February 14: “Where are you? And Who Told You That?” by Johnna Warden

Genesis 3:9, 11, “So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’...Then he asked, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’”

The perfect creation that God created to dwell with Him didn’t last long in the pages of Scripture.

By the third chapter of Genesis, we are introduced to the serpent that was craftier than all the other animals. The serpent tempted Eve to reconsider what God said, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden?’” It seems sin is always the response that follows the initial thought, the woman reconsiders what she knows to be true. And as their conversation progresses so does her disobedience. She “looked”, and she “saw” and then she “took.” The sin that separated mankind from God started with a temptation and that then led to the desire to be “like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve wanted to be “like God” by eating the fruit of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve knew the truth because she knew God. But she traded the Truth of God for the lie of the enemy.

Is that not still the heart problem of man? The heart of any issue we are dealing with is always the heart. We want to be like God and do things our own way. Adam and Eve’s response is much like our response to sin today. They “covered” themselves and then they “hid” from God. Much like we do today when we sin against God.

But God’s response to His creation’s failure is the beautiful Gospel. The first thing He asks in Genesis 3:9 is still the question He asks us today, “Where are you?” and “Who told you that?” And the rest of Gen- esis 3 is the tragic result of man trying to be like God. But in Genesis 3:15 we are told the hostility be- tween the first woman and the serpent would pass on to future generations. This verse is known as the “protoevangelium” or the “first good news,” because it is the first foretelling of the Good News of Jesus Christ. God promises that a male descendant of the woman would come, and He would deal with the serpent in the final fatal blow.

In these first pages of Scripture, we see that God steps in with a solution to the problem at the heart of man, sin. God didn’t create artificial intelligence, He created man in His own image. He also gave each of us free will to choose.

I would ask the same question that God asks in the Garden of Eden, “Where are you?” and “Who told you that?” Are you walking in right fellowship with the Lord or are you listening to the lies of the ene- my?

Precious Father, thank You that even in our rebellion against You, You provide a clear path back to restored fellowship with You. We all long for the day when the enemy of our soul is dealt the final death blow. Until then we will keep our eyes on You. Amen.