{"id":1182,"date":"2015-01-22T17:22:06","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T16:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.manual4life.org\/en\/?p=1182"},"modified":"2015-01-26T14:58:21","modified_gmt":"2015-01-26T13:58:21","slug":"god-leave-creation-lurch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/delevensschool.org\/en\/god-leave-creation-lurch\/","title":{"rendered":"God did not leave His creation in the lurch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The consequences of the fall were explained in the study ‘Broken relationships\u2019<\/span><\/a>.
\nSin and death entered the world as a result of Adam and Eve\u2019s disobedience.
\nGod did not leave His creation in the lurch however.<\/p>\n

God searched for Adam and Eve.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Because the spiritual relationship between God and man was broken, God now also had to seek contact with Adam and Eve via the visible world:<\/p>\n

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day<\/strong>, \u2026 But the LORD God called to the man<\/strong>, \u201cWhere are you?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 (Genesis 3:8-9)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

God went to look for Adam and Eve in the cool of the day in spite of the fact that they had not trusted God and had transgressed His commandment. God did not storm into the Garden of Eden like a furious storm wind around them, angry because of their disobedience, to teach them a lesson once and for all.
\nGod walked<\/strong> in the cool of the day, benevolently and lovingly, because He wanted to teach Adam en Eve how to deal with the new situation in which they found themselves, hereby leaving it to Adam to take the initiative to come out of hiding, when He asked: \u201cAdam, where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

God never forces people into a relationship with Himself. He calls them, nevertheless, hoping that people will go to Him voluntarily and then He comes to meet them and to help them.<\/p>\n

The nakedness of Adam and Eve covered.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Adam and Eve felt ashamed in front of each other, as an immediate consequence of their disobedience, because they realised they were naked.<\/p>\n

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised they were naked \u2026\u00a0\u00a0 (Genesis 3:7)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Biblical symbolism of nakedness:<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn the Bible, nakedness is a symbol for man, who, alone, is not capable of living according to God\u2019s will, as is described in the third chapter of the Book of Revelation among others.
\nThere the apostle John describes how he received the commission from God to write a letter to the Christian church of the city of Laodicea, which consisted of nominal Christians according to verse 15.
\nGod told them:<\/p>\n

You say, \u2018I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing<\/strong>.\u2019 But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked<\/strong>. I counsel you Bgold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes<\/strong> to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness<\/strong>; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.\u00a0\u00a0 (Revelation 3:17-18)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And the apostle Paul sighs:<\/p>\n

Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 (2 Corinthians 5:2-3)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

a. Man covers his nakedness.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhen Adam and Eve fell disobedient, they no longer reflected God\u2019s glory and sought for a solution of their own to cover their nakedness.<\/p>\n

\u2026 they sewed fig leaves<\/strong> together and made coverings<\/strong> for themselves.\u00a0\u00a0 (Genesis 3:7)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fig leaves were not really good material for clothing. They left gaps, so that the nakedness would still be seen, and they would need to be renewed regularly.
\nFig leaves<\/span> <\/a>were not a permanent covering.<\/p>\n

Symbolism:<\/strong><\/span>
\nMan clothing himself with fig leaves is an image of his attempt to cover his nakedness by means of his own efforts, in an attempt to thus acquire a \u2018glory\u2019 of his own.<\/p>\n

b. God made clothes, not coverings.<\/span><\/strong>
\nGod did not search for Adam and Eve, He came to their aid as well, to cover their nakedness permanently<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The LORD God made garments of skin<\/strong> for Adam and his wife and clothed them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Genesis 3:21)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is not known what these clothes<\/strong> for Adam and Eve looked like.
\nIt can be assumed, however, that they covered the whole body<\/strong>. That would not have been the case with the coverings<\/strong> Adam and Eve had made for themselves.<\/p>\n

Symbolism:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe \u2018garments of skin\u2019 God made for Adam and Eve are clear evidence of God\u2019s abiding love for man(kind), in spite of their failings.
\nBecause God provided a solution for Adam and Eve\u2019s nakedness, He thereby also took away their shame. They no longer had to hide from God.<\/p>\n

God still desires contact with man, even though the direct spiritual relationship has been broken off.<\/p>\n

By clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins, God also demonstrates that He is prepared to forgive disobedience.<\/p>\n

c. God killed an animal.<\/span><\/strong>
\nGod had to kill an animal in order to cover Adam and Eve\u2019s nakedness with a skin.
\nAs Adam and Eve did not eat meat, because people and animals were created as \u2018vegetarians\u2019 (Genesis 1:29-30<\/span>)<\/a>, this must have come as a real shock to Adam and Eve, who were not acquainted with death until then.<\/p>\n

God had said that man would die if he ate of the forbidden tree.
\nWhen Adam and Eve ate of that tree nevertheless, they died at that moment, spiritually speaking, because God was no longer able to have a deep relationship with them, as a result of their disobedience.<\/p>\n

They did not die physically straight away, but they were clothed with animal skins by God, as a sign of His abiding love for them.<\/p>\n

Symbolism:<\/strong><\/span>
\nAn animal had to die in order to cover Adam and Eve\u2019s shame.
\nThis animal died<\/strong> in Adam and Eve\u2019s place<\/strong> as it were.
\nGod forgave Adam and Eve\u2019s failure in their relationship with Him, by taking the punishment away from them and placing it on an animal, which died in their place.<\/p>\n

God accepted someone else taking the punishment for sin upon himself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

d. The foreshadowing of the burnt offering.<\/span><\/strong>
\nGod had reconciled Himself to Adam and Eve. He clothed their nakedness with the skin of an animal that died in their place as a sign that He had forgiven their disobedience.<\/p>\n

God always places symbolism in His acts.
\nAs Adam and Eve did not eat meat, it is plausible that God burned the animal, after stripping it of its skin \u2013 as a foreshadowing of the burnt offering that He would establish later for the people of Israel, together with all the other sacrifices and laws.<\/p>\n

Texts referring to the burnt offering state:<\/p>\n

\u2026 it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 (Leviticus 1:4)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2026 You are to skin<\/strong> the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. \u2026 and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar<\/strong>. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.\u00a0 (Leviticus 1:6-9)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The priest who offers a burnt offering<\/strong> for anyone may keep its hide (the skin) for himself<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 (Leviticus 7:8)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The skin of the animal that was sacrificed as a burnt offering was not burnt on the altar with the rest, but was for the priest who was on duty at the time of the sacrifice \u2013 a symbol for the skin God used to clothe Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the burnt offering and the whole of the temple service were actually also symbolical and temporary, for they too were:<\/p>\n

\u2026 an illustration<\/strong> (that was) not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only \u2026 applying until the time of the new order<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 (Hebrews 9:9-10)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The symbolism of the clothing of Adam and Eve and also that of the sacrifice pointed to the future, when God would restore the relationship with man completely.
\nGod still remained involved with the world, in anticipation of this complete restoration.<\/p>\n

Man can rule over sin.<\/span><\/h3>\n

When Cain, a son of Adam and Eve, nursed anger and jealousy against his younger brother, Abel, God warned:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 (Genesis 4:6-7)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jealousy, anger, wrath emanate from the realm of darkness and crouch at the door of the soul, the heart, as it were. They lie there in wait, eagerly desiring to force an entry and to steer the deliberations of the heart, so that negative emotions are transformed into wrong acts, which go against God. This is called \u2018sin\u2019 in the Bible.<\/p>\n

God told Cain that he had to keep the control over the deliberations of his heart and over his acts in the world in his own hands.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In spite of their fall, their disobedience towards God, man had kept his free will and the possibility of choice.
\nA person only becomes a slave to sin, and thereby a slave to Satan, if he lends an ear to wrong thoughts and desires.<\/p>\n

David wrote in a short psalm:<\/p>\n

LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?
\nThe one whose walk is blameless<\/strong>, who does what is righteous<\/strong>, who speaks the truth from their heart<\/strong>;
\nwhose tongue<\/strong> utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbour, and casts no slur on others;
\nwho despises a vile person<\/strong> but honours those who fear the LORD;
\nwho keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind;<\/strong>
\nwho lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.<\/strong>
\nWhoever does these things will never be shaken.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Psalm 15:1-5)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n