Adam and Eve were intended to live a life of perfection- if they never ate the fruit, we would have never needed a savior. Before they sinned, the Lord God walked with them in the Garden of Eden. The relationship God had with them was real and personal. However, once sin entered their hearts it caused them to be separated from that relationship. They began hiding from the Lord immediately and isolating themselves from his presence. They didn’t have to be told that they did wrong, their soul could feel the change. Because of their sin, the Lord could no longer walk with them in the same way as he did before since nothing unholy can be in the presence of God. So, the Lord decided that nothing would separate Him from us, and He made a way for us to continue to fellowship with him and have our sins covered through animal sacrifice.
The first animal sacrifice was in the garden after the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21). They realized their shame and nakedness. And still today our shame from our sin can cause us to feel exposed and bare to where we hide. We pull away from God, friends, and family, we isolate ourselves from anyone whom we think could be disappointed in our actions. When we know we are doing wrong, our first instinct is to isolate or run. But God- came down from heaven and performed the first act of forgiveness and mercy by not only creating a sacrifice for the sin that they committed but through his mercy he clothed them with garments of skin from that sacrifice. God immediately extended his grace and mercy to Adam and Eve by clothing their nakedness, covering their shame, and making a way despite their sinful nature to be able to continue to walk and fellowship with God.
The enemy is constantly trying to find a way to separate us from the love of God. His deception is sometimes so great that it can cause us to feel like we are far away from God. Sometimes it feels like our sin is so great that the Lord has forgotten us. But the God of Creation also known as El Roi (Genesis 16:13), meaning “the God who sees me,” sees you! He sees you when you are struggling, He sees you when you are desperate for His interception, He sees you when you isolate when you grieve when you sin, and when you repent. Even when it seems He is silent in the midst of you crying out to Him, He sees you. God will always make a way where there seems to be no way.
~Pastor Lynlee Cooper