Well, you're aware of how that situation with the man and God in the garden turned out. Placed in a perfect environment and given only one commandment, the man chose to disobey. What God had to say to him – as well as the woman, and the serpent – when the voice of the Lord came walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8-13) is what we refer to as the Adamic covenant.
The curse that resulted from man's sin is recorded in Genesis 3:14-19. The serpent was cursed. The woman was cursed. The man was cursed. And the ground was cursed. But the blessing of the Adamic covenant is found in verse 15, where God promised that a Redeemer would come and undo all that Adam had just done.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
But not only does the chapter provide this first great PROPHECY concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 21 contains this first great PICTURE that traces throughout the rest of the Bible:
Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
In order to obtain those coats of skin, what had to happen? An animal had to be sacrificed; its blood had to be shed (see Genesis 4; Exodus 12; Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22; et al).
Both this PROPHECY and this PICTURE point us to one blessed truth we can associate with and carry from this Adamic covenant, and that is JESUS BORE SIN'S CURSE (see Galatians 3:10-13; Romans 8:19-25).
After we stop and let the glory of that truth sink in for just a minute (and thank God for our Savior), let's think back to the Edenic covenant. Wasn't Adam promised that he would die the day he ate the forbidden fruit in disobedience (Genesis 2:17)? Then how did he live to be 930 years old (Genesis 5:5)?
I'm fairly certain we've all heard one explanation or another, but in light of what we've learned, could it be that on that day the eternal Son of God offered Himself to the Father and pledged to take Adam's place in death? Is He not the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8)? Does not the type that begins in Genesis 3:21 and runs throughout the rest of scripture point to One, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Hebrews 10:1-10)?
I'm glad that Jesus Christ took the wages of my sin upon Himself and died so I could have eternal life! Praise the Lord, JESUS BORE SIN'S CURSE!
Click here to download Bro. James' 20 free outline studies on Genesis 3.
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