God provided clothing for
Adam and Eve, and
He put them out of the garden.
Scripture: Genesis 3:21-24
1. God provided clothing for Adam and Eve.
Do you remember what Adam and Eve did after they had eaten the forbidden
fruit and realized that they were naked? Yes. They made
coverings of leaves.
Read Genesis 3:7
At that moment their
eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they
sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
Because they had disobeyed
God, they were embarrassed for God to see them naked.
So Adam and Eve made coverings of leaves.
•
God refused to accept the
clothing that Adam and Eve had made.
Read Genesis 3:21
And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins
for Adam and his wife.
God refused to accept the coverings
that Adam and Eve had made. Why? It was not
because God doesn’t
like leaves or grass for clothing. The reason God refused
to accept the clothes that Adam and Eve had made was because
He wanted to teach them that they couldn’t do anything to make themselves
acceptable to God.
People often
try to do things to make themselves
acceptable to God, but no one
can make himself acceptable to God by what he does. God will not accept anything
that is done according to man’s ideas. God only accepts whatever is done according to His way.
•
Animals had to die so that Adam
and Eve could be clothed.
Before Adam and Eve
sinned, there had
never been death
in the world. Because they sinned, all people,
animals and plants would die.
The first death in the world was caused by God to provide
clothing for Adam and
Eve. When God killed the animals, He was showing Adam and Eve that
disobedience to Him had brought death
into the world.
•
God was the only One who could provide acceptable clothing for
Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve did not kill the animals to make clothing.
God killed the animals. God
shed the animals’ blood. And then God took the skins off the animals and
made clothing for Adam and Eve.
•
God provided clothing for Adam
and Eve even though they had disobeyed Him.
Adam and Eve were guilty of disobeying God, but God is merciful and gracious.
God provided clothing for them, even though they did not deserve it. He wanted to
show them that He was the only One
who could make them acceptable to Him.
•
God put clothing of skin on Adam
and Eve.
God had killed
the animals. God had made the clothing. And then God put the clothing on Adam and Eve. He didn’t just give them clothing and tell them to put it on. God clothed them.
2.
God put Adam and Eve out of the garden, away from
the tree of life.
Read Genesis 3:22-23
22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become
like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from
the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!”23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to
cultivate the ground from which he had been made.
God the Father,
God the Son and God the Spirit said this. They were talking to each other, and they were talking about
Adam and Eve.
•
Because Adam and Eve had
disobeyed God, they knew good and
evil.
When God first made Adam and Eve, they didn’t know or experience anything bad. They only knew what was good. Everything God made and gave to them was
good. Everything God told them to do was good. They didn’t know about Satan or his deceptive ways.
God knew that Satan wanted
to destroy them, but they
didn’t. But after they disobeyed, they came to know things that God knew. They
realized that not everything was good. Some
things were evil.
Satan had deceived Eve so that she thought
it would be good for her and Adam to eat
the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
As soon as Adam
and Eve ate that fruit, they were filled with shame and fear. Then they knew that not everything was good but that some things were evil.
God knew what was good and what was evil. Adam and Eve should have trusted
God to tell them what was good and what was evil instead of finding out for
themselves.
•
Because Adam and Eve had disobeyed
God, He would not allow them to eat from
the tree of life.
God had planted two important trees in the middle of the garden in Eden, the tree
of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He planted the tree of life
because he wanted Adam and Eve to eat
the fruit of it so they would never die.
However, after they had disobeyed God and eaten the fruit from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, He would not allow them
to eat the fruit from the tree
of life. Because they were separated from God, they would also have to die
physically. Therefore, God put Adam and Eve, the father and mother of us all, out of the garden, away from the tree of life.
When Satan sinned, God put him out of his wonderful
position in Heaven.
After Adam and Eve sinned, God put them out of the garden.
God doesn’t ask anyone
what He should do. He is supreme. God hates sin and always punishes those who
rebel against Him.
3.
God put cherubim and a flaming
sword to keep Adam and Eve away from the
tree of life.
Read Genesis 3:24
After sending them
out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the
east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and
forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
•
God
put Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden.
Then at the east of the garden, God put some of His good angels, called cherubim, and a sword of fire which turned every way. The cherubim
and the sword were to prevent anyone coming to the tree of life. God put them there to make sure that Adam
and Eve could not return and eat the fruit from the tree of life.
•
There was absolutely no way
Adam and Eve could get back into the garden.
If they had tried to get back to the tree of life, the cherubim
would have seen them, and they would
have been killed
by the sword of fire. Once God put Adam and
Eve out of the garden,
there was nothing
they could do to get back and eat fruit
from the tree of life. They would now
grow old and die.
•
Adam and Eve could not trick or
deceive God.
He could see what they were doing all the time. And the same is true today. God has
not changed. It is impossible to deceive or trick God. God sees and knows everything you do. There is no
place where you can hide from Him.
There is never a time when you are out of God’s sight. He even knows your every
thought. No one can fight against
God and win. God hates disobedience to His commands
and will not allow any disobedient person to live with Him.
Questions
1.
Why did God refuse to accept the clothing that Adam and Eve had made?
2.
Can a person make himself
acceptable to God by anything that he does?
3.
Who is the only One who could make
Adam and Eve acceptable to God?
4.
What was God showing Adam and Eve when He killed the animals to make clothing
for them?
5.
Did Adam and Eve deserve to have God provide clothing for them?
6.
In what way did Adam and Eve become like God after they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Why did God put Adam and Eve out of the garden in Eden?
7.
What did God do to make sure Adam and Eve would not be able to return and eat the fruit
from the tree of life?
8.
Can anyone trick or deceive
God?
