Genesis 2:5

And they were both naked, the man and the wife, and were not ashamed 

Genesis 3:7

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed dig leaves together, and made themselves apron (things to guide about – margin).

In the previous meditation, we learnt that the male and female Adam interrelationship in the garden was to reflect the relatedness of the godhead on earth; the creation was a parable or symbolic representation of what was in heaven. Humanity was to migrate to its destiny under the watch, wisdom and care of God. The raison’detre of man was and is to discover God and be conformed to His image and likeness. This is his salvation. The first Adam failed but the last Adam brought this to its logical conclusion. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Corinthians 15:49). Man was designed to be the embodiment, the visible manifest of God on earth. This is the kingdom of God.

The teaching leading to this right relationship was delivered to the male Adam who was responsible for updating the female Adam. But the female usurped authority and crashed the careful laid out structure. In later age Christ, the Word, came to show the interrelationship of the godhead. In everything, he deferred to His Father and didn’t think it right to grasp authority of the Father, though He is coeternal with Him. He submitted absolutely to the authority of His Father. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God (Philippians 2:5-6). Any other way than this leads to chaos witnessed in the beginning

Christ’s will and joy was to do the will of His Father even when it could lead to opprobrium and death. The Lord completely subsumed His will under that of His Father. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God (Hebrews 10:7). However, the male Adam, in his love towards his wife, having submitted leadership to her also offered to break the wedlock with Heaven; he also ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.

And, though their state was described as being naked without being embarrassed, became suddenly self-aware. The word naked shall engage us in this meditation. There is nothing as embarrassing as to be stripped naked to the public glare. But in the garden, Adam and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed. The Amplified Bible adds, “… were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other’s presence.” To be naked is to leave nothing to the imagination. This stage speaks of the innocence of man. There wasn’t any secret nursed by one away from the other; no secret plan of the one against the other; they were interwoven in one fabric and they could see through each other.

Naked. It is an antonym of pretence. A man was face to face with God in heaven and was careful to put forward his best behaviour, being afraid to be naked. But God is not mocked, He sees right through our pretence. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:12). There is undertow of meaning to being naked and not know it. Africa people were happy with there states before encounter with the Caucasians with their highly rated vanity of life. This original African state was to be naked. However, as soon as they discovered another state that wasn’t like their own, there eyes were opened to another world, another pursuit and another goal. For example, an African man wanted to settle down, he built a house by himself and had a compound. Everyone could do this and there wasn’t anything special about it. But the Caucasian came with his own type of building and economic system – the totality of what can be described as his culture. The African man lammed into it and has been agitated, inconsolable, ever since. The White man’s house for example couldn’t be built only by communal efforts; it required economic advantage of being above all others. Now the former state before this encounter was to be naked and the latter stage was to see another culture, a culture that made him disdain his own. The Adam disdained their God-given heritage!

To be all of God was to the primeval man to be naked; to sight another unique thing assumed higher than one is to have the eyes opened. This is the tragic state of man. The glory of God over humanity in this stage of life suddenly paled into insignificance at sighting another shown them by a foreigner. The female Adam saw some other glory, some other beauty other than what they were; she saw that this tree was to be desired to make one wise (Genesis 3:6). She located a superior wisdom and discovered another world. When Africa discovered another world, she felt naked and, in another world now, she believes her eyes have been opened.

Father, may I be completely ensconced in You that I’m blind to any other persuasion outside of You. In this wise may I be naked and not be ashamed before You.

Thank You, Lord