It began at the beginning of all things, when the first man and the first woman had made a bad decision and found themselves separated from God. The two of them had done something that they had expressly been forbidden from doing and were already experiencing the consequences of it. They experienced shame at their nakedness and separation from the one who had created them and nurtured them and built a relationship with them, and they hid themselves. And the end result was that they were given a gift.
Abraham experienced the very same thing many years later. He had a son that had been promised to him for many, many years. A son he had waited for and longed for. A son he had tried to bring to the world on his own and in his own timing. And when that very son was of age, Abraham was commanded to take him up on a mountain to sacrifice him to God. It wasn't until Abraham and his son reached the top of the mountain, the altar and the wood were set up, his son was tied up, and Abraham was ready to bring the knife down that a gift was provided.
Jacob's sons had a similar experience many years later. They were jealous of their teenage brother who seemed to get all of dad's attention and they plotted to kill him. At the last minute they were convinced to try another tactic, so they sold their brother into slavery in Egypt and counted him as dead. And 13 years later, a gift was given to them.
You have probably received gifts in your life that you felt you did not deserve. They seemed extravagant or expensive or over the top, but someone gave them to you anyway. I remember back when we first had Samuel, my grandfather gave me the gift of one of his cars. But this was no ordinary car. For years his hobby had been to restore old cars, and he gifted me with a 1950 Ford coupe that he had fixed up many years ago. It was black and shiny and distinctive and ultimately was a great car. I always felt weird about having it because it was so over the top for a teacher who was the sole provider for the family. I took good care of the car for sure, but I always had this nagging feeling that I didn't deserve it. And yet with that feeling I had completely forgotten what a gift really is.
Gifts are given because the giver wants to give them. There's really no other reason you receive a gift from someone. Maybe you have experienced it personally. Have you ever surprised a close friend or loved one with a gift that you knew they really, really wanted? It is unlikely you were trying to get anything from that person. Instead, you were just excited to give the gift and excited to see them receive it.
When you sin, no matter how "great" or "small" it is, you are separated from God. We tend to think of sins and to rank them as though a lie only separates you from God a little but murder puts you many miles away from him. It just doesn't work that way. Sin is sin. It is something God will not tolerate and will not be around. It is literally disgusting to him, and the unfortunate reality is that you and I participate in it every single day of our lives. Knowing this is true, what hope is there for us? Really?
For many generations, people have tried to do things on their own to get back in good standing with God. Current methods might be to do something kind for others, or say nice things about God, or pray a prayer with certain words or cadence in the hope that it will please him. We may give more to a church or a nonprofit organization or find a way to "serve" others. And yet none of those things put us in better standing with him. In fact, the prophet Isaiah stated that "our righteous deeds are like filthy rags." That means when you do kind things and pray certain ways and give money to the poor, all you are doing is piling your heap of dirty, disgusting rags higher and higher and higher. It could get to the size of a mountain and yet it still is what it is: a pile of rags.
That gets us back to the gift. We tend to look at Jesus as an example of God's mercy and grace to us, and of course that is true. The trouble is that we act like that was the first time God showed grace to mankind, and that simply is not the case! God's grace began when the first sin happened.
Let's look back at the first example with Adam and Eve. Here are two people who had just committed the very first sin in human history. The first. The consequences of this sin were immediately felt by them and ultimately caused the entire world to be corrupted and the race of man to be forever polluted by sin. We focus on the fact that God told them they had to leave the Garden of Eden and forever barred them from it, but we still miss the gift that is hidden in plain sight. What was it?
Genesis 3:20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.[d] 21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
Adam and Eve had sinned and separated themselves from God in doing this. They were ashamed because they realized they were naked, and they hid from God. And so God, before sending them out, gave them clothing to cover that shame, made of animal skin. For an animal skin to be made into clothing, an animal has to die. A sacrifice was made to cover their sin and shame, and it was performed by God.
Abraham, though he was considered to be a "friend of God," still had made many mistakes in his life. He was unfaithful to God and to his wife. He had not been patient to wait on God to provide. And so he was told to take his son to the mountain and sacrifice him as an offering to pay for it. And right at the last moment, a gift was given.
Genesis 22:13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”).
God provided the sacrifice that was needed. Another being died to cover up Abraham, and his son's, sinful actions. And God provided it, leading Abraham to name that place a special name because he realized God provided the sacrifice.
And in the final example, we see the exact same thing. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. They all thought he just disappeared and that they would never see him again. And yet God knew that a terrible famine was coming. Joseph in a way lost his life so that many, many people could be saved during that terrible time. And God did what he does in bringing Joseph back to life. He makes things new and he fixes things that are broken. No, Joseph didn't physically die, but his life was essentially over when he went away on that Midian caravan into Egypt. He had no hope and no future, and yet God resurrected it by making him prime minister of Egypt. God provided the sacrifice and the resurrection.
God always provides the sacrifice and resurrection. You can't do either of those things.
When you search for this pattern in God's word, you will find it everywhere. God always provides the sacrifice that is needed to cover our sin and shame. We think we are doing it, but all we are doing is participating in something he already had going on. Jesus was the final and ultimate example, but all through the Old Testament the same thing was already happening.
What does this say about God? He gives you and me grace that is not deserved and that we didn't earn. It does not matter what you have done in your past. God's grace is big enough to cover it if you will just submit your life to him and begin walking down that narrow, dusty, difficult path. Adam and Eve had no hope because their sin, even in eating a simple fruit, was too big. Same thing for Abraham. Same thing for Jacob's family. Not a shred of hope. But the gift was given anyway and it covered it all.
I don't know what you recently have been through. I'm not sure what sin you have committed that you are ashamed of and has made you realize how separated you are from God. I'm here today to tell you that it doesn't matter what you did. God offers you a gift that covers it all. You didn't earn it and never could. It's yours for the taking though. All you have to do is turn away from that sin, determined to walk in a new direction, and believe in Jesus.
I don't mean to communicate that God just winks at your sin and looks the other way. He definitely does not do that. Your sin and my sin are always something that he can't look upon and will not tolerate. There are consequences for our sin that he will allow in our lives as a teacher and a disciplinarian. What I am saying is that there is a remedy that he has already provided.
You and I simply need to go to him for it and quit trying to do something about it on our own. You'll never sacrifice enough or do enough good deeds to cover your sins. If you could do that, there would have been no need for Jesus.
For you, the sacrifice has already been provided. So accept the gift from a Good Father who delights to give it to you and is excited to give you a new birth and a new life. Your old ways can truly be gone.
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