God’s Grace: Compassion Despite Sin – Genesis 16:7-10

Abram didn’t wait on God and he agreed to Sarai’s plan for him to have a child with her servant, Hagar. When the baby was born, we are told that Hagar looked down upon Sarai. Sarai, of course, appeals to Abram to do something. Abram instead puts it back on Sarai to deal with the situation. Sarai responds by treating Hagar harshly and Hagar leaves the household.

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”

Genesis 16:7-10, ESV

Based on what we are told in Scripture, Hagar’s attitude is the major reason why the relationship between her and Sarai broke down. Hagar began looking down on Sarai and when Abram gave Sarai the green light to do what she wanted, she abused Hagar. In the end, both women are responsible for the broken family situation. Certainly, what Hagar did was sin. Yet in the verses above we see God acting compassionately towards her. He asks her to return and submit to Sarai. In return, God promised to multiply her descendants. We know later that God intended the child He promised to Abram to come from Sarai. Yet God still extended this promise to Hagar.

Given what happened, it’s hard to come to the conclusion that Hagar earned the reward God promised. We would agree that the way Sarai treated Hagar was wrong. It was sin. But enduring sin because of your own sin is not grounds for a reward. So we can say that in spite of Hagar’s own sin, God still rewarded her. God still sent His angel to intercept her and keep her from going away. This is a clear illustration of God’s grace: unmerited, undeserved favor.

Be encouraged, because even in our sin, God is still going to be God. He is a compassionate, kind, and loving God. Sometimes, He allows us to go through a bad situation to the bitter end because we need that pain, that suffering, to grow. But even when He allows such things to happen, He is still with us. He is still protecting us. He is still ensuring that we we will spend eternity with Him. Sometimes, He allows us to go through a bad situation because others need it or they will need the us who will come out the other side. Be encouraged, because again God is with us in these situations. Be encouraged, because despite our sin, God is still the good Father who looks after His children.

God’s Grace: Counted as Righteousness – Genesis 15:1-6

After the rescue of Lot and the subsequent encounter with the priest of Melchizedek, Abram was again visited by God. God promised Abram a great reward, but Abram’s heart was troubled. Abram was still without a child to inherit his accumulated wealth. Without a child, it would all pass to someone who worked for Abram. God reassured Abram that Abram would have a son and from that son would come more children and children of children and so forth until there would be so many that their number would be like the stars Abram could see in the night sky.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:1-6, ESV

If we stopped right there, we could marvel at God’s incredible promise. However, verse 6 has something more incredible in it. Abram believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness! Abram didn’t accomplish a task or finish a project. He didn’t lift a hand. He simply believed. Sure, the promise seemed incredible. As incredible as it was, in that moment, Abram trusted God to deliver the promise. God counted that belief as righteousness. Even more incredible, right?

But let’s unpack that some more. If you know what happens in Abram’s life, you know that his first son was not from Sarai, but from her servant, Hagar. During those events, rather than trusting God and His promise, Abram agreed to Sarai’s suggestion, took her servant and had a child, and thereby caused strife in the household until eventually Hagar and Ishamel left. So God counted this act of belief as righteousness even knowing that later on Abram wouldn’t count on this promise and he would do something that would eventually lead to generation and generations of strife and fighting, even to the present day.

God is the same way with us. Abram didn’t earn that righteousness. He didn’t deserve that righteousness. It was credited to him. That’s grace in action. Similarly, when we believe God, the righteousness that is credited to us is also grace in action. From the moment of first believe onward, everything is grace. Our crowns we are promised? Grace. Entrance into the throne room of the Almighty to speak with Him through prayer? Grace. Grace abounds all around us if we pause long enough to consider all the undeserved and unmerited blessings and promises God gives us. Rejoice, for our faith is counted as righteousness just as Abram’s was. Rejoice, because God is a promise keeper and just as He made promises to Abram, He has made a lot of promises to us, too. Of course, the most important promise is Jesus and what He has done to save us. Be encouraged, because God will deliver based on who He is, not who we are. God does it in spite of our sin or times when we are weak in our faith. Be encouraged, because just as He stayed true to Abram despite Abram failing in his faith, He will be true to us, too.

God’s Grace: A Remnant – Genesis 14:13-16

One is enough. With just one, God does amazing things. With a single individual, loss can be converted into victory. A single person can mean a tragedy is overcome. It happens repeatedly throughout Scripture. One of the best examples is when Lot is taken captive as “collateral damage” in a war between kings.

Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Genesis 14:13-16, ESV

A single man escaped and found his way to Abram, to tell Uncle Abram what happened to nephew Lot. A single individual brought the bad news back to Abram. All it took was one. All it took was this courageous man to let Abram know the fact that had befallen Lot. And with the news, Abram sprung into action. He prepared his own men to go and rescue Lot. They pursued the group who had Lot, defeated them, and brought back everything and everyone.

If you want examples of a single man, led by God, changing the world, the book of Judges is filled with such history. Throughout the rest of Scripture we see men like Moses, like David, like Elijah, like Nehemiah, and like Daniel stepping up and confronting what they knew they needed to do. Maybe God needed to push them a bit, like with Moses, but in the end God was able to use such men to change the course of history. Of course, these men were to point us towards the single Man who could change our history, Jesus. But the single individual making a difference didn’t stop once our Savior won victory at the Cross. Scripture records other individual stepping up and making a difference, too: Peter, Stephen, Philip, and Paul are the obvious ones. But let’s not forget Barnabas, Epaphroditus, or John Mark, either. Barnabas’ contributions are mentioned briefly and the other two are described in loving detail by Paul by Paul for their prayer life and their usefulness. John Mark is a great example of someone who initially didn’t measure up, but later stepped up, changing Paul’s mind about him.

Be encouraged, for even if you are among a small remnant faithfully doing what you’re supposed to be doing, God can use you. Even if you’re the only one, God’s power is not diminished. Maybe God doesn’t bring about what you and I think we should want, but remember that God acts in perfect wisdom, with perfect vision, and with perfect timing. As long as are faithful, even if our number is one, God can bring the miracle. Be encouraged and do not lose hope in any situation God has called you to be in. Perhaps God wants you in the middle of things, like we saw with Elijah or Moses. Or perhaps God just needs you to play a small part, like the man who made it to Abram. Be encouraged, for whatever your role, God is with you. Be encouraged, for whatever your role, “small part” or more, how we size it doesn’t tell the whole story. There are no insignificant tasks or insignificant people in God’s Kingdom. Be encouraged, for whatever good it is we need to do, Scripture tells us that He has already prepared the way before us. All we need to do is faithfully execute and leave the rest to Him. God can use the one or the many. So let’s respond with trust in what He is doing. Be encouraged, even if you are the only one.

God’s Grace: Fixing a Situation – Genesis 12:17-20

Have you ever been in a situation you can’t fix on your own? What may make it worse is if someone whom you trusted put you there. Situations like this stress me out. I like to be the one who comes up with the solution. So when I am in a bad spot and I can’t do anything about it, I hate it. The good news is as I’ve grown with God, I’ve learned to trust Him more and more.

But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

Genesis 12:17-20, ESV

We can focus on Sarai here, but the reality is that both Pharaoh and Sarai were wronged by Abram’s decision. Abram knew that his wife was a beautiful woman who other men, especially men with power, would want. He feared that the Egyptians would kill him in order to take Sarai. Even though God had promised to make him a father of nations, which would imply that God would protect Abram, Abram was scared and he made a huge mistake. He told his wife to tell everyone that she was his sister, which was a half-truth because she was his half-sister. However, the fact that she was his wife was something they were both to keep hidden.

Thinking Sarai was only Abram’s sister, Pharaoh took her into his household. Scripture doesn’t tell us if Abram and Sarai’s marriage was compromised by this action. However, even if it wasn’t, it would eventually be. Abram knew full well what the likelihood and the consequences of misleading the Egyptians but he made that horrible decision anyway.

Sarai was in a situation which she couldn’t do anything about. Pharaoh was in a situation that if he knew the truth, he likely would have chosen differently (we can say that with assurance because of God’s promise of Abram’s offspring earlier in the chapter). Abram wasn’t going to fix the situation. The victims, Pharaoh and Sarai, were unable to correct the situation on their own and the one who could wouldn’t. So God stepped in.

Often when I can’t fix a situation, God has stepped in for me, just as He did for Pharaoh and Sarai in this one. He often doesn’t resolve the situation in the manner I would have, but even when He does, it’s always better than I could have done on my own. When God hasn’t stepped in, if I am properly checking in with Him through prayer, I learn a lot about the situation, about myself, and sometimes He gives me insight into why He isn’t stepping in. God doesn’t always fix the situation. For instance, each of his Apostles met their death because of their faith. All but John were martyred. From our perspective, we likely would have thought the “fix” to be to rescue them from death. However, we know from Paul’s writings that he knew his end was coming and that he was looking forward to it, for to him, “to die is gain.” After all, death would mean his work here in this lifetime would have come to an end and he would be able to go forward to his forever home and his reward with Christ. If we think about this deeper, we do realize that God did indeed fix Paul’s situation and to the best possible solution.

