Scripture Notes: Where Are You? (Genesis 3)

Adam and Eve have sinned. They directly and deliberately ate from the tree from which God had forbidden them to eat. There was no mistake, no misunderstanding. They knew God’s will, but they chose to follow their own wills instead. They thought they knew better then God. They wanted “freedom” over their own choices. So they chose to believe the serpent and turn their backs on God and eat.

And they died. Not physically. At least not right away. But spiritually. They lost the grace of God. They lost many of the gifts God had given them when they were pure and innocent. They lost their friendship with God and His divine presence within their souls. This is truly a death. 

So after that first sin, Adam and Eve hide from God. They are no longer intimate with Him. They realize they are naked, and they feel shame. So they cover up. They hide. 

But God calls to Adam and Eve and asks, “Where are you?” He knows exactly where they are, of course, both physically and spiritually. But they don’t. They have lost their bearings. They have drifted off into a new realm, a realm of fallen sinfulness, and they need to realize it because acknowledging the loss is the first step to regaining what has been lost. So God asks, “Where are you?” He wants Adam and Eve to understand their new position, a position they have chosen for themselves. It will not be a pleasant discovery, but it is necessary.

God asks us the same thing: “Where are you?” He knows, but we need to come to terms with our own fallen nature, our own sinfulness, our own precarious position. Then we can move out of hiding and come before God in humility, saying “Here I am” and opening ourselves up to His healing mercy and love.