the throne of grace with confidence. And as for fear? Please know that God’s word declares, For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.
Dear Children of God, unlike Adam and Eve, we have an advocate in Jesus Christ our Lord. We no longer need to find twigs and figs to hide behind. We don’t need images and idols, signs and wonders. We have the Word of God, and the love of God through Jesus Christ. He is all the covering we will ever need.
God Bless
