Page 20 - Family Life Student Textbook

Genesis 2:25 “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no
shame.”

As we study Genesis 2:25 we see that Adam and Eve who were created in
the garden were naked and needed no clothing. They were not ashamed to
relate to one another in this way. But I think it is very interesting to try to
understand what occurred in their thinking and attitudes after their sinful
fall to make them want to cover up.

Genesis 3:6–7 “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was
good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for
gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some
to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the
eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they
were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made
coverings for themselves.”

We understand that when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s command, they plunged the human race,
as well as the entire created world, into sin. The interesting question is “why did this suddenly caused them
to be ashamed of their nakedness”?

Was it because their physical bodies had changed in some way and it appeared differently than before they
had sinned? There is no evidence in Scripture of that.

Was it because their sexual acts together as husband and wife was part of their sinful fall? Unfortunately,
this is the explanation given by at least part of the church, such as the Russian Orthodox Church. But this
explanation does not match the biblical account. God, created Adam and Eve’s bodies so they could enjoy
sex. He brought them to each another. He commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, and that
necessitated sex as the way to reproduce. God created their beautiful bodies to enjoy sexual union and
pronounced it as “very good”. The unfortunate teaching that their sexual union was part of their sinful fall
has communicated a negative view of sex in contradiction to the clear teaching of Scripture.

Did Adam and Eve have no desire for one another physically before the fall? Did physical attraction only
become a reality after their sinful fall? Unfortunately, this too has been taught by certain churches. And this
also communicates a negative view of marital sexuality. Because God created Adam and Eve, and their
beautiful bodies, for the benefit and enjoyment of one another, he certainly would have given them the
desire to enjoy this physical communication and intimacy with one another.

So, why did Adam and Eve become ashamed of their nakedness after the fall? I believe that the fall affected
all their attitudes. God created sex to be a way for Adam and Eve to give intimate pleasure to one another.
But after the fall selfishness became a reality. Suddenly Adam and Eve each experienced selfish feelings of
wanting to take advantage of each other. “How can I get the most from my partner while giving the least
possible”? Because they experienced these feelings themselves, they immediately knew that their partner
also had the same feelings. Suddenly they felt extremely vulnerable because they knew the other person
could take advantage of them. Their natural response was to protect themselves and to cover their naked
body.

The Bible tells us that they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. This is a good illustration of the
inadequacy of good works on the part of man to solve his sin problem. What do you suppose happened to
these dried leaves the first time Adam and Eve sat down? The dry, dead leaves shattered. They became a
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