The first animal offered to cover the sins of humanity

Read Genesis 3:21

When was the first sacrifice? The first animal offered to cover the sins of humanity? 

The moment Adam and Eve sinned they were naked and ashamed, suddenly the shame and disgrace of what they had done dawned on them and they needed some way to cover it up.

So, God does just that. He covers their nakedness in garments made of animal skins. Which therefore must imply an animal was killed in order to make the clothing.

The clothing sufficed to cover their shame, but clothes eventually degrade, so to the future sacrifices offered to God were insufficient for they needed to be continually offered. They could only cover up; they could not fix the problem.

Equivalent to throwing glitter on a turd, it doesn't make it not a turd. But yet there has been a perfect sacrifice sufficient to cover all sin forever and deal with the problem. To take the turd and turn it into gold.

This first sacrifice pointed to how God would save his people from the fall. By offering that perfect sacrifice forever dealing with sin, and forever reconciling us to him with nothing to stand in the way.

For us to live something must die, if our blood is not spilled someone else’s must be that is the testimony of all the sacrifices from Genesis 3 onwards. Let us never forget the blood that was spilled so that ours might not.

“Know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, But with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

When the temple was built, Solomon sacrificed more cows and sheep than we could imagine, 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. A staggering amount of wealth offered to God, yet it was a drop in the bucket with the inestimable worth of the blood that was spilt on the cross

Prayer:

“Lord, I thank you for the righteousness of Christ, which has become my covering through the sacrifice of your son, Jesus, upon the cross. That which was most precious was offered up in my place. Help me to treat your grace as truly precious, and not as cheap. To run from sin and flee temptation, hiding always in Jesus, my refuge. Amen”