I was preparing for my Old Testament class this past week and I was walking through the creation narrative and I was dwelling on the proto evangelium (first Gospel) in Genesis 3:15. It was then as I kept reading that the Lord revealed something to me that never really dawned on me till recently. The Lord provided clothing for Adam and Eve on their way out of the garden. He clothed them. Keep in mind that the man and his wife were already wearing clothing made from fig leaves. Yet, the Lord removes these old clothes and robes them with clothing from Him.
How fascinating is that? That even in this moment of disappointment and shame, the Lord gives grace and what I believe to be foreshadowing of the way that Jesus covers our iniquities and clothes us in righteousness. This led me to ponder on the ways that there is this theme of tacking off the rags and putting on the robes of righteousness provided by the Lord through His Son. I think about the parable of the wedding banquet and the white robes. My mind jumps to the prodigal son being robed with one of the gracious father’s closet. I am sure there are many other parallels in the OT & NT that I haven’t even thought of yet. Actually, typing this at this moment I just thought about the way David refused to be robbed in Saul’s armor. The Scriptures really are quite fascinating to think about the ways it all weaves together. I tell you that every time I read it, the Lord shares something new with me that I never thought of or saw before. There is definitely more research to be done on this fascinating topic.
But in the meantime, may we all take off our Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Yeezy’s and allow ourselves to be clothed in the true “designers” clothing line. The Designer of all. Let us take off our rags and put on the robe of righteousness. Because that’s what our clothes are. They are mere rags before the Lord because we cannot cover our own nakedness or the nakedness of our brothers and sisters. Only the Lord can do that. And there in Genesis, in the very beginning I believe we see a foreshadowing of the Lord doing just that.