This morning I am going to test your knowledge of the Bible—specifically the Old Testament. As I quote a series of questions I want you to identify the person to whom God was speaking. Here are the questions. “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?” (Genesis 4:6) Of whom did God ask those two questions? The LORD addressed those words to Cain. The second question is a little easier. “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Genesis 18:14) The Lord asked those two questions of Abraham after Sarah laughed at the thought of having a child in her old age. “Who gave man his mouth?” (Exodus 4:11) To whom did God address that question? He was speaking to Moses when he was making excuses about why he wouldn’t be any good as God’s spokesman. Here is another question from God for you to consider. “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3) The Lord asked that question of the prophet Ezekiel in his vision of the valley of dry bones. Here is one final question for you to match up to the person to whom it was spoken. “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” (Jonah 4:9) God asked Jonah that question when Jonah was grumbling about the vine God had given him to use for shade.
Now I have a question for you about God’s questions. If God knows everything why did he ask so many people so many questions? Obviously God wasn’t expecting answers to his questions. He knew the answers before he asked them. When God asks a question it is for the benefit of the person to whom he is speaking. All the questions that I just quoted were intended to lead an individual to some truth that God wanted him to understand.
In our Old Testament lesson for this Sunday we heard God ask Adam and Eve a series of questions. All the questions had a purpose. God wanted to confront them with their sin and lead them to repentance. He could then comfort them with the promise of a Savior. Although they may be worded differently we find God asking us the same kinds of questions he asked Adam and Eve. He has the same purpose in mind. He wants to confront us with our sins so that he can comfort us with a Savior. May the Holy Spirit bless us as we consider the fact that:
“OUR GRACIOUS GOD CALLS TO US”
I. To confront us with our sins
II. To comfort us with a Savior
It was a question that led to the mess in which Adam and Eve found themselves when God called to them in the garden. Satan had asked Eve a question. You may remember it. “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) Once the seeds of doubt about God’s love were planted in Eve’s mind the tempter went on to declare, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5) The father of lies told the truth when he offered that encouragement to Eve to disobey God’s command. Indeed, she would be like God knowing good and evil but that would be a tragedy for her and her children after her. Satan’s question was intended to separate her from God and lead her to an eternity in hell.
God’s questions, on the other hand, had a far different purpose. In his grace, that undeserved love we cannot understand, God used a series of questions to expose the sin in the hearts of Adam and Eve. Since they didn’t go to God, he came to them. Like a patient parent God gently led them to see their sin so they could also see their need for a Savior. He then provided a promise concerning that Savior. Today a gracious God calls to you and to me--the children of Adam and Eve. Through his holy Word he asks searching questions of us. He does this to confront us with our sins in order to comfort us with a Savior. May we listen and respond to his questions.
I.
Our Old Testament lesson for this Sunday tells the sad story of Adam and Eve’s shame over their sin. “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. But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” God knew where they were. But in order to confront his creatures with their sin God brought himself down to their level. He took on a physical form to walk to them and talk with them. Perhaps through that action we can see a shadow of the time that God would become fully human to undo the damage Adam and Eve’s sin caused. Although God would have had every right to quickly return them to the dust from which they had been created, in love he called out to them to restore the relationship with him that they had broken.
Before we look at the questions that God asked we must stop and consider the name that is used for God in these verses. Three times he is called the “LORD God.” The name LORD, spelled in all capital letters in the New International Version, is a translation of a Hebrew word that means, “I am.” We have that name in the stained glass window closest to me on your left. When that particular name for God is used in the Scriptures it is almost always used in connection with God’s love. When the “I AM” God loves someone, his love does not change. It is lasting and enduring.
The LORD’s gracious call to Adam began the process of leading all humanity to repentance. “He answered, >I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.= And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’” God asked three questions. “Where are you?” “Who told you that you were naked?” “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Again, God knew the answer to every one of those questions. So then why did he ask them? Each of them served as a confrontation to Adam and Eve’s desperate denial of their sin. Those questions were bridges that God built between himself and two sinners that were separated from his love.
You know the pathetic response that Adam gave to God’s questions. “The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’” Although he blamed his wife, and ultimately God who gave Eve to him, Adam did finally admit to sinning against the one command God had given him. We can imagine that Adam now had some questions floating around in his head. “What will happen to me? Will God give me a second chance?”
But before answering the questions Adam might have had God had a question for the one who was created out of Adam’s body. “Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” Once again God’s question had a purpose. Adam admitted that he disobeyed God. And although Eve also tried to blame someone else, the serpent, she too finally admitted her sin.
God’s questions accomplished their purpose. He called to his creatures to confront them with their sin. They were led to see the hopelessness of their sinful situation. In love they had been given the opportunity to obey God and they chose not to obey him. With freedom comes responsibility and they had failed to use their freedom wisely and could rightly aspect to suffer the consequences.
“Where are you?” A gracious God asks you and me the same thing, doesn’t he? Have we been hiding from God? Is there a pet sin that we are protecting in some corner of our heart hoping God will not see it? Perhaps we are living a double life. Maybe we have become so disillusioned and deceived by sin that we believe we can live contrary to God’s commands and he won’t notice. Psalm 139:7-8 speaks to us, “Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” God knows all and sees all. When he asks you “Where are you?” he isn’t asking because he doesn’t know. He is asking because he wants you to think about your relationship with him.
