“Where Art Thou”
Genesis 3:1-10
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0u04U6z08s
It is these three words, “Where Art Thou,” that is at the heart of our message this morning.
But as I look at this, I also realize that Shakespeare wasn’t the originator of this statement and question when he wrote his play, “Romeo and Juliet.” Where Juliet asks, “Romeo, Romeo, where art thou, Romeo.”
These words are first recorded for us in the Book of Genesis, the third chapter. And in this chapter, we come face to face with one of the most important and pivotal chapters because here we are taught something that is essential to the central message of the Bible.
You see, the Bible is primarily God’s textbook for humanity’s salvation. It’s the accounting of God’s way of salvation, and understanding this event is necessary to understanding our need for God’s salvation. For you see, the message found within this chapter explains why the world is as messed up as it is, what went wrong, and why the coming of the Son of God, that is, Jesus, was and is an absolute necessity.
It is what’s being discussed even today in our news and social media sites, for it contains the answers to why things are the way they are, what’s the matter with our world today, and why we have been unable over the centuries and millenniums to fix it.
And these questions are all tied up in God’s first recorded question as He asked Adam, “Where art thou.”
Let’s look at this passage and God’s question.
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, ‘Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ And the woman said unto the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’ And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 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?’ And he said, ‘I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. ‘” (Genesis 3:1-10 KJV)
“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 3:9-10 KJV)
Now, the question is not theoretical, and I know how tempting it is to sit around and discuss the state of our world. But it is not about the state of our world or of politics that we need to be discussing, rather what we should be discussing is the state of humanity, because that is what is really at stake.
You see, the issues before us, and the question God asks has to do with our eternity and what is our ultimate destiny.
Now, it is this question of our ultimate destiny that has the world institutions and philosophies at odds with Christianity and the Bible.
The world looks at humanity as sees no destiny. It’s called the theory of evolution, which says that humanity evolved over time from some primordial slime or ooze. And the basic premise that comes out of the theory of evolution is that humanity has gotten better, and more advanced over time, and that humanity is spiritually and morally better than it ever has been.
Now, just so everyone knows, the reason it is called a theory is because there is absolutely no facts or data to back up its position. Not even science can state evolution as a fact, because for something to be proved scientifically it must be reproducible. So, evolution is not scientific, rather it is purely a faith-based religion.
And can I just say that I don’t think there is a thinking man or woman who can say that humanity as gotten either morally or spiritually better over the years.
The biblical view, however, is the exact opposite of the worldly view. The Bible says that everything in the universe was created by God. And while in the beginning everything was perfect, sin enter the picture and messed it all up.
And so, instead of humanity getting better, humanity has been getting worse, and both humanity and the world are groaning for redemption.
In Romans 8:21-22 it says, “Creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” (Romans 8:21-22 NKJV)
In other words, our final liberty from the bondage of sin and death will likewise see the deliverance of the rest of creation from its bondage of corruption that it was subjected to at the sin of Adam and Eve.
But the tragedy is that the world today doesn’t see it, because it has been blinded by Satan to the truth of God’s word that says that the present state of humanity is sin, which is what has got this world so messed up, and what is sending humanity to hell.
“Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4 NKJV)
What is the gospel? It’s that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the 2nd person of the Godhead has come to this earth as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of this world. And that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life, not eternal death.
And so, this third chapter of Genesis is the turning point of history, where God had created everything perfect, setting humanity in the midst of Paradise where they lived in harmony with Creation and lived in and had communion with God. But in Chapter three we’re told how it all went sour, as Satan deceived humanity into believing that they could be their own gods by eating from the tree of good and evil, the one tree God told them not to partake of. And from that we see Adam and Eve hiding from the presence of God.
And from this one act, sin entered both humanity and the world, where humanity was tossed from the Garden of Eden, or Paradise, and subjected to pain and suffering along with the world. And so, what we see is life as God created it to be, and life as it has become, which is known as the doctrine of sin.
And from this picture that has been painted for us, what we see is two important distinctions as it addresses this whole sin issue.
The first is that the troubles we face today comes from the sin within, and not our environment.
It’s Not the Environment
Let’s get out of this whole idea about climate change and that humanity is causing our environment to deteriorate.
The world and the politics of our day want us to believe that if only we start making the conditions right in our environment, then we’ll be alright. It’s the basic belief that the trouble is in our environment, and it’s our job to fix it.
But this flies in the face of biblical truth. Think about it. Humanity had the perfect environment to live in, and had everything that they desired, and there was no lack. Yet, it was in that perfect environment that man rebelled and turned Paradise into a wilderness.
And so, living in a perfect world is not the answer. Humanity’s troubles are not from the circumstances that we find ourselves in, but rather our problem comes from within, or the sin that lies within.
So, what is the problem?
We’re in a Wrong Relationship with God
This is the whole problem in a nutshell. Humanity fell out of a right relationship with God, and that is when everything started to go wrong. This is the first tragic picture we have of the human race. And the real tragedy is that we keep on repeating the mistake. Humanity still goes on doing the exact same thing that Adam and Eve did. And the tragedy is that we neither listen nor see it, and that’s because we turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to our own history.
