Why was their nakedness such an issue with God? Isn’t it true they had been naked all along? Yes, but they didn’t know it; at least it had not been an “issue” with them. Now it was; now they knew they were naked, and so they hid from God. And it had become an “issue” with God, because their nakedness now represented (or was the result of) their direct disobedience to Him, as well as His Words He had spoken to them. The Words? “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat -- But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it. In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’ (Gen. 2:16, 17).” And so, their act of betrayal (for that’s what it was) brought about the first sacrifice.

This act, by God, was a foreshadowing of the coming offerings and sacrifices in the lives of every Israelite until the Day that Jesus would step in and take the sins of the whole world upon Himself at the Cross (Colossians 2:9-15). One side note -- if all coverings require some kind of death, then no good leader, pastor or husband would suffice...without having gone through a death of some kind. All good coverings have suffered and learned and died to self and the things that would distract from being a necessary covering. It is just one of those unnoticed and unheralded principles in the Kingdom of Heaven. Even Jesus submitted Himself to the Body of flesh and surrendered to the pain and agony of death. All good coverings will.

First Judgment Of the Earth
With Noah and his family, God provided instructions and wisdom in giving them the ark and a safe voyage. All who were inside were protected from the total annihilation of all who dwelt upon the earth; there were no survivors (Gen. 7:21-23). Only those in the ark of safety would walk once more upon the face of the earth. Only them and the animals God so graciously allowed to go with the ark. But, even in this example of a Covering, there was bloodshed. First, the blood of all unrighteous souls who refused to believe the Word of the Lord; then Noah made a righteous sacrifice(Gen. 8:20-22), and it pleased the Lord.

The First Passover
Let us now look at one of the most important and powerful events in the Old Testament...and one of the most powerful of all types of Coverings. This would be the Lord’s Passover. In Exodus 12 we see Moses and Aaron receiving instructions from the Lord on what was about to take place --

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First...take a lamb ~
“(3) Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for each house. (4) If the household is too small for one lamb, let his neighbour next to him share it according to the number of souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. (5) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats; (6) you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening’.”

It should go without saying that this lamb, mentioned here in Exodus, is a precursor (an indicator of One to come; a type, a shadow, a forerunner) of Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Saints, it was just a lamb...yet this little, seemingly insignificant animal spoke volumes of what was to come -- for Israel, for all Gentiles, for the whole world. Even John the Baptist understood, the day he saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized.

(John 1:29, 30) “The next day John, seeing Jesus coming to him, said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. This is He of Whom I said, After me comes a Man Who is preferred before me; for He was before me’.” John proclaimed, “He was before me”...and even though John, the cousin of Jesus (Luke 1:35-37), was born six months before Jesus, he knew in his spirit that what he was saying was the Truth! He understood his role; and he understood this Role that Jesus took part in -- Jesus, Son of Man...Jesus, Son of God...Jesus, Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.

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Second...take the blood ~
“(7) ‘And they shall take the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. (8) They shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and they shall eat it with bitter herbs. (9) Do not eat it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head, his legs, and the entirety thereof. (10) You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and if any does remain at morning you shall burn with fire. (11) And this is how you shall eat it: With your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste -- for this is the LORD’s Passover’.”

One of the most Powerful and Important Miracles of the Old Testament -- the LORD’s Passover -- was and is the height of Israel’s relationship with their God. Again -- as with Adam and Eve, and also Noah and his family -- all the Israelites had to do was trust what the Lord said, and obey. In this case, they were to take the blood of the lamb and “strike it (apply it) on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat” the lamb (forming a symbolic “cross”, as it were). Just apply, by faith, the blood of the lamb, and the LORD would Pass Over the dwelling, but He would smite and destroy all the firstborn of Egypt.

A simple act of trust and obedience would save any Israelite firstborn -- no souls would die in the Camp of Israel. Also, they were to eat this feast in this manner: “With your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste -- for this is the LORD’s Passover’.” “Eat it in haste”, hurriedly, as if ready to suddenly leave -- for in the morning, they would leave Egypt...in an awful hurry, with Pharaoh and his armies at their heels -- but God would be their Protector and their Savior even in this, the greatest deliverance up to that point in time.

