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.

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 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?