We’re glad to be back to continue our study of Genesis. We concentrated on the Fall of Man last week. We talked about the characteristics of the serpent and the complexities around it. We also discussed the craftiness of Satan and the significance of appropriately implementing the Bible rather than just knowing it in and of itself. Today, we’ll focus specifically on the chain of events that occurred after Adam and Eve’s sin. The first defining moment of humanity is the reaction of Adam and Eve subsequent to the fall in the very first encounter with God .
A Closer Look At Genesis 3:8-10: After The Fall
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[c] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden
We have to pay attention to the carefully chosen words used in this verse. The first thing we notice is the use of the word “heard” . Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord, which indicates that they didn’t actually see Him. They were made aware of His presence by the sound of Him ( the Lord) walking in Garden. While the Scripture uses terms that would make GOD appear as an actual person walking in the garden, we need to understand that this is a figure of speech. The next thing we need to pay attention to is the phrase” cool of the day”. The Lord was walking “in” the cool of the day. We need to see if there is anything remotely close to this anywhere else in Scripture. The passage that comes to mind is 1 Kings 19: 11-12,
11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper
This event occurred when Elijah was running away from Jezebel. The Lord wanted to speak to or with Him and in the three distinct manifestations mentioned in the verses above, the Scripture tells us that the LORD was neither in the wind, earthquake nor the fire. Whereas in Genesis 3: 8, we are told that HE was walking in the cool of the day. That sounds more like some sort of breeze, air, gentle wind. In John 3: 8 , we read the following,
The wind[e] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
This is the record of Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus. He is explaining to Nicodemus how one is regenerated by the Spirit of GOD. He uses the wind as an illustration. I want you to pay attention to the word “sound” in John 3:8.
I underwent all of this exercise in order to demonstrate to you that in Genesis 3:8, the cool of the day might actually be GOD’s spirit traveling through the Garden and generating a manifestation (sound or sensation) strong enough to alert Adam and Eve to the presence of GOD. In fact, the Bible informs us that they went to hide among the Garden’s trees when the LORD appeared there. In the verses that follow, we’ll find the real reason why they were hiding.
9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?
What can we observe in this verse? First, it is clear that the call of God went to the man only. Does that imply that God wasn’t concerned with the Woman? Absolutely not, yet the call of God is directed at the man. It is clear from the phrase “where are you” that God, in that particular manifestation, seems not be aware of the man’s location. Although GOD is omnipresent and all-knowing, verse 9 gives the impression that HE is unaware of the man’s whereabouts. Is this the case? It’s possible that the manifestation in that instance prevented the omniscience from being used ( I might be totally wrong on this, it is a suggestion). When Jesus walked on planet earth as God in a human form, his humanity was subjected to the limitations of man. Now I don’t know if this is the same case in Genesis 3: 9. Our task is seek to understand how the original readers understood this verse.
One thing is certain in this verse, the LORD GOD called the man for he was not where he used to be- moving freely in the Garden in plain sight.
Another interesting observation in this verse is that it is the LORD GOD who is seeking for the man. I don’t want to jump ahead of myself but it is clear that the Man and the Woman are doing everything within their power to go as far away from God as possible. But God on the other hand is looking for them, why? Jesus tells us the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 ( keep that in mind as we read Genesis 3: 9).
10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself
I was afraid because I was naked, the man said. I wonder if he uttered those words to avoid confessing his disobedience to the Lord, for fear of dying. The Lord did warn him that the day he consumes the fruit, he will undoubtedly pass away. I therefore get the impression that he was trying to hide the fact that he had disobeyed God’s word.
“I was hiding because I was frightened I may die after hearing you in the garden” should have been the appropriate response. Saying they were naked was a way to camouflage their disobedience. They were not forth coming. As I was typing these words, a thought came to my mind. Did Adam and Eve know what death meant? And if they did, what was their understanding of it?
