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20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. ~ Genesis 3:20-24
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 3 where sin has been introduced to the new world that God has created. Having heard the voice of deception and the voice of judgement, today we hear the voice of grace. So often we miss the many expressions of God's grace. Often we think something to be a blessing turns out to be a curse. And, often that which we think is a curse turns out to be a blessing.
In v.20 of today's passage we read, "And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living."
The first thing we notice in this verse is that Adam named "Eve" which means "life." By choosing that name for Eve, Adam demonstrated his faith in God’s promise to provide a Redeemer. He knew this Redeemer would restore them to spiritual life and fellowship with God. But he had no idea that it would be 4000 years before the Redeemer would come. All he knew at that moment was that there would be One who would restore them to a personal relationship with God. Even though Adam and Eve had come to the end of the Garden of God, they had hope of a better day ahead and they exhibited faith in the Lord who had promised their redemption.
In v.21 of today's passage we read, "Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them."
The clothing of the first couple was not required for God's benefit. It does not make any difference to God that Adam and Eve are naked. In fact, as Hebrews tells us, we are all always naked before God -- everything is naked and open in his sight. It is not God who requires this clothing, nor is it Adam and Eve, though it may have bothered them to be naked before God in their fallen condition, but it is because of the others who would see them that they were clothed. Clothing is for public appearance. God desires that the mark of His acceptance and acknowledgment of them be manifest to the whole universe. That is why Adam and Eve were clothed, and this is the primary purpose of clothing.
Only after naming his wife "life," did God clothe the first couple. The symbolism found here in this verse follows through the whole Bible, even to the last book in the Bible, the book of the Revelation. The reason God waited to do this until after Adam named His wife was due to the fact that man has never nor will ever be able to save himself. When the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, God didn’t tell them to get out of the mess themselves. Instead, He led them out, He guided them out of Egypt. In fact God said to the children of Israel, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today." The Lord waited to clothed the first couple after Adam named his wife "life" because this name was a demonstration of their faith. They lost access to the Garden when they lacked faith and it was only by faith that they could ever hope to be restored to it.
Something had to die, an innocent animal – probably a lamb or a ram had to die to pay the penalty that was created by the first couple. God didn’t kill Adam or Eve, but rather chose an innocent animal in their place. In essence, He transferred their guilt to the animal and the animal suffered for their misdeeds. This symbolizes God’s choice of the only sacrifice which is truly acceptable to Him, the death of Jesus Christ – the Lamb of God.
In Revelation 3:4-5 we read, "4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."
Later in the book of the Revelation we see that the white garments stand for the righteousness of the saints. It is an imputed righteousness, meaning that it was undeserved, but is given to them based on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, after demonstrating their faith, God provided their clothing. In the same way, the Lord Jesus gives us His robes of righteousness only after we demonstrate faith in Him.
In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "22 Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken."
Fallen man became like the Triune God, he came to know good and evil. Not only was he responsible for his actions, but Adam knew the difference between them and he bore the greater responsibility because of the knowledge. God knew that if the first couple were to live forever in the fallen state they were in with clothing that only symbolically covered their shame, they would become infinitely bent on wickedness and evil. And so in a demonstration of both mercy and grace, He took away their access to eternal life. The Lord drove them out of the Garden "to till the ground from which he was taken." The purpose of being in the Garden wasn’t to tend and keep it, but to worship and serve the Creator. Now they would have to tend and keep the ground in order to survive. Worshiping and serving the Creator would be a voluntary task based on faith and not by sight. The life of the faithful since then, even to this day is centered on worshipping and serving the Creator, but our deeds are not done to justify us. They are deeds of faith in an unseen God and they are based on promises which lie ahead of us in a world which mocks and ridicules us for our hope.
In v.24 of today's passage we read, "So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."
God graciously drove man out of the Garden of Eden from the presence of God and the beauty of the Garden. A heavenly guard was placed east of the garden to keep Adam and his bride out so that they couldn’t get to the Tree of Life. In their condition, if they had accessed the Tree of Life, they would have been doomed forever. But a guard implies that access is possible. The very fact that the cherubim was placed there proves that a return to Eden was not only available, but was expected.
The rest of the Bible, from this point on, details the long adventure of restoring that which was lost. The tabernacle in the wilderness foreshadows access to Eden. The Most Holy Place where God dwelt above the Ark of the Covenant was separated from the outside by a veil on which was sewn cherubim. This veil pointed east, toward the rising sun, reminding all of the hope that still remained.
Later, the temple in Jerusalem also faced west with the veil and its cherubim facing east. On a spring morning in the year AD32 the Lord Jesus died on the cross that was rightfully ours within sight of that temple. Unlike Adam, who died in his own sin, this man had never sinned. Being sinless, He was destined to live forever, but He voluntarily gave up His precious life to replace what Adam had lost. The moment He died, the veil to the temple, which was 18 to 24 inches thick, was torn in two from the top to bottom by the Creator.
The Lord Jesus absorbed the wrath of God on the behalf of all who have and will be willing enough to trust in His finished work on the cross. On that very somber day when the Lord Jesus laid down His life, access past the cherubim was restored and the Tree of Life was again made available to all those who, by faith and by faith alone, have been and are willing to receive the work of God in Jesus Christ and to bow in submission to Him, calling on Him as Lord.