Be encouraged, because God can and will step in as He needs to, especially when we are powerless. Be encouraged, because in Romans Paul wrote that God uses all things for the good of those who believe. It may not be in the way we would choose, but it’s always for the best. Be encouraged, because even if our situation is one which brings about suffering, God does not leave us to suffer alone. Be encouraged, for God loves us so much that he will use both good and bad situations to develop us, to mature us, to make us more like Him. Praise our God who love us this much!

God’s Grace: Father of Nations – Genesis 12:1-3

When I first went off to the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics for my junior year, I intended to go to college to be an aerospace engineer. By the time I was applying to colleges as a senior, the military aerospace industry here in the United States had hit hard times and I decided to go to The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, as an electrical engineering major. While I graduated with a technical degree, I didn’t stay in electrical engineering. A lot changed over six years. If I were to go back to that rising high school junior and ask, “Did you expect these things to come to pass, that younger me would have said, “No.”

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3, ESV

Abram was called by God to leave everything he knew behind. He was to leave most of his family, taking only his wife. He was to leave comfort. He was to leave what he was used to. He was to leave his support network. God’s promise, though, was amazing. If Abram would go on this journey of faith, God would make him into a great nation. God would make him a legend. God would make him a blessing to those who blessed him and a curse to those who dishonored him. But most importantly, everyone would be blessed because of Abram. That’s an unbelievable promise.

Did Abram deserve it? He did not. We see in Abram’s life a man who, despite God’s promise, puts his wife on the line for his own safety. He does this not once, but twice. He pretends they aren’t married. And when he and his wife are unable to conceive, Abram doesn’t trust that God will eventually provide on that promise to make him a great nation, but goes along with his wife’s plan to let him have a child through her servant. So while we see examples of incredible faith for Abram, we also see cases of total failure.

Yet God blessed him. Yet God honored His promise to Abram. Here’s the thing to remember: nothing Abram later did, especially his sin, came as a surprise to God. God knew the path Abram’s life would take and gave the promise anyway. He made Abram, later Abraham, the father of nations, just as He promised. And because Jesus’ ancestral line is traced back to Abraham, indeed, all are blessed tying back to Abraham, just as God promised.

So what about God’s promises to us? He honors them because of who He is. He made them and will honor them in our lives in spite of our sin. He already knew our entire life stories when He made those promises. He made them anyways. Just as God made incredible, amazing promises to Abram, He has made incredible, amazing promises to us. And He will honor each and every one of them. He will do so because that is His very nature. Rejoice, for God’s promises aren’t dependent on us. They are solely rooted in Him. Rejoice, because God will deliver them to us, in spite of where we might go wrong. And one of those promises is to help us work out our salvation, to become the people He wants us to be. To keep moving in the direction of our Savior, Jesus.

God’s Grace: A Promise to Us All – Genesis 8:20-22

Though Noah had evidence that indicated that the waters had subsided, we find that in Genesis 8 he still waits on God to give the instruction to leave the ark. Once God’s command comes to do so, Noah, his family, and all the animals carried on the ark disembarked. Immediately after that, we see in verse 20 that Noah builds an altar and worships God. In response, God gives us an incredible promise.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Genesis 8:20-22, ESV

God knew that even though Noah found favor in His sight, that man would still tend towards wickedness. Even Noah would fall prey to sin. Yet, despite that sin, despite that wickedness, God would never level punishment out like He did with the flood. In reality, when God brought the flood, it was a deserved punishment. Yet God chose to save all the rest of mankind through one man: Noah. Sound familiar?

It is often said that there’s a scarlet thread which runs through all the books of the Bible, at least the 66 books that make up the Bible without a particular denomination’s extra books, their Apocrypha. In Genesis we see a prophecy of Christ at the fall, when God tells Even that her offspring will crush the skull of the serpent as it strikes at the heel. Here, we see a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do. Paul wrote eloquently in Romans 5:18-21 how righteousness and salvation comes through one man, Christ Jesus. How God deal with humanity through Noah serves to point us towards Jesus. It reminds us that God can and will save us through the action of the Son of Man, that Jesus is sufficient and up to the task. That is why the Protestant reformation and subsequently Reformed theology insists on solus Christus, Christ alone, as one of the solas as the foundation of our belief.

