In Genesis, after Adam and Eve sinned, their own attempt to cover themselves with fig leaves was inadequate. Scripture says:
“Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)
This verse shows that God Himself provided a covering for their nakedness by making garments of animal skin. While the text does not explicitly describe the death of the animals, the implication is clear: blood was shed so that Adam and Eve could be clothed. This is the first instance in Scripture where an animal’s life is taken to cover the shame of sin.
This act foreshadowed the sacrificial system that would later be instituted under the Law, where the shedding of blood covered sin temporarily. As Hebrews explains:
“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)
Ultimately, the skins given to Adam and Eve point forward to Christ, whose blood provides the true and final covering for sin. Their fig leaves represented human effort, but God’s provision of animal skins represented His way of dealing with sin, through substitution and sacrifice. In this, the gospel was foreshadowed even in the earliest pages of Scripture.
