WHY DID THEY HIDE?
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. Gen. 3:8, R.S.V.
Which of the following statements would you select as more accurate?
A: "Sinning causes us to fear God and to separate from Him."
B. "Separation from God is the sin, and it is sometimes caused by needless fear of Him."
The question is far from religious nit-picking, for our basic understanding of God, sin, and salvation come into focus here. But sometimes the issues get so muddled up that, like the chicken and the egg, it's hard to find out which one came first--fear or separation. One of the most useful examples of the fear-and-separation cycle can be found in what happened in the Garden of Eden, for Adam and Eve knew neither one in their original condition.
Our first parents know only the joy of uncluttered union with their heavenly Parent, until the day when Satan persuaded them to accept his interpretation of God's character and intentions toward them. They changed their mind about God and ceased to trust Him. Shifting their loyalties to the snake, they accepted his promise of life support and care. And that, in the clearest sense, was their sin.
Adam and Eve had turned their backs on God. Spiritually and mentally they were separated from Him. Believing as they did what Satan had told them about God, they suspected that God would be angry with them for their separation from Him, for the enemy had suggested that God is a tyrant against those who disobey Him.
So when God came walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they did what seemed to be the appropriate thing: they hid in the bushes. They followed the impulses of fear, forgetting not only God's ability to find them even in the bushes but--worse yet--forgetting that God was searching for His friends, not hunting for His enemies.
When God found them, His response to them was so eagerly redemptive as to settle for all time that we need not fear Him. For their nakedness He brought costly clothing. For their fearful apprehension He brought the promise that Another would bear the tragic consequences of their disobedience. For their confusion He brought the healing instruction of hard labor. Now, is that a God to be feared?
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. Gen. 3:8, R.S.V.
Which of the following statements would you select as more accurate?
A: "Sinning causes us to fear God and to separate from Him."
B. "Separation from God is the sin, and it is sometimes caused by needless fear of Him."
The question is far from religious nit-picking, for our basic understanding of God, sin, and salvation come into focus here. But sometimes the issues get so muddled up that, like the chicken and the egg, it's hard to find out which one came first--fear or separation. One of the most useful examples of the fear-and-separation cycle can be found in what happened in the Garden of Eden, for Adam and Eve knew neither one in their original condition.
Our first parents know only the joy of uncluttered union with their heavenly Parent, until the day when Satan persuaded them to accept his interpretation of God's character and intentions toward them. They changed their mind about God and ceased to trust Him. Shifting their loyalties to the snake, they accepted his promise of life support and care. And that, in the clearest sense, was their sin.
Adam and Eve had turned their backs on God. Spiritually and mentally they were separated from Him. Believing as they did what Satan had told them about God, they suspected that God would be angry with them for their separation from Him, for the enemy had suggested that God is a tyrant against those who disobey Him.
So when God came walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they did what seemed to be the appropriate thing: they hid in the bushes. They followed the impulses of fear, forgetting not only God's ability to find them even in the bushes but--worse yet--forgetting that God was searching for His friends, not hunting for His enemies.
When God found them, His response to them was so eagerly redemptive as to settle for all time that we need not fear Him. For their nakedness He brought costly clothing. For their fearful apprehension He brought the promise that Another would bear the tragic consequences of their disobedience. For their confusion He brought the healing instruction of hard labor. Now, is that a God to be feared?
RSS Feed
