Three Questions (Part I)

After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, we are told that their eyes were opened and they knew for the first time that they were naked. (Genesis 3:7) Their first reaction was to quickly fashion some makeshift clothing for themselves out of fig leaves. Not long after that, they heard the sound of God walking in the Garden. Upon hearing his voice Adam and Eve hid themselves from God among the trees of the garden.

Then, In Genesis 3:9 God speaks to Adam directly; it is the first recorded question that God ever asked man, and consists of only three words: “Where are you?”

Certainly God knew precisely where Adam and Eve were hiding. He was not asking this question to find out where Adam was so much as to get Adam to see why he was where he was. God was beginning the process of exposing Adam and Eve’s sin, and rather than just point it out to them, he walked them backwards from effects to cause so that they could see the connection between that sin and their present circumstances.

But in doing this God was not only helping Adam and Eve see how they had brought their current condition upon themselves, but also drawing them into the process of getting out of that condition – a process that begins with seeing and confessing sin. And in one way or another, God asks this same question to each of us at some point in our lives for the same reason.

Ultimately God’s desire for sinful mankind is to get them out of their sinful state and back into the righteous state he created them in. But before this can happen, a person must first come to the realization of where he is. This is vividly seen in the story of the Prodigal son who, after foolishly wasting his inheritance, finally came to his senses. At that very moment he said, “I am dying here.” (Luke 15:17) He realized where he was, and knew he didn’t want to stay there. And until this happens in a person’s life, it will be difficult to motivate them to draw near to God so that they can be restored.

Adam’s response to God’s simple but powerful question is recorded in Genesis 3:10:

"I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

There is an obvious and yet very powerful truth in this statement. Fear of having our “nakedness” exposed will keep us out of the presence of God. John said it this way:

“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:20)

Through fear, the very sin that separated man from God in the first place keeps keep him trapped in that state of separation. Thankfully, because of God’s desire to fellowship with man, he has provided the only way for man to get out of this trap: Expose yourself to the grace of God. He will remove the filthy, hand made rags you have been wearing in a vain attempt to cover your nakedness, and he will replace them with the garments of his salvation and the robe of his righteousness! (Zechariah 3:3-4; Isaiah 61:10) All we must do is use our faith to follow the advice Jesus gave us in Revelation 3:18:

“I advise you to buy from me… white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed.”