Tunics of Skin

A cat is playing with a baby mouse she has discovered. She paws at the lifeless fur ball, which by the way is playing possum, encouraging it to run for its life. The mouse is stunned and injured but the cat allows it a glimmer of hope that it might be able to escape. The rodent suffers as the cat finds pleasure in a game of cat and mouse. Death is a reality of life; it’s a certain end that each one of us will face at our own appointed time. There is no escape from death; it is the cost of original sin and all the money in the world won’t buy you a reprieve.  Most of us don’t like to think about our demise. The possibility that we could be lost forever is an awesome thought for a being that is self-aware.

If you take the time to make a record of all the ages of the patriarchs in the bible, a trend will emerge. Adam lived 930 years, Seth lived 912 years, Methuselah lived 969 years and Noah lived 950 years. But while all these men lived very long lives, they all eventually came face to face with death. After the catastrophic worldwide flood, there was a steady decline in the ages of Noah’s sons and grandsons. One very likely answer is that the protective water canopy that was once in the expanse of heaven before the flood is now no longer there.  Noah’s son Shem died after the great flood at the age of 600.  Terah, who was the father of Abraham, died at the age of 525 years. Abraham died at the age of 460, Isaac died at 180 and Jacob at 147. In the book of Hebrews 9:27 we read, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.”

Before leaving the Garden of Eden and following civilization out into a new world let’s retrace our footprints back to Adam and Eve as they are sitting in the cool of the garden. After disobeying God’s command not to eat the fruit from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil their eyes were opened. They now understood that they had done something wrong and tried to hide themselves from God. They attempted to cover up the shame and guilt they felt by sewing fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. This scene, by the way, was the very first religious service staged on planet earth. Here we have the first man and woman doing something in an attempt to smooth things over with God. Needless to say, God was not impressed or satisfied with their offering and gives Adam and Eve a lesson in tough love.

In Genesis 2:21 it says, “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” Now, remember what Adam was doing before God made Eve; Adam was naming all the animals that God brought before him. These animals would have been Adam’s only source of comfort, companionship and joy. Adam must have bonded with God’s creation in a very special way that we don’t fully appreciate or understand. So now the Father God in a wonderful demonstration of his loving kindness, slaughters two lambs in order to cover Adam and Eve with tunics of skin. We are beginning to see that being in rebellion to God will cost something.

 Adam and Eve watched in horror as these innocent animals were slaughtered for their skins. They had never seen anything die before now and, as they gazed upon the lambs’ skinned and lifeless bodies, a feeling of remorse must have overwhelmed them both. You can almost picture Adam, Eve and the two motionless carcasses as they lay out on the ground for all the other creatures to see. So God established the sacrificial law that day in Eden; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness from sin.

The fear of death is one of the sharpest arrows in our enemy’s quiver. It’s one of his most awesome weapons which he uses to get us doubting God. When the fear of death raises its ugly head it squeezes our hearts with gripping anxiety. Some nights I have lain in bed paralyzed with fear as I pondered my own mortality. But God has not given us a spirit of fear but, through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, we can come boldly into His presence! 

No one born on this earth is going to escape death; it’s just a matter of time until we all pass on into the spiritual realm. But take heart for God has spent thousands of years carefully planning, always pointing to His solution in the coming Messiah. God loves us so much that He entered the world as a helpless baby and dwelt among us, Emmanuel. At the appointed time, Jesus Christ became our spotless Lamb and died in order that He might clothe us in eternal life.  Hallelujah!