The promise made through Noah goes beyond the promise not to destroy all life. It goes beyond the promise not to change the earth so that what we understand about the seasons, about day and night, shall not go away. He will not cause this to happen again, and that’s something to rejoice, yes. But of even greater reason to praise God is the foreshadowing, the pointing to Jesus, that He gave us through Noah. Jesus alone is all that’s necessary to save us from our sins. Jesus alone is the only one who can restore us and allow us to be clothed in His righteousness so that we may have eternal life. Jesus alone is enough for us to make it each day in this life. Jesus alone!

God’s Grace: Saving His Creation – Genesis 6:5-8, ESV

Have you ever been so disappointed and/or angry at how something you worked on or created turned out, that you just got rid of it? I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve started writing something, paused to look over what I wrote, and decided it was easier to discard it and start over than try to fix what I had already written. Do you have a past event like that in your mind? Now imagine it isn’t just one occurrence, but many. Now imagine that it’s not things but people. People who should know better. People who should know better but still choose to do the wrong thing. And they were choosing to do the wrong thing to where it could be described for any particular individual that “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Hey angry would you be? How much regret would you have at how everything turned out? God reached that point.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Genesis 6:5-8, ESV

Man, collectively, was wicked. Noah was an outlier. However, Noah wasn’t perfect, either, as we learn after the flood. God was fully justified in destroying His creation. They had gone so far beyond the pale that He did destroy everyone except Noah, Noah’s wife, Noah’s sons, and their wives. God showed grace and mercy towards Noah and his family. If we think about it, the grace and mercy shown to Noah was actually grace and mercy towards everyone who descended from Noah. That’s all of us. If God didn’t preserve Noah, none of us would be here.

We know Noah was a man who sinned, too. In Genesis 9 Noah drank too much wine and passed out. This allowed Ham to do something which was also a sin. While both of these events happened some time after the flood, it reminds us that Noah and everyone else on that ark were sinners like the rest of us. Yet God chose to show them mercy. We aren’t told exactly what Noah did to receive favor in God’s eyes but we do see Noah listening to and obeying God when instructed to build the ark and the steps to take afterwards. That doesn’t make up for any sins Noah committed, though. So Noah didn’t earn salvation from the flood any more than we can earn salvation from sin.

Noah is an example for us to look upon when we doubt God’s mercy and love. There are a lot of things that can temporarily shake us up. However, examples like how God treated Noah are in Scripture to remind us that as God was merciful to Noah because Noah found favor in His sight, He also will show us mercy and save us because through Jesus we have also found favor in His sight. Again, it’s not because of anything we’ve done. Our favor is due solely to Jesus. Praise God for our Savior! Praise God for His grace! Praise God for giving us reminders of His great love!

God’s Grace: Provision Even in Sin – Genesis 4:14-16

The details we have with how God dealt with Cain are amazing to consider. If anyone deserved their comeuppance, Cain did. He first “mailed it in” with respect to his offering to God. He then lied to and tricked his brother Abel. Having succeeding in fooling Abel, Cain killed his brother and then tried to hide the evidence. Then, when confronted by God about Abel’s whereabouts, Cain lied to God. Yes, God did punish him, but the reality is that God could have done far worse. Had I been the one deciding Cain’s punishment, with my limited knowledge and wisdom, I don’t believe for a moment that I would treated him so mercifully. Yet God did:

Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Genesis 4:14-16, ESV

When God pronounced punishment on Cain, Cain told God that anyone who came across Cain would kill him. After all, Cain’s deeds would be known to others. His inability to farm the land and grow food would have been a liability in any community. Those two things would mark Cain for death. Yet look at how God responded. He placed a special mark on Cain and proclaimed that should anyone kill Cain, they would suffer sevenfold. God gave Cain the special consideration that Cain didn’t give his brother, Abel.

I have certainly made a mess of things spiritually in my past. I could argue that at least I didn’t kill anybody, but sin is sin. When I see examples like how God dealt with Cain, how God dealt with an exiled Moses, how God dealt with David after ordering the hit on Uriah, and after God dealt with Saul who became Paul, I am encouraged because God still provides, despite our sin. He provided a means of safety for Cain. He gave Moses another chance to lead. He allowed David to remain on the throne and kept His promise that one of David’s descendants would be on THE throne. And, of course, He removed the scales from Paul’s eyes and led him to an amazing purpose to evangelize the Gospel all throughout the Roman Empire, even to the Emperor himself. These examples from Scripture help me see God at work in my life, despite my sin, despite my disobedience, despite my selfishness, despite my lying heart. I am able to see His provision, wholly unearned and unmerited. I see His grace. Think about how God provides even when we have strayed away from Him. Think about how He meets our needs even though we don’t deserve such consideration. Our God is a God of grace. And He delivers it beyond our wildest expectations. What an amazing God we serve and love!

