“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?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”” Genesis 3:8-10 ESV
I love this passage on so many fronts; first of all, the idea that Adam and Eve thought they could hide from God, thinking He couldn’t see them. Secondly, God humouring them by asking, ‘Where are you?’. It reminds me of playing hide and seek with my nephews; I can see my younger nephew’s feet sticking out from beneath the sofa, but with a playful, confused voice, I’m like, ‘I wonder where Noah could be’. I am going along with Noah’s desire to feel he has hidden well and can’t be found. God didn’t ask Adam because He didn’t know where He was. He already knew what took place, but God, in His infinite mercy, humoured Adam regarding His location as if looking for him.
We see Adam and Eve in the garden; when they sinned, they ran and hid. But we can never run away from the presence of God as His presence is everywhere. As David says, where can I go to hide from your presence? There is no place too high or place too low that we can hide from the presence. The Holy Spirit is ever-present, even when we don’t feel Him or on those bad days when we feel alone. We must always remember the word of God that says He will never leave us or forsake us.
Much love in Christ,
Your sister
Ruth
Still Pursuing Holiness