“Who told you that you were naked?” In other words who has given you a first-hand knowledge of sin? It is Satan, the sinful master under whom we were born, that has given us our familiarity with sin. “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Oh, friends, what forbidden tree haven’t we eaten from? We have eaten the fruit of rebellion against God from the whole orchard sin has to offer. Among us his Name has been used to curse and falsely swear. His precious Word, which is his Name, has not been kept holy in our lives. Who of us has not eaten our fill of the fruit of self-centeredness? We lust for more and more material things. The bitter fruits of discontentment and dissatisfaction have also crossed our lips.
Perhaps the question that God asked Eve is more powerful than all the others. “What is this you have done?” Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, what is this we have done? Let’s not point fingers or place blame. Save the excuses. Forget the “if’s, and’s, or but’s.” Don’t hide from the gracious God who calls to you. As he holds you accountable hold yourself accountable. May we confess as King David did when confronted with his sin, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
But perhaps someone might wonder how confronting us with our sins is the work of a gracious God. Sin destroys the relationship between us and God. It destroys lives and if left in place will destroy a person forever. Teachers don’t ask questions of their students to learn. They do it to teach. Police officers don’t ask us if we know why they pulled us over so that they can figure out what ticket to give us. They do it to assess our attitude or attentiveness to our driving. Did we even notice that we broke the law? God asked Adam and Eve a series of questions to help them see their sins. A gracious God is still asking sinners similar questions. Today he asks you and me some questions. “Where are you?” “What is this you have you done?” “Have you broken my commands?” He asks these questions to confront us with our sins.
II.
“What’s going to happen now?” That was probably the question that Adam and Eve were asking? After they saw their rebellion in all its ugliness, and when they understood the seriousness of their deliberate and willful disobedience, they were ready to listen to God. The questions God had asked them led them to look to God for forgiveness, hope, and salvation.
The account from Genesis continues, “So the LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’” Once again the inspired writer of Genesis uses the covenant name for God. The LORD, the “I AM” God, spoke. Since Satan used the serpent to bring about this temptation the LORD commanded that the serpent crawl on its belly as a reminder of sin’s entry into the world. And the deceiver who spoke through the serpent would be crushed by the seed of the woman. That seed of the woman was born in Bethlehem several thousand years later. He has indeed crushed the serpent=s head. But he was severely bruised in the process. His victory came at a very high price.
To Adam and Eve God promised salvation instead of destruction, eternal life instead of eternal death, a restored relationship instead of one forever destroyed. Through his grace God led them back to trust that God loved them and would always do what was best for them. No, he wouldn’t withhold anything good. No, obedience was not a burden for them. It was a blessing. Although Satan would again and again tempt them to disobey God, the questions God asked and the promise he made brought them salvation.
Events similar to those that occurred in the Garden of Eden have reoccurred many times in each generation that has lived since then. Satan brings ruin and destruction by challenging the truth that God is good and gracious. Humans fall for his lies and his deceptions. But then a gracious God calls to them. “Where are you? What is this you have done?” He asks questions like these from Jeremiah 23:24, “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” God’s desire through the penetrating questions in his Word is to lead people to see their helpless condition and to open their hearts to the comfort he offers through his Son.
Have God’s questions led you to despair of your own abilities, your own pride, your desire to blame him and others? If they have not listen to him ask them once again. Let’s take a little break in our sermon and turn to page 156 in the front part of the hymnal. Join with me as we speak the answers to the questions in unison. “Q: What does God tell me about myself in his holy Word? A: He says that I am a sinner and deserve only his punishment. Q: What should I do if I am not aware of my sins or am not troubled by them? A: I should examine myself according to the Ten Commandments and ask how well I have carried out my responsibilities as a husband or wife or single person, as a parent or child, an employer or employee, a teacher or student. Have I loved God with all my heart, gladly heard his Word, and patiently endured affliction? Have I been disobedient, proud, or unforgiving? Have I been selfish, lazy, envious, or quarrelsome? Have I lied or deceived, taken something not mine, or given anyone a bad name? Have I abused my body or permitted indecent thoughts to linger in my mind? Have I failed to do what is right and good? Q: When I realize that I have sinned against God and deserve his punishment, what should I do? A: I will confess before God all my sins, those which I remember as well as those of which I am unaware. I will pray to God for his mercy and forgiveness.”
Since God’s mercy is new every morning he calls to us again today. He does this to confront us with our sins so that he can comfort us with a Savior. Unless we see what we need we won’t believe that need has been met.
When God said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?” he did it to warn him that sin was about to take control of his life. God’s question to Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” was asked in the hope that Abraham would believe that nothing was impossible with God. He and Sarah would indeed have a son in their old age. “Who gave man his mouth?” God used that question to lead Moses to trust that God would give him the words he needed to speak. Again and again God asked questions to which he knew the answers. Obviously those questions served a purpose. In the person to whom they were addressed they were meant to cause reflection, consideration, and ultimately faith. God’s questions to Adam and Eve served that same purpose. He wanted to confront them with their sins so that he could comfort them with a Savior.
Today God asks similar questions of us for the same reason. “Where are you?” “What have you done?” “Have you broken my commandments?” A gracious God calls to us. He does this to confront us with our sins and to comfort us with a Savior. Now the question is whether or not you and I listening? And are we answering? Amen.
