14. THE FOLLEY OF SEWING FIG LEAVES AS COVERING

DR. EARL PARVIN 11/24/21

“⁶ 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. ⁷ 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 [Gen. 3:6-7]

So what was so wrong about their “eating” fruit? It was “only” for gaining wisdom and pleasing to the eye. And He, [God] said it was good for food! Was it not? Well for the so called “Progressives” of today it would be ok by their standards. [Pro. 30:12] But they were guests in the Garden of Eden. Not in any bodies garden, but God’s Eden where the attendance rules had already been made known. “⁸ Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [Gen 2:8-9]

God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to [1.]work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are [2.] free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but [3] you must not eat from the [4] tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it [5] you will certainly die.” [2:15-17].  Evidently all the trees were equally appealing even the tree of LIFE for which there was no prohibition!

It does matter. Rules are rules and He [God] had the right to make them. Further, they were warned why they should avoid that SPECIFIC tree in a garden full of EXCELLENT trees “⁹ The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food” [2:9]. God had even told them where it was located. These rules certainly were not a burden but a blessing. Danger here. Avoid this one of many. There are problems here that you do not yet know about. Death you have not experienced. A lingering kind of death [Heb. Dying you will die, a participle + future tense] 2:17.

Then you do not realize it but your emotional life will take a serious hit and you will not be able to trust them. “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” 2:25 then “ 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. 3:7 They would seek to sew fig leaves for a covering. [Why?] They would seek to hide from God who daily came for fellowship. [Why?] They would seek to blame others to justify their errors. [Why? They would be full of fear [3:10]. “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship…” [Rom. 8:15].

The sewing of fig leaves was futile and the least of their problems. They would be expulsed from the Garden of Eden and be cursed along with nature itself.

Think about it. They could without prohibition have eaten from the tree of LIFE and “lived for ever” instead of DEATH and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. [Wow. Have we ever made such an unwise mistake?]

“¹⁶ To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.” 3:16

 “¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”

“²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken” 3:23. It certainly was clear they better pay attention to the rules, because they were now out of the Garden and the guard was making sure there was no return “²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side^[a] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” [3:24]. Even the swords were “flashing”. I wonder if they also understood that ‘Spiritual” death came with the expulsion from the Garden. We do not read of God personally visiting them “In the cool of the evening” after this [3:8]. Did they understand that death was the price of disobedience? They were told “2:17”.

Notice the Adamic weakness to be disobedient, that is our inherited “Adamic Nature”, was not yet operative. In their pure state they still had to learn obedience. The hard way. By experience. The curse was life-long, though the sin of disobedience was death. How could it be forgiven? Christ had not yet paid the penalty. That would be in the “fullness of time” [Rom 5:6 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” [The Greek term for “right time” is “Kairos” that  indicates a determined time or “special occasion”. [NT times!]

Unbeknown to them, in the meantime God was providing a substitute animal’s “death” for them in a “type of Christ”  ^“21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them “ [3:21]. Notice. Clothing at this time becomes a significant issue. Adam and Eve because of their nakedness sewed fig leaves “ for covering or clothing” [3:7]. God on the other hand made “garments of skin”.  Note: do you think there might be a connection to the social mores of our day seeking to see how few clothes they can put on or how thin, scanty or tight fitting?

I note that the word “covering” in the NIV, is “apron” in the KJ. It is the Hebrew “chagar” which means “to gird on as a garment… for warfare”. Would it be too much to say that is exactly what too many couples seem to be doing…fighting instead of seeking to understand and forgive? The meaning here is most likely a covering of their nakedness. It is the only time it is used.

Note the clothes that God made for them. “²¹ The Lord God made “garments” of skin  [NIV or “coats” KJV] for Adam and his wife and clothed them” 3:21. Evidently it was important to be clothed. Especially their nakedness. But why clothes made of skin? Because it was more durable?  It was, especially with fig leaves the other option. But God did it, so there must be a deeper reason.

I surmise that Adam and Eve were smart enough to put 2 and 2 together and understand that although death was the price tag for sin God made their clothes out of skins for a reason to teach them a lessen. Something [or person] was paying a deadly price. It was an innocent animal! Did they understand the grace & mercy of God in their behalf?

Notice the term “garment” [3:21}. In the Hebrew it is “cathnuth” meaning “tunic” or ordinary garment worn next to the body as here, but it is the same word used in Ex 28:4 for Priestly Garments! But in this situation “cathnut” is modified by “ore” meaning “skin, leather” thus, He is clearly indicating the tunic is made of animal skins. The word is used later for skin coverings on the Wilderness Tabernacle. This phrase is only found here “garments of skin”. [The Hebrew word “ore” has the interesting meaning that the animal is made skinless or naked to cover human nakedness. I think God has a great sense of humor].

But seriously, God could be looking forward for future Adams will have a priestly responsibility in their homes to be sure their family members know and accept Christ as Savior. We call this responsibility the “Priesthood of the Believer”. “that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord” Exodus 10:2.

 “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” Du. 11:19.

CONCLUSION

I titled this study the Folly of Sewing Fig Leaves. Because I was told that “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” Heb. 10:4. That cleansing of sin would be done, for “²⁵ God [would] present Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[a] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He [would] do this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

Thank God He is not willing that any should perish “he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9l. Therefore, all through the Old Testament they had the promise of a Redeemer to come