You and I are going to study a theology of covering in the scriptures.

We are going to put up two kinds of cover against one another, antitheses, self-covering and divine covering.

Now, as I begin to read these first seven verses and then jump down to 21, it's because they're the most perfect place to build our concept.

It's got to begin right here.

But what I also know is that for many of you in this room, these verses could not be more familiar. And I'm asking you, would you stick with it? Would you not

let your mind wander at any time because we're heading to something familiar? Because it's going to be

through the gate of the familiar that we're going to step into some territory in the Word of God

that may be less familiar to somebody. And what our purpose will be when

all is said and done is that we are filled with wonder over God and the power of his person,

the beauty of his son, and the extravagance of his grace through his word, and that we will become the wonder as a result of it.

That's what I'm after.

So we're going to the very familiar verses of Genesis 3, verses 1 through 7,

and then I'm going to drop down to verse 21 so that we can see our concept.

Now, the serpent was more crafty than any other beast

of the field that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, did God actually say,

you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the

fruit of the trees of the garden. But God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden.

But God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden.

Neither shall you touch it lest you die.

But the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die.

For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God,

knowing good from evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was delightful to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit

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