It Blew Up
Living in Nigeria a few years ago, I blew up my sewing machine. (Don’t ask!) But I will say: it was my husband’s fault! He didn’t get me the right power converter; in fact, he didn’t buy me a converter at all.
In his defense, though, he did tell me not to use it until we got the correct piece of equipment! But, I took a chance—I plugged in my sewing machine, turned it on, and after the big BANG, some nice fluffy white smoke shot out of the mechanism.
Now that I have vented, the result is that a new sewing machine was birthed out of the blow-up. My husband and I did not blow up at each other. He is sweet.
It’s Rudimentary, Right?
Moving on . . . Last night and today, I used my new machine for the very first time. It was awesome! Sort ofl
First, a good friend eventually had to come over and show me the ins and outs of this wondrous contraption. “Piece of cake,” I thought to myself when I first started using the machine on my own. And it was, until the stitching was pulling from the bobbin on the backside! At that point, the frantic call to my friend ensued. Thank goodness for friends who can help us when we encounter difficulties of any kind!
Second, I decided to get fancy and use one of those complicated computerized stitches. Yes, it looked amazing, but do you know how LONG it takes to sew a 60×126” tablecloth hem with one of those fancy stitches? Luckily, I was able to use that stitch on just one side and go back to the “fast stitch” on the other of the fabric.
But then I had noticed I had inadvertently sewn two seams in the opposite order from how they were supposed to be sewn. Oh no! I had to get out that pesky stitch remover (ah, yes, they are called “seam rippers”), and what a hassle they are to use! It’s complicated!
Flawless or Not
When all was said and done, however, and my project was completed, I was happy with the result. True, the tablecloth didn’t fit the table it was made for quite like I would like it to, but I’m not perfect and my sewing lines veered over some.
My project definitely did NOT meet the consistent and FLAWLESS standard 5/8″ seam allowance I longed for. Again, sewing is complicated—at least for me!
Given the annoyance that this experience had turned into (one, by the way, which was supposed to be fun), I could not help but wonder whether the historical Biblical experience with sewing was anything like this…
I didn’t have to look very far to find out.
Disobedience
The only documented instances of sewing are in Genesis 3, the first book of the Bible. They occurred because our two heroes, Adam and Eve, did something questionable (read: “not very smart”), namely disobey God. One case explicitly involved sewing, the other strongly implied it.
The explicit case occurred right after Satan tricked them into eating from the tree God told them to avoid:
The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die. Genesis 3:2-3
We all know what happened next. Satan twisted God’s words; as a result, Eve, then Adam ate of the tree, and God gave the three of them a good chewing-out, complete with curses for all, to seal the deal.
Fig Leaves
So, where did the sewing come in? Read on:
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. Genesis 3:7
They sewed! Without a machine, no less! It couldn’t be any less frustrating than it was for me, even if they had to get out needle and thread to get the job done. Although… wouldn’t it be a hoot to imagine Eve, seated at a kitchen table in the Garden, hitting the foot pedal on her Singer Quantum Stylist to knit all that foliage into something wearable?
Hey: The Bible doesn’t say how she did it, or how long a “day” really was in Creation, or any of several other things, so it is possible after all! I’m just sayin’…
Guess I’ll ask God about it when I get to heaven.
Better yet, I could just ask Eve herself!
Tweet ThisThe second, and implied case arose, it should be noted, after the curses were cast upon the earth and things were no longer in their original intended perfect state. God replaced the fig-leaf clothing Eve made with something more substantial:
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Genesis 3:21
OUCH!!! Of skin??? That means… something had to give up its skin (and, probably, its life!) to compensate for man’s folly. Possibly some of those animals Adam had spent his days naming.
Come to think of it, those fig leaves were just minding their own business, too, when they were yanked off the tree and woven into the forerunner of the Grass Skirt.
There seems to be a theme here: because man messed up, something innocent had to die.
Hmmm…
Because man messed up, something innocent had to die.
Hmmm!
BECAUSE MAN MESSED UP, SOMEONE INNOCENT HAD TO DIE.
