Don’t you love it when you get a fresh revelation from a scripture that you have read many times before? When the Lord reveals truth about a scripture in a fresh new way, it’s awesome and powerful!
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Genesis 3:7 (KJV)
The above scripture is one that I have read quite a few times, but today God gave me a new revelation of it.
It started out with talking to a friend about her adult daughter . My friend shared that her daughter is struggling with feelings of lack and inadequacy about herself. As I began to pray for her, the Lord dropped the above scripture on my heart for her. I knew there was more to this scripture that I needed to study and meditate on.
Definitions of words from above scripture according to Strong’s Concordance:
Open: open, fountain, or well.
Knew: to become acquainted with
Naked: utterly naked and helpless
Made themselves: to do, fashion, accomplish, to work, and to produce, to perform
Aprons: girdle, belt
When Adam and Eve fell in sin, their eyes opened to something they had never experienced before. They tapped into a new fountain or well that was poisonous to their soul and spirit! They became knowledgeable about their true state without God. They realized that they are truly helpless, and this brought fear in their hearts.
This scripture reminds me of newborn babies. When a baby is born, he/she is utterly helpless and cannot exist without the sustaining nurturing of the caregivers. The good news is that the baby has no awareness of this for a long time. All they know is that when they cry, someone is there to help. Can you imagine a baby having the cognitive ability to realize that they are not able to walk, talk, go to the bathroom, or do anything for themselves!?
The parents are well aware of their baby’s helpless situation, and they are willing to lovingly and joyfully tend to every need. It’s actually a precious time when you can embrace your baby and nurture him/her. However, if the baby knew the reality of his/her situation, they could go into panic mode. Because they are not aware, they can enjoy being a baby and eat and sleep peacefully.
In a similar way, we were designed to not be aware of our helpless and lacking condition. We were designed to rely on our relationship with the Lord and let Him meet all our needs. However, when sin entered the world, we became well acquainted with our lack, which caused great insecurity and inferiority in our hearts.
Adam & Eve became aware that they were naked for the first time. Their lack produced shame and insecurity in their hearts. God had created them naked and had seen them naked all along. He didn’t have a problem with their nakedness. That was not an issue for Him, and it didn’t need to be an issue for them. However, the self-knowledge brought such a shame that caused them to do something about it.
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. There is more to the story. Stay tuned!