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Third...prepare to see My Judgment ~
“(12) ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment -- I am the LORD. (13) And the blood (that you applied to your doors) shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are -- and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (14) And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever’.”

And judgment did come to Egypt, as the Lord had spoken; as Moses and Aaron had told Pharaoh and the Israelites. And it did come to pass...“at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” (Exodus 12:29, 30)

But the houses of Israel were not touched...all whose doors had the blood applied. In verse 13, it says: And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are -- and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you.” That word, “token” means “a signal; a flag, beacon, sign or ensign.” It also meant “to give assent, or consent; thus, to agree or accept or express agreement.” In other words, by Israel’s act of obedience of applying the blood to their houses (doorposts), they were, in effect, saying, “Yes, Lord. I will do as you say. Here is my signature to this agreement...” And they each applied the lamb’s blood to the doorposts of their houses. Sometimes, dear brothers and sisters, all it takes is trust and obedience. There used to be an old hymn that we’d sing, but you don’t hear it that often anymore, and most of you may not remember it; the chorus goes like this:

“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

While I would love to “get into” all of the varying and different sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament, I will save that for those who are much better schooled than I in dealing with such matters. Following are just a few of the offerings and sacrifices mentioned in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers -- I realize it may seem as “a lot to read”, but it would do us well to be somewhat familiar with Old Testament sacrifices and offerings, before we can actually see and appreciate just what the Lord Jesus did for us at Calvary.

Gen. 31:54; Exo. 3:18; Exo. 13:15; Exo. 20:24; Exo. 23:18-33 (it seems lengthy, but it will bless you, if you read it); Exo. 29:28; Lev. 1:1-17; Lev. 7:12-21; Lev. 23:18-22; Num. 6:10-12; Num. 15:5-12; Num 29:1-40 (concerning Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles)...

...also, in Judges 6:24-26 (Gideon’s sacrifice); 1st Samuel 1:3 (birth of Samuel); 1st Sam. 15:15-23 (the wrong kind of sacrifice); 1st Kings 18:36-39 (Elijah’s fiery and bloody sacrifice); 2nd Chronicles 7:4-11 (Solomon’s great sacrifice); and ...several passages that reveal the kind of sacrifice that is of real importance to the Lord:

Your Law in my heart ~
Psalm 40: (6) “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears have You opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. (7) Then I said, ‘Lo, I come...in the volume of the book it is written of me: (8) I delight to do Your Will, O my God; yea, Your law is within my heart’.”

Broken heart and contrite spirit ~
Psalm 34:17-20 “The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. (18) The LORD is near to them that are of a broken heart; and He saves such as be of a contrite spirit. (19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. (20) He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”

He who trembles at My Word ~
Isaiah 66: (1) Thus says the LORD, “The heaven is My Throne, and the earth is My Footstool. Where is the house that you built to Me? And where is the place of My Rest? (2) For all these things has My Hand made, and all those things have (always) been, says the LORD. Here is the man to whom I will look -- even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My Word. (And as far as sacrifices go...) (3) He that kills an ox (for a sacrifice or offering) is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb, will be as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offers an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burns incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.”

The poor, the meek, the hungry ~
And Jesus, Himself, added these Words for us, in Matthew 5:...
(3) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(4) Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
(5) Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
(6) Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
(7) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
(8) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
(9) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
(10) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(11) Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
(12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for they also persecuted the prophets which were before you.”

Now...let us simplify all that we have been saying up to this point: So must we be willing to be these things and live them in our lives, if we are even hopeful of being a covering to our wives, our families, our churches or our ministries. It is not so much what we do, as much as what and who we are in Him! The Covering of God was Perfect, till Adam and Eve “removed themselves” from His Presence and, hence, from His Covering of Safety; they had instructions and guidelines as to how to live their lives. Noah’s ark of safety was just that...an “ark of safety”, as long as those who wished to survive God’s Judgment “stayed within” its covering; they also had instructions and guidelines.