HMMM! I seem to have heard that somewhere before…
Animal Sacrifice
Fast-forward to the New Testament, and the life (and death) of Jesus.
Throughout the remainder of the Old Testament, animals were slain repeatedly to atone for the people’s sins, in bloody and gory ceremonial rituals designed to temporarily satisfy God’s anger against them. It had to be done on an ongoing basis, because sin did not stop, either.
But it would take the sacrifice of the most innocent and undeserving (and ONLY sinless) man to ever live, dying the most horrific and unreasonable death ever recorded, to heal the rift once and for all, for everyone, everywhere, and forever.
All four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – give us various glimpses into the Lord’s time on earth, beginning with His birth, all the way to (and beyond!) His being “pierced for our transgressions” in getting nailed to the cross.
Instead of needles, He bore a crown of thorns. What was being “patched together” was the relationship between God and man, which was torn asunder back in the Garden of Eden.
Even more ironic is that at the instant Jesus died, not only was this relationship “sewn up”, but in keeping with the Hebrew love affair with contrasts, it was the curtain in the Temple which was ripped apart:
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. Matthew 27:51
The tearing of the curtain around the Holy of Holies symbolizes that God has opened the way for everyone, Jew and Gentile, to come to Him; until then, only the Chief Priest could enter, and at that only once a year.
Wow… what a trip, from my living room to the cross at Calvary! I guess all roads do lead there!
I wondered how God felt sewing those clothes for Adam and Eve. At first, I am sure He felt extreme sadness that He was even sewing. They sinned and He was grieving. But He was taking them at their lowest point and helping them to move on.
That’s God for you!
Sin
How do we feel when we sin? Sometimes we have friends to help us out of our depression, uneasiness, or whatever we happen to be feeling momentarily. Sometimes, we remain in our sin for a long time – sort of like spending all that time on that fancy stitch which took forever for me to make. But we can get out of sin quickly; to do so, we must decide to do something else, or go a different direction.
What happens when we mess up and go in the opposite direction from the Lord? Just like when I sewed two seams together incorrectly, I had to decide to undo the error and change course. It wasn’t easy to put my ego in check and “just do it”, but the result was a peace and joy about my project.
Rescue and Care
In 1 Peter 5:6-7, the Bible says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” God’s Holy Spirit is waiting to rescue and care for you today!
Do you feel you are going in the wrong direction as Adam and Eve did? Have you committed a grievous sin, as they did? God wants to help.
Just because your mother or grandmother was a good cook or a good seamstress does not mean that you will be one also. Do not think that just because your father or grandfather was a good man who served God regularly and spoke of the joy he will have in heaven that you will automatically go to heaven also.
You Must Decide
You must make those decisions for yourself.
The Bible says:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
But we can choose to ask God to forgive our sins, accept his offer to “sew” us up and make us whole.
Today, seek God for yourself and you will be “sew” happy you did! Let Him press out the wrinkles of your life and allow Him to make you the beautiful person that you were meant to be.
God Bless.
Works Cited
All Bible verses come from the New American Standard Bible unless noted otherwise.
By Patti Greene [with contributions and edits by E. Johnson]
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Patti Greene is a fun-loving (but serious) coffee drinking wife, mom, and Grammi! She serves as a Bible teacher and Sunday School helper in her home church in Katy, Texas. She writes and speaks with the sole purpose of leading and maturing others in Jesus Christ and His everlasting love. To receive blogs from GreenePastures.org delivered straight to your email, please sign up from this blog or email her at Patti@GreenePastures.org with your email address, and you will be added to the email listing. You will need to confirm your decision to be added to the blog by email. You can also catch up with her on her Twitter feed at (@PattiGreene13) or her Facebook Patti Greene-Pastures page at (https://www.facebook.com/author.greene).
Books by Patti Greene [Order today for Christmas]
Christian Caregiving
Christian Caregiving: Practical Advice for a Happy Ending
Devotional Prayer Journals
Answer Me: Developing a Heart for Prayer
Anchor Me: Laying a Foundation in Bible Study and Prayer
Awaken Me: Growing Deeper in Bible Study and Prayer
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