The First Sin

Genesis 3:9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

God had wanted man to choose life over knowledge of good and evil. This life had authority, immortality and happiness. But man’s selfishness always desired what God had denied to us. But, the reality was God had protected us from one important enemy, which is the flesh. In this meditation, let us detail the stages into sin.

From Verse 1, we see cunningness being the only method Satan uses to win man. The question he poses to Eve can be seen here. Even when God had given complete dominion to Adam and Eve, Satan asks her if it is true that God has denied complete authority. This question itself has venom and is provoking. The sentence is craftily designed so that it uses our disappointment against God. God had denied only a single tree but Satan uses that tiny variance in pointing out that it is not complete authority. Satan uses a similar term to Jesus himself in Mathew 4:3 “If you are Son of God”. Whenever somebody questions our authority, we tend to react immediately and prove that we are the best. This attempt to establish or prove one’s authority has been the failure of many preachers. This is the same problem with Pharisees and other current time scholars who always try to promote their talent and knowledge.

And the woman when answering to this question comes with an explanation that has two problems. She mentions that there is only one tree in the midst of the garden. Verse 2:9 says mentions the tree of life at first and then the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But Eve mentions that there is only one tree in the middle of the garden and that tree has been restricted. We also read in verse 6 how Eve saw the tree was good, pleasant and desirable. When there is a tiny denial or a rejection, the human mind always focuses on that and presents that as a failure. We casually forget all the benefits God has given us and complain saying God did not give me a Rolls-Royce. Unless we do away with this greed and develop a satisfaction on all our possessions, obedience becomes a hard target. In 1 Kings 21:4 we can read how a king’s heart was filled with another person’s property and that perversion pushes his wife into murder. Ahab had other problems and has seen God’s power in the previous chapter. However, his desire for trade with Syria brought condemnation to him. In spite of this condemnation, Ahab was childish with Naboth’s vineyard.

The second problem with Eve’s statement is that she adds “you shall not touch it” which God never had ordered (2:17 and 3:11). This part is where she believes that God is unreasonable. We always imagine a strict and unreasonable God who never understands us. We blow up the task God had given us that it is so hard and impossible. This is primarily caused because we do not trust God that He loves us. We are expected to submit to His wisdom. Another reason for this problem is tradition where unnecessary practices are still followed without understanding and context.

In verse 6, we read that Eve saw all the goodness of the tree, she ate and gave her husband too. In all this time Adam was with her which can be seen in the words “with her”. God created woman as a helper to man. But, this man had become a silent listener and just let the helper do the talking, seeing and decision making. This is why God had ordered a submission to the husband. This is a punishment to all women just like the one given to man for toiling. When God gives some liberty and responsibility we should honor them and not abuse. More than a punishment, it is also a wise decision by God so that women who are weaker will not have authority to lead men towards sin. We need to remember that God was seeking Adam first. (1 Timothy 2:11-15).

The knowledge about good and bad has first given them the information that they are naked. Nakedness was frowned upon by God throughout the bible. But in the early stage when Adam and Eve’s eyes were not opened, God did not see that as a problem. In the last verse of Chapter 2 we read that they were not ashamed. But now they were very much ashamed even after covering themselves with fig leaves. This cover is an important thing what Jesus had to give up so that we could be saved (Isaiah 52:10). This is an illustration of Christ losing His diving status and all the benefits of knowledge which is the opposite of what Adam did. This is the symbol of selflessness.

God’s search for mankind with “where are you” started right at Adam. We can see this question from God in many instances like to Cain God asks “where is Abel?”. God is never concerned about all his creations, but about every man God is completely worried and is constantly seeking our repentance. We were part of this glory and shared a great relationship where we could even hear God walking. But sin threw us out of this and our distance kept increasing and increasing so that grace upon grace was required for salvation. Jesus’ arrival to earth is God’s descending to earth so that we can ascend to that glory. This search for souls has brought Him here. Let us make Him victorious by being able to answer this question righteously. But our pathetic situation is that God is still asking the same question “where are you” from heaven as the Father, from earth as Jesus and even after being inside us as the Holy Spirit, He still has to ask the same question to us.

Amen.