All we know is that there was another tree in the Garden, the tree of life. Eventually as a result of their disobedience, Adam and Eve would be prevented from eating from the tree of life that they may live. Therefore, it is evident that they had a basic understanding of the fact that they needed to eat from the tree of life in order to continue existing. So death wasn’t a foreign concept to them.
The eating of the forbidden fruit brought about an awareness of their depravity before a Holy GOD. This is why right after they ate it, they were immediately seeking to cover up ( even though there was no other human around them). We also need to understand the deeper meaning of the word nakedness. While Adam and Eve covered up externally that which was exposed, this was really an extension of what was taking place within their own soul. Let’s go 2 Corinthians 5:2-4,
2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on[a] we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
The nakedness the apostle mentions has to do with a void created by a removal of the righteousness of God. Righteousness is often described as a cloak that one puts on. By disobeying God, Adam and Eve were deprived of the righteousness of God. And when that happens to any living soul, God’s presence becomes dreadful and our natural response becomes- hiding because of our fear of His justified wrath.
What Can We Learn From Genesis 3:8-10?
- Believe not only in God but believe His Word
Adam and Eve did not believe God’s Word. Failure to obey His commands will certainly result in death. In our case, death refers to the rupture of our relationship or fellowship with God. Adam and Eve fled from the presence of God because they no longer viewed HIM as GOD the Father but as GOD the righteous judge ready to pour out HIS wrath for cosmic treason had been committed. His presence brought them fear and dread rather than comfort. And the same thing happens to us when we disobey God’s Word. This is why the apostle John instructs us to keep a short account with God, but how? By confessing our sins. Let’s go to 1 John 1:9-10,
. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Because they had not yet been made aware of God’s divine mercy, Adam and Eve fled from Him. While their transgression resulted from their own disobedience, it was the very transgression that revealed the merciful attribute of God that they were unaware of. While His divine justice was in full effect, His mercy was also working. This is the reason as believers when we sin, we ought not to run away from GOD. It is a foolish endeavor because HE is omniscient and the psalmist understood that, Psalm 139: 7-8,
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
We should run to GOD for help; this does not mean we will not be chastised, but we will receive His forgiveness and the restoration of our broken fellowship if we confess our sins.
2. The devil can never be trusted
he promised Adam and Eve false freedom; they bit the bait and paid dearly. We should be wary of his schemes because he is cunning and subtle, and he has studied us and knows how to entice us. The only weapon at our disposal against his attacks is the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, believing it. And it is imperative that we correctly apply the Word of God ( we need to understand it, correctly divide it), 2 Timothy 2:15,
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,[c] a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
3. GOD is merciful
The LORD GOD is the one who comes after us and without HIM calling to us first, we will be without hope. The apostle John tells us that we love HIM because HE first loved us, and that’s true TRUTH. Adam and Eve ran as far as they could from GOD yet HE was the one seeking for them to restore the broken relationship. HE does not abandon HIS own, those who belong to HIM. HE finds them as a good shepherd seeks His one lost sheep. Even though Adam and EVE were in a fallen state, they were granted the gift of repentance. Why am I mentioning this? There are some who have been given over to a reprobate mind, as mentioned in Romans 1:28. Just like the corrupted sons of Eli, these have no desire for GOD and their unrighteousness no longer bothers them for their minds have been seared as with a hot iron. This wasn’t the case with Adam and Eve; they were running away from GOD because they understood that their cloak of righteousness had been taken off ( because of their disobedience). Consequently, the presence of GOD brought about dread and fear. There was still room for them to repent. My prayer for you and I is that we not be counted worthless like the sons of Eli as recorded in 1 Samuel 2:25,
25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.
Their sins were never atoned for. Unlike the sons of Eli, Adam and Eve were not put to death but GOD made provisions for them to receive forgiveness ( HE granted them repentance). What about you and I? If you hear His voice today, do not harden your hearts, but repent and believe the Gospel.
My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.