Where Are You Adam?

Genesis 3:8-12

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?"

Where are you, Adam? Adam was hiding from God. Sin keeps one hidden from the presence of the Lord much as the Mosaic tabernacle separated the people from God. Habakkuk 1:13 says the Lord's "eyes are too pure to look on evil." Thus, when Adam and Eve sinned, they were immediately without God's presence. He was used to walking with them everyday until now; however, on this particular day they both hid from him. God's presence is always accompanied by physical manifestation. They "heard the sound" of God walking towards them and they could see all that his hands had made. God did not ask "where are you" because he did not know their location but because they did not know his. Man was hiding from an all knowing God. He knew all that had been done. Yet Adam and Eve could not perceive the character of God.

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?"

For all of their seeing and knowledge gained by the fruit, it hid their knowledge of God. Adam and Eve had made their choice. They chose to eat the fruit and hide from God. We see their natural reactions before a perfect God. God was their covering and their protection. Without him, they felt naked. When doubt was introduced through the Devil's questioning of God's authority, it was up to the Father to restore the broken relationship. God does not tell them what they did was wrong. They already knew that for is not the law of God "written on their hearts" according to Romans 2:15. The purpose of God's questions was not for his information but to reestablish a broken relationship with his creation. He is establishing the offense through dialogue to restore the relationship with man.

The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

For the blame game that followed and for the role each one played, God judged them for their part in the chaos that followed. He defined each role as God became more than a Creator and a friend, but rather a guardian to them. We see God taking on the parental role for those who had no earthly parents or relatives but God. Even as far as Romans 8:15 to the creation of sonship by adoption "whereby we cry Abba Father" established through Jesus, God is still providing.