Genesis 3:21 - Meaning and Application

Here we have another example of God’s care for our first parents, even after their sin. Though he corrects his disobedient children and shows his displeasure, he does not cast them off. Like a tender father, he provides the food they need and gives them coats of skins for clothing. In the same way, the father welcomed the returning prodigal son and supplied his needs (Luke 15:22-23). If the Lord had meant to destroy them, he would not have done this for them.

Notice first that clothes came into human life because of sin. If sin had not made us naked and brought shame, we would not have needed them for protection or modesty. So we have little reason to be proud of our clothes, because they are really signs of our need and shame.

Notice also that when God made clothes for our first parents, he made them warm and sturdy, but plain and rough. They were not rich robes of scarlet. They were simple skins, not silk or satin, and not decorated or embroidered like the fancy garments later invented by the daughters of Zion and used to take pride in themselves. Let the poor, who are dressed poorly, learn not to complain. If they have food and covering, they should be content, because they are as well provided for as Adam and Eve were. And let the rich, who dress finely, learn not to make clothing their main beauty (1 Peter 3:3).

We should also thank God not only for food, but for clothing as well (Genesis 28:20). The wool and the flax are his, just as much as the grain and the wine are his (Hosea 2:9). He gives both what we eat and what we wear.

These coats of skin also had a deeper meaning. The animals whose skins they were had to be killed, likely before Adam and Eve’s eyes, to show them what death is and to remind them that they, too, were mortal and dying (Ecclesiastes 3:18). It is likely that these animals were slain not for food, but for sacrifice, pointing ahead to the great sacrifice that would one day be offered once for all. In that sense, the first thing that died was a sacrifice, or Christ in a figure. That is why Christ is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

These sacrifices were shared between God and man as a sign of reconciliation. The flesh was offered to God as a whole burnt offering, and the skins were given to man for clothing. This showed that when Jesus Christ offered himself to God as a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savor, we are to clothe ourselves with his righteousness as with a garment, so that the shame of our nakedness will not appear. Adam and Eve made aprons for themselves from fig leaves, but that covering was too small and weak to hide them well (Isaiah 28:20). So it is with all the rags of our own righteousness. But God gave them coats of skins, large, strong, durable, and fit for them. So it is with the righteousness of Christ. Therefore, put on the Lord Jesus Christ.