Originally, Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed. As soon as they ate the fruit, their nakedness became shameful and they tried to cover. After that, nakedness and shame are constantly associated in Scripture.
Why?
Nakedness is shameful when it is the result of stripping off glory. Before Adam ate from the tree, his eyes were not opened to know good and evil; that is, he was not invested as a “judge.” By eating, he assumed a judicial role, but found himself lacking judicial robes. He made himself king, but this king had no clothes. As long as he was an infant, nakedness was fine. Once he seized a maturity for which he was not ready, his nakedness became humiliating. Adam was not shamed in the garden because he lost glory; he had not yet been robed. He was ashamed because he seized a position without being vested for it, pretended to be king without a coronation. Suddenly the nakedness that had been so innocent became a sign of his unpreparedness. Suddenly he had his pants down.
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