A Ready Remnant Part 2
A Ready Remnant • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Know Where He Is
Know Where He Is
In Genesis we find God asking the first question of man.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Let me note that God asked a singular question. The text for “Man” אָדָ֑ם, in the actual Hebrew text is וַיִּקְרָ֛א יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ אַיֶּֽכָּה.
First, the “El” proper in Hebrew refers to the One True God, the Creator and Master of all. Otherwise, it may be used to refer to lesser forms created in the image of a god. In this case, we see that it reflects the fact that man was created in the image of God rather than man creating gods in their own image.
Second, the letter Hey הָֽ in el-Ha Adam makes it singular. God is not initiating this conversation with Eve but Adam. It is a point of family responsibility for the household relationship with God.
The main point of this passage, however, is the question, “Where are you.” We know that God is not asking because Adam is so well hidden. Instead, God is opening the conversation offering Adam an opportunity for full transparency. Yet, we know Adam’s response was to blame God.
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
The blame here is not on the woman but on God. And how many times have any of us gone through trials, losses, tribulations, difficulties, or extremely low points in life where we turned this question around and asked, “God, where are you?” Or we have asked, “Where was God when…?” We seem to have enough faith to not outright blame God, but there is a hint of resentment or questioning His nature.
Genesis implies that man had communed with God prior to their communing with the serpent. So, when they began to listen to the voice of the serpent, instead of the voice of God, they responded as if God were nowhere to be found in that moment. When we read Genesis 3:8-9, we interpret it as if God had gone away and then returned to find them hiding. But the truth is, God never once left their side. They just lost site of where He was from their perspective.
You ask, “Why did God not stop them from sinning?” God allowing man to make a choice between Yetzer HaTov (inclination to good) and Yetzer HaRa (inclination to evil) was a part of man’s creation process. Man had to be allowed to choose or he was incomplete in design. He would choose the good of God or not.
G.K. Chesterton states, ““Every act of will is an act of self-limitation. To desire action is to desire limitation. In that sense, every act is an act of self-sacrifice. When you choose anything, you reject everything else. Every act is an irrevocable selection and exclusion. Just as when you marry one woman you give up all the others, so when you take one course of action you give up all the other courses. The moment you step into the world of facts, you step into a world of limits. You can free things from alien or accidental laws, but not from the laws of their own nature. You may, if you like, free a tiger from his bars; but do not free him from his stripes. Do not free a camel from the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel” (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy; https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/911388-every-act-of-will-is-an-act-of-self-limitation-to).
If we are to be God’s remnant made ready for His return, we as His people need to know the answer to “Where is God?” If those who do not know Him are facing the same trials and hardships of life, but they do not know the answer, who will show them?
I know many of you have experienced really tough and heavy trials. Some of you are facing some even today. But I want to encourage you to not let your faith be shaken. There truly is no God like our God whose loving kindness never fails. Like forgiveness, there is no other god among men that offers such lovingkindness as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
I know that in the midst of this life it is very difficult to see the presence of God through the strong emotions of the flesh and heavy feelings in the depth of our souls. It is difficult to perceive God’s mercies in the midst of this life’s madness. I know it is our nature to question suffering when we cannot see the supernatural through our pain and sorrows. But I know where God is, He is with you like He was for so many others.
For Daniel God was in the den.
For Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael He was in the fire.
For Israel He was in the Red Sea.
For Elijah He was in a whisper.
For Peter He was in the storm.
For Jonah He was in a whale.
For David He was in a battle.
For Joseph He was in a prison.
For Esther He was in a destiny.
For Ruth He was in a friendship.
For Paul and Silas He was in a song.
For Joshua He was in a shout.
For Gideon He was in a light.
Speaking of the religious leaders mocking Jesus as He hung on the cross, it says in Matthew 27:41-42
So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
Hanging there in agonizing pain, suffocating and bleeding, Jesus replies to their mockery in Matthew 27:46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
This is a quote from King David’s cry to God for a deliverer in Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
You see, God did deliver David. In David’s distress, where was God? He was hanging on a cross. When the disciples of Christ were facing tribulation and persecution, where was God? He was risen from a grave. Where is God in the midst of your heaviness? It may seem to your flesh that He is no where near. But He is always closer than you know.
For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
I believe we all need to hide these verses deep in our hearts to draw on when our soul is overwhelmed.
With each of the Biblical illustrations I shared, each one of them heard the voice of the Lord in the midst of what they were facing. Adam did as well. He just failed to respond to it out of trust in the Lord because He questioned God’s nature. He questioned God’s nature, because Adam had taken on another.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
The root of “heard” is shema שְׁמְע֞ or to obey. The root of “walking” is halak הָלַךְ which refers to one’s lifestyle or character. And the word “sound” is kol ק֨וֹל meaning voice. So, what we see happening here is that Adam was not obeying until he heard the voice of God speaking from the character or nature of God in contrast of Adam’s disobedience. Adam sensed the love of the Father in the midst of Adam’s conflict with the flesh.
It is like a kid whose Dad suddenly shows up unexpectedly and catches the kid doing exactly what the Father told them not to do. And when they hear his voice bringing correction, they cannot hear the love in the voice.
But you have been redeemed, transformed, and carry the nature of the risen Christ. You are the remnant of the Lord. You are a child of the Most high God. Know that He is with you always. And the voice of the Lord is His great love for you no matter what you are dealing with, facing, or going through anytime in your life. Never doubt His great love for you.