“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” –Genesis 3:8-9, NET
Following their eating of the forbidden fruit, the exposure of their shame, and their pathetic attempts to cover and hide themselves, God comes to meet with His rebellious children.
But how so?
Notice how God moves about (“in the cool of the day”)—as if it is an established routine for Him to do so. God does not change His demeanor based on our sinful behavior. He comes not stomping in anger or surreptitiously tip-toeing to catch them in the act. Rather, He comes to meet His children as He always does, calling for them to draw near.
See what they first hear—the “sound” of God moving about. But the word here for “sound” in the Hebrew is most often translated “voice,” especially when referring to a person or God (ex: Gen 4:10; 21:17; 27:22). And how does one distinguish a voice? Is it not when WORDS are pronounced? Adam and Eve heard The Word (Joh 1:1) moving about in the garden.
Consider this: when we transgress into sin, we become fearful for our lives, abandoning first the intimate time with God. We “shrink back” from His Word (Heb 10:38-39), just as the Israelites shrank back from God’s thunderous commands at Mount Sinai (Exo 20:18-20), and here with Adam and Eve in the garden. O, that we would not be among them, but instead like Moses who drew nearer in faith to where the LORD was, though God’s presence appears dark and foreboding (Exo 20:21).
So let us hear the “sound” of God’s word calling to us to draw near. Meet with Him in His Word!
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