In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne must wear a red letter “A” on her dress as a symbol of her adultery. The “scarlet letter” was meant to shame her in the eyes of the community.

In the biblical narrative of the Fall, we also find that clothing signified shame. Adam and Eve had been naked without shame in the Garden of Eden, but everything changed after they chose to disobey God and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v. 6). The very first consequence, in fact, was shame over their nakedness. They tried to fix things by making clothing for themselves out of fig leaves (v. 7).

When God confronted them, they received even worse consequences. Women would now experience pain in childbirth, for example (v. 16). Men would find their work difficult and unpleasant (vv. 17–19). And death would come, though not immediately, just as God had warned: “For dust you are and to dust you will return” (v. 19).

But God also gave mercy and hope. The Seed of the woman (that is, Jesus) would one day crush the head of the serpent (v. 15), an image foreshadowing the gospel. That day lay in the future, but at that moment, God made clothing for them from animal skins (v. 21). These garments were much better than what they’d made for themselves!

Wearing their new, God-given clothes, Adam and Eve walked out into a fallen world (vv. 22–24). This month, we’ll study clothing in the Bible, both literal and figurative examples. Our goal is to interpret Scripture carefully and well and to grow spiritually as we learn from God’s Word.

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