Where Are You, Adam?

Genesis 3:8-9
“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:8-9)

We have already discussed why God asks questions. God knows everything, so He does not need to ask questions to gain information. God knew exactly what both Eve and Adam had done, and He also knew that Adam – having not been deceived, but having sinned anyway – had carried out the greater sin. So, if God’s questions were not for His own benefit, they could only have been for the benefit of Adam and Eve. The humans had the opportunity to confess and repent.

Initially, Adam’s first reply was only a half-truth. It is true that he was afraid and hid. But he needed to be honest about what had happened. So God prompted him, asking if he had broken the one commandment that he had been given. Even then, Adam was not prepared to give a straight answer. This was the measure of how sin had gripped him. Yes, he had eaten the forbidden fruit, but it was all the woman’s fault! No, more than that, You gave me this woman, God, so it’s partly Your fault as well! But we must remember that Adam had not been deceived. He committed this sin with his eyes open. Nevertheless, God now gave Eve the chance to repent. Eve told the truth: “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” … but she was not yet repentant. Then God turned to the serpent – the devil.

And God did not ask the devil a question. That is because there was no opportunity for the devil to repent. That is an opportunity afforded only to those made in God’s image.

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