The Curse Of Sin - Part 1 Series

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7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (Psalm 139:7–8 ESV)

So the Lord God, probably in shining glory, some manifestation of the Shekinah, actually took on the form of a man and was walking in the garden. E.J. Young writes, “God is the infinite one. He is a spirit. In order to reveal Himself to man in an intimate way, He did appear during Old Testament times in human form. Such appearances were called theophanies...” So one of the blessings that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden was intimacy fellowship and conversation with God.

Verse 9 tells us that God is calling out to Adam looking for him. He’s not asking for information. He’s not wandering around saying, “Where are you, Adam?” He knew where Adam was because God is omniscient. What He was really wanting from Adam was for Adam to step forward on his own and confess his sin. It was a compassionate, loving, gracious, merciful God who is by nature a Savior seeking a sinner. Understand this: God seeks the hiding sinner. And it is here we find the first sight of grace and a possibility for reconciliation.

Frankly, had God just killed Adam and Eve, it would have been a righteous execution. There’s nothing in them that elicits from God any deserved kindness. It is just pure grace from God.

Verses 10-13 we find Adam’s reply and the subsequent confession and blame-shifting: Gen 3:10-11 “10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

Understand this: man is unable to understand the truth of his fallen condition. That is the mark of depravity. The self-focus and shrinking from God, hiding sin, minimizing sin, are all part of our fallen condition. Rom 3:11 “11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.” We flee from Him. We hide. Worship is intentional, not emotional. We minimize and understate our condition, and overinflate our own righteousness. “Perhaps God is calling you from your hiding today: “Come out of your hiding place, from your self-reproach, your covering, your secrecy, your self-torment, from your vain remorse” (Bonhoeffer).

So God digs a little deeper. Verse 11: “And He said, ‘Who told you you were naked?’” 'Who told you? You’ve been naked since I made you. Who brought this up? Who told you this? Who told you and Eve that you were naked? Where did the shame come from, Adam? How did you all of a sudden decide that you were naked and that this was inappropriate?’ God already knew the answer and they already knew the answer. They had fallen into sin and corruption and the shame and awareness of being naked rose up from inside of them. And now God brings them to the fine point of their condition: rebelliousness and disobedience to His Word. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”