God’s Grace: A Second Chance – Genesis 4:6-7

I once played for a coach who would often pull players out of the game for making a single mistake. It would be one thing if the players were professionals, but we weren’t. We were just Little League baseball players. I can remember doing more than just pulling players out of the game, things which aren’t proper. But what I remember most was he rarely gave second chances. Remember, we were Little Leaguers, meaning we ranged in age from 9-12 years old.

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis 4:6-7, ESV

Our God gives out plenty of second chances. In the verses preceding this one, we see Abel bringing the best of the firstborn of the flock. His offering was accepted by God. We see Cain bringing offerings too, fruit offerings, but we are not told that there was anything particularly noteworthy about those offerings. Scripture says it was “an offering of the fruit of the ground,” and it’s presented in a way to contrast with what Abel brought. Theologically, some might argue that the reason Abel’s offering was acceptable and Cain’s wasn’t revolved around the shed blood of Abel’s offering. Regardless of our particular viewpoint on why Cain’s offering wasn’t acceptable, verse 7 indicates that Cain knew why his offering was rejected. He knew what “doing well” meant as God gave him a second chance.

Not only did God give Cain a second chance, but He also warned Cain about how he was about to fall prey to sin. God also gave Cain clear instruction to win out over sin. The second chance, the warning, and the instruction are all unmerited favor. Cain knew what he should have done. He didn’t do it. God could have punished Cain for not doing what was expected of him. God didn’t. God showed Cain mercy. We know the rest of the story.

One could turn this around and say that because God showed Cain mercy, Abel paid the ultimate price. However, if God didn’t give the opportunity for Cain to do what was right, then the naysayers against the God of the Bible could argue that Cain should have been given a second chance. The reality is that because Abel followed after God, we know that he will spend eternity with God. The harsh, painful life came quickly to an end and a promised eternity was his. In Cain’s case, God permitted Cain to make his choice. Unfortunately, Cain tragically chose to kill Abel. Even with that, God was merciful in His punishment of Cain, something we’ll look at tomorrow. Cain was given a second chance. He didn’t take it.

None of us deserve a second chance with God. We can’t earn that second chance. We can’t do anything to buy it or win it from Him. Yet Jesus is the second chance of all second chances. He gives us a road to follow even when we stray off of it due to sin. He reminds us with parables like the lost sheep that if we are the ones who have wandered away, He will find us and bring us back. When we sin and we repent, God offers us His full forgiveness. He’s no going to bring up what we’ve done to hammer us over the head with later. His forgiveness means it’s done and over with. God doesn’t owe us any of this. Yet He extends this grace to us because of who He is. God wants us to grow and learn. And God continually gives us chance after chance to do that. This God of second chances is the God whom we serve. He is the One we glorify and worship. So if you are operating on a second chance today, pause and give thanks to our God of second chances!

God’s Grace: The Garments – Genesis 3:20-21

I recently read about an exercise where attendees of a seminar were given three minutes to talk about whatever they wanted, knowing they would die immediately after the speech. When I first thought of this prompt, I thought about God’s great forgiveness. Often times He is merciful to us and provides for us even in the midst of our sin.

The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Genesis 3:20-21, ESV

God had just confronted Adam and Eve about their disobedience. He had been met with both playing the “blame game,” with neither accepting responsibility for what they had done. Because of their disobedience, they were exiled from their garden home, departing to a life of hardship. This is the consequence of sin.

Verse 21, though, is an act of mercy and provision. Neither Adam nor Eve had to worry about clothes in the garden. However, outside the garden was a different world. It was a world they were not prepared for. So God clothed them. Usually, this verse gets remarked about from a theological perspective. To be able to provide those garments, animals would have had to be killed and blood shed. Theologically, it was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ act of grace towards us. All that is true. But we can get so caught up in the theology that we miss the practical example of kindness and mercy which God demonstrates.

If I knew I had 3 minutes to give a speech in which I’d die immediately afterwards, I believe I would speak about a God of grace who shows mercy and provision even when we have been caught up in sin. I’d talk about a God who, despite hating sin, loves us so much that He provided a way through His own sacrifice to rescue us. When we deserved nothing, He gave everything. This is the God I’d speak about for my three minutes, begging anyone who didn’t know Him like this to put aside whatever they thought about Him and to earnestly, with an open heart, explore what Scripture says about God, about us, and how He came through when we couldn’t. What an awesome God! Praise Him!