The Israelites were only guaranteed safety if they were obedient and applied the blood of the lamb to their doorposts...or, to their lives, if you will. They heard what He said and did what He asked. There is a “proper way” to be Safe and Covered in the Lord. The Words of Jesus, which He spoke in Matthew 5, are Words we are supposed to live by; Words we are expected to live by. These are guidelines...rules and instructions on “how to live”...not just in this world, but for Him! This is how He desires that we live our lives. This, dear saints, is what is “pleasing” to the Lord.

There are certain things that we, as His followers and His children, must be -- in Him, for Him, and to Him -- before we can find ourselves able to “do” anything close to what God truly desires of us. These things we must “be” are not thought out by God to burden us or grieve us or wear us down...they are actually provided for our own protection; for our own safety; for our own good. Believe me...had Adam and Eve known, beforehand -- about the results of their “disobedience” -- they never would have allowed themselves to even “think” about walking out from underneath the Safety of His Covering.

Let’s think about about that a moment. Was that “unfair”? Should God have plainly “drawn them out” a picture of what might happen? No, I don’t think so, and besides... we don’t really know for certain if maybe He did do just that. Furthermore, if we truly love someone, we will trust them; if we trust them, we’ll listen to them; if we listen to them, we’ll hear what they have to say and understand whether or not what they are saying applies to us or not. In other words:

To the degree we love, we’ll trust.

To the degree we trust, we’ll listen.

To the degree we listen, we’ll hear.

To the degree we hear, we’ll obey.

It would be nice to claim that just because we love someone, we will always automatically obey them...or honor them, perhaps would be a better way of putting it. Oh, we may question some things, but to the point of “disobedience”? We may even doubt some things, but to the point of “jeopardizing” a relationship? We may even argue on some issues, but to the point of complete separation? Not if we truly love the one with whom we are in that relationship. Whether it be God, our wives, our husbands, our families or our ministries...we must never allow “disobedience” or division to separate us from the Safety of His Covering.

The child who runs away from home, because he does not like the “rules and regulations”, only makes himself a “prey” to the world and the sick-minded people in the world. The spouse who leaves a husband or wife because they have “had enough”, and they go off in search of “true love and true happiness”, will only find more disappointment, more despair and more defeat. Why? Because they have left their true covering. These two examples above take into consideration that the covering the child or the spouse left were actually true, Godly coverings. I am not referring to abusive or threatening marriages or homes. I am talking about a normal, Christian home...at least as “normal” as any Christian home can get.

Here, again, is 1st Corinthians 11:3 -- “But I would have you know, that the Head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the Head of Christ is God.” Let me reiterate -- initially, there is no point of reference here, regarding the “type of man” of whom Paul is speaking. But, in the same breath let me also say: Paul expected those who read his writings and letters and even heard of his teachings to obey them and follow what he knew the Lord had shown him and commanded them. Even Peter wrote, in 2nd Peter 3 :

“(14) Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (15) And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is Salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul has written to you, according to the wisdom given to him. (16) In all his epistles, he speaks in them of these things; in which some things are hard to understand, and they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (pervert, twist, change the meaning) to their own destruction, as they also do the other scriptures.”

When you consider the fact that Paul wrote thirteen of all the epistles in the New Testament, it is not difficult to surmise that these writings -- these letters to various churches and people -- were passed along from church to church. Thirteen epistles, and I’m not even counting Hebrews, of which most scholars attribute to the hand (and mind) of Paul. Paul, the author of nearly half the New Testament, was certainly praised by Peter in the above portion of scripture we just looked at. All this considered, it would be unwise to think that the early church did not know about Paul’s teachings and his understandings on marriage, family and covering. It was not a mystery to the first century Christians. Why should it be a mystery to us?

Thank you for “sticking with me” for this “lengthy” teaching on Covering, and I realize that some things may not have seemed to “fit” together as nicely and as neatly as one might expect. However, these things, this teaching, this Principle of the Lord has been on my heart for a long time now, and I feel I have been obedient in placing it forth on the Lord’s Table. Eat from it what you will, and leave whatever you may find not to be wholly (or holy) of the Lord. It is my prayer and my hope that you will find something in this teaching that will be and has been a blessing and a strength to those of you who are hungry or who may be feeling weak from the struggles we all face from day to day.