Sewing Fig Leaves
Naked and unashamed.
That was Adam and Eve’s experience in the garden (Genesis 2:25). But when they ate the forbidden fruit, sin and death entered the world. Along with it came the shame of no longer being who God designed them to be: "At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.” (Genesis 3:7a).
We all, as descendants of Adam and Eve, are aware on some level that we are not who God designed us to be. And with that awareness, whether we are fully conscious of it or not, comes that same feeling of shame.
The universality of shame
Have you ever done something wrong and the reality of what you were capable of hit you like a ton of bricks? The reality that you are deeply marred and capable of evil—that’s shame. It’s important to note that shame doesn’t only come from the sins we commit, but often results from the sins committed against us. For example, a child who is abused by an adult no doubt feels shame from this even though they did nothing wrong.
No matter where our shame stems from, our response is often the same as Adam and Eve’s: we hide (“they hid from the Lord God among the trees” Genesis 3:8b) and we work hard to cover ourselves up (“they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves” Genesis 3:7b).
The only experience I have with sewing was in a Home Ec class in 8th grade. Even though I was provided with an instructor, a sewing machine, and all the thread and fabric I needed, I assure you… it was rough. So when I picture Adam and Eve sewing fig leaves together, having never seen clothes before let alone used a sewing needle, I can only imagine that this process was utterly frustrating and exhausting. And yet they pushed through because they were so desperate to cover their brokenness.
Covering our shame
Still today, we try to cover ourselves to hide the brokenness underneath. We try to prove to everyone around us that we have it all together, and we work furiously at it. Working to prove ourselves successful at work or at school or in our hobbies or in our relationships, all the while running and hiding from the shame we feel deep down.
Consider the father who feels confused by his role as dad. He doesn’t feel capable and feels ashamed of what he lacks. So he throws himself into his work and is as successful as he can be, but is hiding from his family. We all have our own fig leaves that we’re sewing and our own things that we’re hiding from. Yet despite all of our hard work, we know deep down that these efforts are fruitless, feeble at best. Like Adam and Eve, we are left frustrated and exhausted.
Thankfully, we have a God who seeks after us even when we hide from him, just like he sought out Adam and Eve in the garden (“Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” Genesis 3:9). He longs for us to be vulnerable with Him, to be real. To stop hiding. Because then, He can provide us with what we really need.
A restored relationship
God knew that Adam and Eve’s fig leaf coverings weren’t what they really needed. What they needed more than anything was a restored relationship with their Creator, and that was something they couldn’t achieve on their own, no matter how furiously they worked at it. The solution needed to come from Him: “And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” (Genesis 3:21). This covering could only be provided by the shedding of blood, a sacrifice. “For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22b). But this, along with every other sacrifice in the Old Testament, was a mere shadow of the great sacrifice that was to come—when God Himself would come to shed His own blood. Not only to forgive our sins but to cover our shame. Once and for all.