There in the Garden, after they sinned by disobeying God’s word, Adam and Eve were both miserable and ashamed, realizing that something had gone terribly wrong when they heard the Lord calling out to them asking “Where Art Thou,” and they went and hid themselves.
But now the question becomes, what led humanity to make this catastrophic decision.
Humanity Knows Best
How amazing was this, and how amazing is it today that we keep repeating it.
Here humanity was created by God, and was perfect in form, beauty, and make up. They were whole and unified in body, mind, soul, and spirit. And God placed them in Paradise, that is in perfect environment and in perfect conditions.
And so, the question becomes, “What Happened?”
The answer is simple, humanity believed that they knew better than God what was best for their lives and how to manage all this without God. They basically decided for themselves what was right and wrong for their own lives, and in essence became their own boss.
Notice what Adam said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:10 NKJV)
And now take note of what God said in reply. “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:11 NKJV)
In other words, God never told them their nakedness was something bad or to be ashamed of. They determined this all by themselves in their now sinful condition.
God gave to Adam and Eve great freedom, and they were happy in their union with God, reaping the benefits, including perfect health and no worries about the pain and sorrow associated with death.
But when the temptation came saying that God was being unfair by limiting their freedom, and that there was so much more they were missing out on, they began to disbelieve God, and started to believe they could be their own gods. And because they accepted this lie, misery and death followed.
And so, their disobedience and refusal to live as God would have them to live, replacing the thoughts of God with their own thoughts is what brought them and all of us down, where now instead of freedom, humanity is in bondage to sin and death.
What I find fascinating is how we are so ready to discuss and complain about the problems of the world and of our nation. We’re so ready to discuss social, economic, and the political problems of our day, and never consider that all of it is due because we are not living our lives as God told us to live, and that we are not in a right relationship with God.
Today, humanity’s is living in guilt and shame, and it has an oozing sore upon its soul. We long for something better but have missed the boat. You see, such a life can only be achieved when we’re in a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins so that we can be set free from sin’s bondage.
So, instead of going to the world and getting its take on what wrong, we need to go to God’s word and get our lives back on track with God and stop thinking that we know what’s best.
The second thing that led humanity to make this catastrophic decision is the refusal to believe God’s judgment is coming.
Refusing to Believe in God’s Judgement
The Apostle Paul brings out this truth, that we are without excuse when it comes to the upcoming judgment of God.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. (Romans 1:18-19 NKJV)
And because God has revealed this judgment throughout humanity’s history, humanity, that is, all of us have no excuse. In other words, God is holding us responsible, and therefore we need to take His upcoming judgment more seriously.
Adam obviously didn’t take it seriously.
To Adam the Lord said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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.” (Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV)
But Adam didn’t take God’s word seriously and so he and Eve ate from the tree, believing the lie of Satan, and from this humanity has been born with the sin nature attached, and has thus kept making the same mistake.
Through Noah, God warned the inhabitants of the earth to repent, but they mocked and ridiculed the message, refusing to believe God’s coming judgment, that is, until it was too late and the door the Ark was closed, and the Flood came.
And the same goes throughout the Old Testament, as one prophet after another warned the people, but they refused to listen and believe, and God’s judgment came. And it is this same message that has been given by the last Old Testament prophet, John the Baptist, and then by the Lord Himself, Jesus, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17 NKJV)
And Jesus told them of God’s upcoming judgement if they refused.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate!” (Matthew 23:37-38 NKJV)
And then it says Jesus departed from the temple and the disciples started to show Him the magnificence of the temple and Jesus then said, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2 NKJV)
And so, judgment came because they never repented and instead put to death God’s Son, Jesus. And so, 30 odd years later, the Romans came and tore down the temple where not one stone was left standing upon another, and the Jewish people were scatter to all the other nations, where they remained almost 2,000 years in exile until 1958 when Israel under the Jewish people was recognized as a state by the United Nations.
Conclusion
One last thing that we see in our story is that although Adam and Eve were guilty, God didn’t leave them, but He came looking for them, not to condemn them but to speak of a promise of His Son that was going to come and make it right.
To Satan God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15 NKJV)
The seed of Satan are all those who are against God, and “her Seed,” is the Messiah, who will destroy the power of Satan over the lives of those who believe.
Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)
And so, just as God came after Adam and Eve, He personally comes after every one of us speaking to us words of comfort and not of condemnation. As the Bible says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 NKJV)
And He likewise speaks words of our deliverance saying, “Where O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55 NKJV)
And in the end, all those who believe will be with Jesus.
Jesus makes for us this promise.
“In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)
And of His return the Bible says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NKJV)
And so, when Jesus comes back, He won’t be asking, “Where art thou,” instead, He will say to all those who believe in Him, “Come, enter into the joy of your Lord.”
