Lamb
of God
Throughout the history of Israel, lambs play a key role.
Adam and Eve lived in a perfect environment. Everything
was provided for them. They had one command: “Don’t eat of the fruit of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” With hundreds of other choices, this
should have been easy. However, the heart of man is evil continually. After
concluding that God’s request was unreasonable, as the fruit was very good, Eve
took of the fruit and gave to Adam as well. You know the story. They now, for the first time, realize that
they are naked; and they hide from the face of the Lord. He asks them where
they are and “guesses” that they disobeyed. Then the blame-game starts.
In all this story, there is one verse where God sets the
standard for centuries. “Unto Adam also
and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Genesis
3:21)
Wait.
WHERE DID THE SKINS COME FROM?
Up until this point
in time, there has been no death. None at all. -Not even a mosquito. It makes
me begin to wonder, and my imagination begins to fill in the details that the
Scripture omits. Of course, imagination is far from inspired, but humor me just
a bit, okay?
After telling them their punishments, Adam and Eve look down at themselves. They are so ashamed to be naked, and their leaf aprons leave so much to be desired. Then God calls over a
lamb. As he prepares to slay it, Adam shudders and Eve begins to cry. They had
named this lamb. They had cared for this lamb. It was almost like a pet. And now,
because of their sin, God has to kill it. The lamb had no fault! But the
lamb took the ultimate blame by giving its life so that they could be clothed. I
can imagine God giving instructions on how to do it, explaining the purpose of
the sacrifice, and how it was a picture of His Perfect Lamb to come. He was
setting a pattern for centuries to come. As the Lord prepares the skins and
drapes them over their shoulders, the reality of their sin sets in. THEY had
sinned. Therefore, THEY had to kill that lamb. The lamb is now covering their
sin.
Adam told his sons, and they told their sons. Each
generation carefully relates the story to the next generation as they prepare
to give sacrifices to the Lord. Filled with shame, they explains that because Adam
had sinned, sin passed on all mankind. Sin is natural. It is anything they
think, say, or do that breaks God’s law. They too, needed a covering of righteousness.
Hundreds of years later, Jesus Christ, the Perfect Lamb
came on the scene. He was the Son of God. He did no wrong. Yet, he took the
shame and blame of my sin, and exchanged it for the covering of Righteousness. “The
next day, John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world.”(John 1:29)
Even as I write this, tears well up in my eyes. My sin. My pride, selfishness, lust, anger,
impatience, and independence put Him on that cross! He didn’t deserve to die.
However, just as the lamb took the ultimate cost of Adam and Eve’s sin, Christ
paid the ultimate cost for my sin. Now I too can stand fully clothed in a coat
of righteousness, clean in the sight of God.
Jesus Christ died for you too. Will you admit your sin and
let His righteousness cover you?
"Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; indeed having been foreknown before the foundation of the world, but revealed in the last times for you, those believing in God through Him, He who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God. Purifying your souls in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brothers, love one another fervently out of a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the living Word of God, and abiding forever." (1 Peter 1:18-23 MKJV)
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