Cross-Symbols in Genesis: Coverings, Thorns, Sacrifice

From 2nd Book
Jump to navigationJump to search

Day 10: Cross-Symbols in Genesis — Coverings, Thorns, Sacrifice

🔹 Concepts Outline

  • The cross appears in Genesis not by name, but through symbol and story.
  • Key cross-symbols in Genesis include:
    • Dry Ground - Through his incarnation and death he gave life
    • Covering — God provides garments of skin (Gen. 3:21)
    • Sacrifice — Cain offering Abel, Abel's offering and the sacrifice of Isaac/the ram
  • These symbols point to Christ’s death, substitution, and provision.
  • Seeing the cross early helps us interpret the rest of Scripture as centered on Christ’s finished work.

📖 Teaching

Though the cross is not mentioned by name in Genesis, it is present in symbol from the beginning. God was never improvising — the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8).

Let’s look at some key moments where the cross is foreshadowed through symbol:

1. Dry Ground - Through his incarnation and death he gave life

The Word/Water became flesh/dry ground (without water). The incarnation was the first separation of the Father from the Son as a picture of the cross. From it he brought life (day 3), holiness of the bride (day 4), made the bride live in the word and Spirit (day 5),, and with her, was fruitful and multiplying (day 6).

2. Coverings (Gen. 3:21)

“The LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”

This is the first bloodshed. Though not explicitly said, an animal had to die to cover their shame. It points directly to substitution — someone else dies, and we are covered. The covering is not only physical, but spiritual.

This anticipates Christ, who dies to cover our nakedness — the exposure of sin.

3. Sacrifices (Gen. 4:4, Gen. 22)

  • Abel offers a blood sacrifice that is accepted.
  • Cain offers Abel as a shadow of Christ laying down his own life.
  • God says, “If you do well, will you not be lifted up?” (Gen. 4:7, שְׂאֵת – lifted = cross language).

In Genesis 22, Abraham is asked to offer his beloved son on a mountain — and a substitute ram is provided.

  • This is one of the clearest pre-cross shadows: the Father offering the Son, and substitution through a ram caught by its horns (strength restrained).

These aren’t isolated symbols. They are the foundational grammar of the Gospel. When we recognize them, we begin to see that the cross is not the interruption of Scripture — it is its center.

💬 Group Dialogue Questions

  1. Which of these Genesis symbols of the cross was most surprising or moving to you?
  2. A/B: Is the cross hidden in Genesis for discovery, or revealed for those with eyes to see?
  3. What role does the symbol of substitution play in your understanding of the Gospel?
  4. How do these early symbols help us see Christ as the thread from beginning to end?

🏠 Individual Meditation (Homework)

  • Read Genesis 3:21. Ask: What does it mean that God covered them? How has Christ covered me?
  • Read Genesis 22 slowly. Reflect on the ram — the substitute. What does it reveal about the Father’s heart?
  • Journal Prompt: “Where have I seen the cross in places I never noticed before?”

📘 Facilitator Notes

  • This is a powerful week for spiritual awakening — approach with reverence and expectation.
  • Encourage students to trace other potential cross-symbols in Genesis: altars, seeds, division, lifting up.
  • Remind them: sensus plenior is not speculation — it is the Spirit opening our eyes to what was always there.
  • Optional: Read Isaiah 53 as a closing meditation.
Retrieved from "https://2ndbook.org/w/index.php?title=Cross-Symbols_in_Genesis:_Coverings,_Thorns,_Sacrifice&oldid=15606"