Adam Where Are You?

Adam Where Are You?

Pastor Curtis Mathis

FBC - LAMB

February 7, 2015

Genesis 3:1-9 (NIV)

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Introduction:

Thousands of years ago, as God walked through the Garden of Eden, in the cool of the evening, He spoke these words… “Adam, where are you?” And those words echoed across the Garden, they reverbed across the centuries, through the pages of the Old Testament, through the little town Bethlehem, across the hills of Calvary, they resounded inside an empty tomb…and today, yes today, these same words still echo and fall upon the ears of each man within the sound of my voice…

ADAM WHERE ARE YOU???

These words were spoken in the Third Chapter of Genesis, during what we generally refer to as, “The Fall”.

Genesis 3:1-9 (NIV)

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

As people think through these verses, they often conclude that it was Eve, or “That woman you gave to me”, as Adam called her, that is responsible for the “Fall of Man”. Because it was Eve who fell for that line of bull that the serpent was selling, it was Eve who took that first bite of the “forbidden fruit”, it was Eve who enticed Adam to also eat of the fruit, Right guys?! WRONG! Here’s the problem with that scenario… is verse 6!

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

HE WAS WITH HER; He was right there!!!

And why was he with her? Chapter 2:15 tells us!

“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”

And guys what does it mean to TEND or to KEEP?

>Tend (t?nd) v.t.

1. to attend to by work or services, care, etc.: to tend a fire.

2. to watch over and care for; minister to: to tend the sick.

3. to handle or attend to (a rope). v.i.

4. to attend by action, care, etc. (usu. fol. by to).

5. tend on or upon, Archaic. to attend or wait upon; serve.

>Keep [ kçp ] VERB

1. provide for the sustenance of (someone):

2. provide (someone) with a regular supply of a commodity:

3. own and look after (an animal) for pleasure or profit.

4. own and manage (a shop or business).

5. guard; protect:

To watch over and care for, to guard, to protect…

ADAM WHERE ARE YOU???

Sadly, Adam had abounded his post and he left his bride to do battle with the serpent, a battle that she was not equipped to fight, look at verses 16 &17:

“16 And the Lord God commanded the man (ADAM), saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

God spoke these words directly to Adam, not to Eve, it was Adams responsibility to minister to his wife and instill in her the fact that God did indeed say and mean that if they ate of the fruit that they would die! It was Adam’s duty to protect Eve from the evil that the serpent represented, it was Adams “JOB” as the keeper of the garden to guard and protect it from the likes of the serpent! Adam failed, he failed God, he failed the garden, he failed Eve, and lastly, he failed himself. And it is that failure that brought forth the guilt and shame that questions man’s ability to lead…and so it is that those words still resound in our ears today…