Genesis 3:9-10 Where art thou?
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
arraignment of these deserters before the righteous Judge of heaven and earth
who, though he is not tied to observe formalities
proceeds against them with all possible fairness, that he may be justified when he speaks
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
The man could not hide himself from God
God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?”
Not that He was ignorant of his hiding-place, but to bring him to a confession of his sin
The Lord begins with a question just as the serpent had
“Where are you?”
This question does not mean that God is ignorant of Adam’s whereabouts
Rather, it is God’s way of drawing Adam out of hiding.
God’s first word to fallen man has all the marks of grace
It is a question
to help him he must draw rather than drive him out of hiding
Only a voice penetrates his concealment
Where art thou?
Some make it a bemoaning question: “Poor Adam, what has become of thee?”
Where art thou? Not, In what place? but, In what condition?
This enquiry after Adam may be looked upon as a gracious pursuit
in kindness to him, and in order to his recovery
If God had not called to him, to reclaim him, his condition would have been as desperate as that of fallen angels
this lost sheep would have wandered endlessly, if the good Shepherd had not sought after him, to bring him back
to that, reminded him where he was, where he should not be, and where he could not be either happy or easy
If sinners will but consider where they are
they will not rest till they return to God
Let us therefore put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then draw near with humble boldness.
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
I was afraid Adam says he is afraid because he is unclothed, but he really fears the shame of appearing naked in God’s presence
His awareness of that shame exposes his guilt.
Before their disobedience, Adam and Eve had no reason to be ashamed (Gen 2:25).
25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed
Adam said that he had hidden himself through fear of his nakedness
and thus sought to hide the sin behind its consequences
his disobedience behind the feeling of shame
admits of a psychological explanation, viz., that at the time he actually thought more of his nakedness and shame
than of his transgression of the divine command
his consciousness of the effects of his sin was keener than his sense of the sin itself
afraid, because … naked—apparently, a confession—the language of sorrow
but it was evasive—no signs of true humility and penitence
Adam’s answer conceals the cause behind the symptoms
but afraid (the first mention of fear) is significant
this shrinking from God remains part of our fallen condition
The trembling answer which Adam gave to this question: I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
He does not own his guilt, and yet in effect confesses it by owning his shame and fear
it is the common fault and folly of those that have done an ill thing,
when they are questioned about it, to acknowledge no more than what is so manifest that they cannot deny it
Adam was afraid, because he was naked
not only unarmed, and therefore afraid to contend with God
but unclothed, and therefore afraid so much as to appear before him
We have reason to be afraid of approaching to God if we be not clothed and fenced with the righteousness of Christ
for nothing but this will be armour of proof and cover the shame of our nakedness
Let us therefore put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then draw near with humble boldness.
1. Those who by sin have gone astray from God should seriously consider where they are
they are afar off from all good
in the midst of their enemies
in bondage to Satan
and in the high road to utter ruin
Let us therefore put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then draw near with humble boldness.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.