Scripture:
Genesis 3:8-12 NKJV
[8] And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. [9] Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” [10] So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” [11] And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” [12] Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
Observation:
I started reading the bible years ago. It’s a book you can read over and over again, and never really know everything GOD has laid in its pages for us to discover. I feel like a lot of the answers we seek are at the very beginning of the book. For years, I have been trying to find out what GOD wants from me, and it’s pretty simple to discover. You just have to be paying attention to what you read. Most people call this portion of the scripture the fall in the garden. But it’s really where GOD’S desire for us is unveiled. Let’s take a good look at what’s going on. I’m sure by now, if we have been reading the bible for any length of time, we can see that we have just picked up at a very crucial moment. Adam and Eve had just made one of the worst decisions that they could ever make by listening to the serpent and eating from the tree that Adam was instructed not to eat from. When they hear GOD coming to walk with them like HE always does, it was the cool of the day and time for GOD to spend a few moments with the ones HE had created, the ones he loves. Adam and Eve. But when HE got to the garden, HE could tell that things were a little different. Adam was not his normal self. Crouched down behind a bush, thinking to himself, I hope HE doesn’t see me here. I picture the Father of all creation looking down at the bush and saying. Where are you, Adam? Come spend some time with me. He desired to Commune or fellowship with Adam. To have a few personal, intimate moments before returning to the throne to rule over the earth. But Adam had made a decision that had severed the relationship. He had done something he was instructed not to. That didn’t change GOD’S desire for him. It just brought the redemption plan into full view. HE still wanted a relationship with Adam and Eve. HE already knew them better than they knew themselves; they might not have known it, but HE did, so when Adam replied, GOD already knew the answer. I heard Your voice in the garden and was afraid because I was naked and I hid. The LORD GOD, knowing Adam and how HE had created him, could only ask one question after that… who told you you were naked, did you eat from the tree? GOD already knew the answer, but this was Adam’s opportunity to restore what had been severed, but again, Adam made another wrong decision. Instead of taking responsibility for what had happened, he placed that responsibility on GOD… like it was HIS fault. Most of us think the end of this story is a page or two ahead of where we are at, but in fact, it is still playing out today, thousands of years later. GOD’S desire for Adam was an intimate personal relationship.
Application:
How well does HE know you? Can you take your sin to HIM, or do you still hide from HIM when you make a mistake? I am not asking if you make mistakes, I’m asking if you try to hide the mistakes you do make from the one who already knows you made them. Or are you still trying to blame your bad decision on HIM? Yes, HE knew you were going to, but you didn’t have to. GOD did not create a race of robots that would do whatever HE said. HE gave us free will so that when we make the right decision, it would show our love for HIM like HE showed HIS great love for us. If we look at the balance here, we can see that the price HE paid to have a relationship with us is far greater than the one we pay by giving up the desires of our flesh. This morning, what I am hoping to bring out in this scripture is that GOD’S desire has not changed. HE wants more than anything for us to remain naked in front of HIM. That’s something that you only do with someone you know intimately. Someone you have a deep personal relationship with. The world would be a very different place if we all just ran around without clothes on. But that’s not exactly what I’m talking about. What I’m saying is that GOD knows every part of you. he knit you together in your mother’s womb. HE made you with the personality that you have, and HE did that for a reason. Because HE knows you. HE has gone so far as to create you with a desire that only HE can fulfill… unconditional love. Here is the thing. Most of us, when we read the bible. We forget the verses that come shortly after the ones we read this morning. The ones that spell out the redemption plan. You know the ones that tell us HE is going to send a redeemer one that will set right the wrong that was done in the garden. One that will restore us to right relationship, and it is by no mistake that it would be set right in a garden. That was all part of the plan. Jesus went to the garden to pray that the right decision would be made and that GOD’S would be done. The name Gethsemane means pressing or pressure. Jesus took the pressure of making the right decision so that we would be free to make the right decision. HIS decision in the garden showed us how and gave us a way to have an intimate relationship with the Father. It gave us a way to give GOD what HE always wanted. A way for us to come boldly to the throne room of grace. A way to confess every little detail of our lives to HIM. A way to remain naked in front of HIM. GOD’S’ desire for you is that you would not hide. But that you would share all your intimate moments with HIM. That you would fellowship with HIM. Walking in the cool of the day. HE wants you to know HIM the way HE knows you. HE wants you to see that HIS character is one of love. Love that corrects the path that we fall off of. But HE will only do that if our desire is to seek out HIS eternal character. My question this morning is, are you hiding something from the one who created you. It’s not working. HE already knows. Just tell HIM. HE wants to hear it from you. The truth will set you free.
Prayer:
Father, we love you, and we thank you for making a way for us to walk with you in the cool of the day. What an amazing plan we get to see unfold. What an amazing Father you are. I am always in adoration of how you have thought of every little detail. You have left no stone unturned. Thank you…. that’s honestly all I can say is … thank you. We want to be the men and women that you have made us to be. Help us to continue to feel the freedom of what it means to fellowship with you. Letting you know the deepest parts of us. Again, thank you. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.