Genesis 3:1-27, 4:1-7. Continuation
'And they heard the voice of the Lord...' . Whilst they lived in the Garden they had communion and Fellowship with God, they knew His voice and spoke with Him. Jesus said, 'My sheep hear My voice...' , the relationship we also have with our Lord.
This reaction, of hiding from God's voice, is typical of many believers today. When sin enters their heart their immediate reaction is to hide. Why? Holiness and unholiness do not mix, darkness hates the light and lies hate the truth - John 3:19. A person with sin in his heart will not want to face God, unless he repents. Sin will bring a state of shame upon the person. That is how Adam and Eve felt.
'Where are you?' . The first question in the Bible.
It appears that God could not locate them. Not so, it was something else. It was not a question concerning their place but their condition, their state. God has put this question to sinful man even since sin came into the world. Are we what God wants us to be or something else? It was the same call that went out on the shores of Galilee and in Judea-Luke 19:10.
Adam's response was rather pathetic, 'I heard your voice and was afraid...' .The effect of sin had already worked its way into their beings.
1. They knew they were naked, though they were naked before; but now God's covering had departed from them.
2. Fear gripped their hearts. Fear caused them to run away from God's presence and hide. Fear has a paralyzing effect and makes people disloyal.
At that moment they did not fully understand the implications of sin yet they were gripped by fear.
The Bible has a lot to say about Fear simply because God wants us to be set free from its grip. Two reasons:
a) Believers do have fears in their hearts.
b) God wants to set us free from fear.
Not all fear is negative. There is a fear that protects us, e.g. the fear of a passing car that may hit us, but the 'fear of man' is not a healthy fear. The 'fear of God' , however, is a healthy fear and that is what we need in our Christian lives. It is the fear that causes us to revere God and turn away from disobeying His Word, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom' .
'And God said, who told you that you were naked?' .
A strange question. Should someone have told them they were naked? The question actually reveals the explanation. They could not have known that they were naked unless they had eaten of the fruit of the tree. Why did God ask such a question? Simply to show Adam that he had to come out with the truth. It was no good trying to hide things from God.
It is of no use for us either, when we sin, to try and cover things thinking that somehow we can fool God and people. When David sinned God knew all about it and He sent Nathan to confront David, because David thought that he could cover it up.
Apart from fear Adam and Eve show unwillingness to accept responsibility for their action. Adam's excuse was to blame his wife -a familiar story, the accusing finger. What Adam was actually doing was to blame God, like we do. Had not God given him the wife? If He hadn't this would not have happened!! Notice the words, 'The woman you gave me' . Not only is the blame on Eve but he also lets her down by trying to absolve himself of all the blame. "It's all God's fault, not our responsibility", we inwardly bear a grudge against God for our circumstances. What is actually the problem? Pride. But God is only interested in cleansing and setting us free in order to restore us to Himself as a holy people. He does not remember.
Eve took up the accusation theme and blamed the serpent, but the serpent never actually forced her to take the fruit. They both knew what they were doing. Interesting to note that the serpent did not blame anybody. God turns now to the serpent and we see no questioning, no conversation at all. God simply pronounces judgement upon it. Why?
Adam and Eve were tempted and consented to the whole affair but not the serpent. It allowed itself
to be used by Satan, a serious thing in the sight of God. Temptation is unavoidable, it comes to all of us but yielding to Satan's wiles to be used for evil purposes is something else and will bring dire consequences upon us.
The serpent belonged to the animal world which was created to serve man, not to become master over him. The serpent's role was misused, therefore its role and purpose in God's creation had to be altered. Man, though fallen, had a role to play in God's redemptive plan, a different role from that of the animal creation. To be continued
'And they heard the voice of the Lord...' . Whilst they lived in the Garden they had communion and Fellowship with God, they knew His voice and spoke with Him. Jesus said, 'My sheep hear My voice...' , the relationship we also have with our Lord.
This reaction, of hiding from God's voice, is typical of many believers today. When sin enters their heart their immediate reaction is to hide. Why? Holiness and unholiness do not mix, darkness hates the light and lies hate the truth - John 3:19. A person with sin in his heart will not want to face God, unless he repents. Sin will bring a state of shame upon the person. That is how Adam and Eve felt.
'Where are you?' . The first question in the Bible.
It appears that God could not locate them. Not so, it was something else. It was not a question concerning their place but their condition, their state. God has put this question to sinful man even since sin came into the world. Are we what God wants us to be or something else? It was the same call that went out on the shores of Galilee and in Judea-Luke 19:10.
Adam's response was rather pathetic, 'I heard your voice and was afraid...' .The effect of sin had already worked its way into their beings.
1. They knew they were naked, though they were naked before; but now God's covering had departed from them.
2. Fear gripped their hearts. Fear caused them to run away from God's presence and hide. Fear has a paralyzing effect and makes people disloyal.
At that moment they did not fully understand the implications of sin yet they were gripped by fear.
The Bible has a lot to say about Fear simply because God wants us to be set free from its grip. Two reasons:
a) Believers do have fears in their hearts.
b) God wants to set us free from fear.
Not all fear is negative. There is a fear that protects us, e.g. the fear of a passing car that may hit us, but the 'fear of man' is not a healthy fear. The 'fear of God' , however, is a healthy fear and that is what we need in our Christian lives. It is the fear that causes us to revere God and turn away from disobeying His Word, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom' .
'And God said, who told you that you were naked?' .
A strange question. Should someone have told them they were naked? The question actually reveals the explanation. They could not have known that they were naked unless they had eaten of the fruit of the tree. Why did God ask such a question? Simply to show Adam that he had to come out with the truth. It was no good trying to hide things from God.
It is of no use for us either, when we sin, to try and cover things thinking that somehow we can fool God and people. When David sinned God knew all about it and He sent Nathan to confront David, because David thought that he could cover it up.
Apart from fear Adam and Eve show unwillingness to accept responsibility for their action. Adam's excuse was to blame his wife -a familiar story, the accusing finger. What Adam was actually doing was to blame God, like we do. Had not God given him the wife? If He hadn't this would not have happened!! Notice the words, 'The woman you gave me' . Not only is the blame on Eve but he also lets her down by trying to absolve himself of all the blame. "It's all God's fault, not our responsibility", we inwardly bear a grudge against God for our circumstances. What is actually the problem? Pride. But God is only interested in cleansing and setting us free in order to restore us to Himself as a holy people. He does not remember.
Eve took up the accusation theme and blamed the serpent, but the serpent never actually forced her to take the fruit. They both knew what they were doing. Interesting to note that the serpent did not blame anybody. God turns now to the serpent and we see no questioning, no conversation at all. God simply pronounces judgement upon it. Why?
Adam and Eve were tempted and consented to the whole affair but not the serpent. It allowed itself
to be used by Satan, a serious thing in the sight of God. Temptation is unavoidable, it comes to all of us but yielding to Satan's wiles to be used for evil purposes is something else and will bring dire consequences upon us.
The serpent belonged to the animal world which was created to serve man, not to become master over him. The serpent's role was misused, therefore its role and purpose in God's creation had to be altered. Man, though fallen, had a role to play in God's redemptive plan, a different role from that of the animal creation. To be continued
