Where are You?
Genesis 3:8-10 — “Now they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
It is a curious thing to behold, in the garden of Eden, Adam, newly created, recently fallen, hiding from his Maker. He had just been given all of creation, a beautiful wife and yet, there he was, hiding from an all omnipresent and omnipotent God. What a picture we get to see, the first man, cowering in shame after doing the one thing he wasn’t supposed to do. It would be all too easy for us, thousands of years later, to point the proverbial finger at Adam with the harshest of judgements for not following the only rule that he was given; one must ask however, would we have done any better?
Looking around at our world today, I would gleam that we would not do any better, we have done far worse and with more instruction than Adam had. The serpent in the garden, far from being the slithering monster, was crafty, probably provoking much thought in the minds of the newly minted man and woman. It wasn’t so much that the serpent was able to convince the couple that the fruit of the forbidden tree was good, it is worse than that, he caused them to doubt the word of God.
It all seems simple and clear until a real shadow of doubt is cast. The question “did God really say,” is a question that resonates through the ages, which is quite something for us who have the written scriptures. With all the commentaries, translations, manuscripts and interpretations that we have access to today, the question of the serpent still haunts, taunts and misdirects; casting a cloud of confusion over the ever feeble man.
If our adversary can have us believe that the words that God has spoken to us is at all unreliable or that we have misunderstood it, he can lead us into opposition of that very word. The serpent didn’t have to do much but cause confusion and stir up doubt.
King David in Psalms 119:11 writes, “I have treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You.” This is the way that we can walk confidently in the word of God, know it! We need to hide or treasure God’s word in our hearts and keep ourselves pure. Knowing the truth and being confident in what God says will keep us away from the slithering lies and deceptions of the enemy.
In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul writes to a young Timothy — “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” The shame that Adam felt in the garden, when he suddenly was confronted with right and wrong, knowing his own nakedness, that is the shame we feel when we are not clothed in righteousness and hidden in Christ. Hiding in the bushes was useless for Adam, God never lost Adam, though there was a new gulf between Adam and God as a result of man’s first sin.
Isaiah writes this word from God in Isaiah 66:2— “For My hand made all these things,
So all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But I will look to this one,
At one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Never forget the Lord in what you do, always be praying and worshipping His holy name. We are in the fight and like good soldiers we need to ensure we are working diligently before the Lord, rightly dividing the word of Truth; we can only do that by living Spirit-led lives. Stand firm in the Faith and walk humbly before God!
Micah 6:8 — “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
Much Love,
Jeremy
It is a curious thing to behold, in the garden of Eden, Adam, newly created, recently fallen, hiding from his Maker. He had just been given all of creation, a beautiful wife and yet, there he was, hiding from an all omnipresent and omnipotent God. What a picture we get to see, the first man, cowering in shame after doing the one thing he wasn’t supposed to do. It would be all too easy for us, thousands of years later, to point the proverbial finger at Adam with the harshest of judgements for not following the only rule that he was given; one must ask however, would we have done any better?
Looking around at our world today, I would gleam that we would not do any better, we have done far worse and with more instruction than Adam had. The serpent in the garden, far from being the slithering monster, was crafty, probably provoking much thought in the minds of the newly minted man and woman. It wasn’t so much that the serpent was able to convince the couple that the fruit of the forbidden tree was good, it is worse than that, he caused them to doubt the word of God.
It all seems simple and clear until a real shadow of doubt is cast. The question “did God really say,” is a question that resonates through the ages, which is quite something for us who have the written scriptures. With all the commentaries, translations, manuscripts and interpretations that we have access to today, the question of the serpent still haunts, taunts and misdirects; casting a cloud of confusion over the ever feeble man.
If our adversary can have us believe that the words that God has spoken to us is at all unreliable or that we have misunderstood it, he can lead us into opposition of that very word. The serpent didn’t have to do much but cause confusion and stir up doubt.
King David in Psalms 119:11 writes, “I have treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You.” This is the way that we can walk confidently in the word of God, know it! We need to hide or treasure God’s word in our hearts and keep ourselves pure. Knowing the truth and being confident in what God says will keep us away from the slithering lies and deceptions of the enemy.
In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul writes to a young Timothy — “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” The shame that Adam felt in the garden, when he suddenly was confronted with right and wrong, knowing his own nakedness, that is the shame we feel when we are not clothed in righteousness and hidden in Christ. Hiding in the bushes was useless for Adam, God never lost Adam, though there was a new gulf between Adam and God as a result of man’s first sin.
Isaiah writes this word from God in Isaiah 66:2— “For My hand made all these things,
So all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But I will look to this one,
At one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Never forget the Lord in what you do, always be praying and worshipping His holy name. We are in the fight and like good soldiers we need to ensure we are working diligently before the Lord, rightly dividing the word of Truth; we can only do that by living Spirit-led lives. Stand firm in the Faith and walk humbly before God!
Micah 6:8 — “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
Much Love,
Jeremy
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