Where are you?

The First Sunday in Lent (3/1/2020)

Genesis 3:8-10

Where are you?

 

NIV

8   Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9   But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10   He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

 

Magandang umaga!  

Shalom of the Lord be with you! Ang kapayapaan ng Diyos ay sumainyong lahat!

Today we want to focus on “sin and repentance, kasalanan at pagsisisi.”

From last Wednesday(called Ash Wednesday), the Church liturgical calendar began Lent season(Kuwaresma). ‘Lent’ is the forty days of spiritual discipline.

Lent season begins on Ash Wednesday and ends about six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial.

A. God calls all sinners.

{But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”}(9)

Today I am going to talk about ‘sin and repentance.’ Genesis chapter three said, God came to Adam who is guilty and hiding in shame. God created Adam and led him to the Garden of Eden to live there. And God gave him one commandment. “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.”(Gen 2:16-17)

But Adam fell into the serpent’s temptation. So Adam ate the fruit of the tree that God told him not to eat. And then a big change happened. Adam trembled at the sound of God’s footsteps, and he wanted to avoid the face of God.

Adam and Eve became sinners and they became a fugitive from God. God, however, came to see Adam the fugitive. And God called to him, “Adam, where are you?” Man sinned but God came to find sinner! This is the story of opening the Bible. Jesus our Lord also came to see the sinner in the heart of God. The story of Zacchaeus is famous. After Jesus met Zacchaeus, and Jesus said to him, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”(Luke 19:10) Even now God is looking for sinners and calling them.

 

B. Hiding is not a solution.

{Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.}(8).

Adam and Eve, they disobeyed God’s commandment. Then many changes have occurred. First, they were ashamed of their nakedness. So they covered themselves with fig leaves. But they couldn't hide their sins with their fig leaves. Their senses turned to fear at the mere sound of God’s footsteps. So they heard God’s movement and went behind the trees to hide.

This scene shows the general behavior after a man committed a sin. Generally the sinners want to hide their sins and bury them. Nevertheless, God comes to seek the sinner, just as God came to visit Adam. No matter how much a sinner runs away, he can not escape God. Jonah tried to flee from God by ship bound for Tarshish. But God prevented Jonah from sailing on board away (Jonah 1).

Hiding our sins is not a way to solve the problem. No matter how much we try to cover sins in a human way, we can not hide them. King David even manipulated the alibi to kill Uriah, but he could not fool God’s eyes (2Sam 11). The more we hide our sins, the more we made a separation between God and us (Isaiah 59:2). Hiding sins is never a solution.

 

C. Kneel before and fear God.

{He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”}(10)

God comes to find sinners. We can not hide our sins. So what should sinners do? God said to Adam, “Where are you?” And Adam said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” How to respond to this fear depends on the answer.

In Genesis chapter 3 verse 10, 'afraid'(yareh) means ‘fear’ and ‘awe.’ When we commit a sin, we can not help but be afraid of God. But God wants a love relationship with us, God never wants a fearing and fleeing relationship. What kind of relationship we have depends on our choice.

If a sinner wants to restore his relationship with God, he must go before God and kneel down. Adam confessed his guilt, he said, “Because I was naked.” Of course, it is not complete repentance, but hiding oneself in fear is not a good way to solve the problem of sin. We should before God and pray, “Lord, I am a sinner. Have a mercy on me!” We have to confess our sins. Do not turn our back to God and kneel down before him.

 

D. If confess your sins, God will forgive you.

{The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”}(10, CEV)

“God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”(21) They, however, can not hide their sin only with the fig leaves. They can not avoid God only by standing behind the trees. From today’s story we can learn that we can not solve the problem of sin with human wisdom and method. We should know only grace of God clear our sin.

God said, “You shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.”(Gen 2:17) But God did not kill them. Instead, God punished man and woman, and the serpent. This story teaches us that God saved Adam’s life does not mean that Adam’s sin itself is completely gone away. The forgiveness of sin does not mean blotting it out.

Apostle John said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) God first comes us, not we. God first loves us, not we. God holds us warmly and comforts us. So God wants to live in a agape relationship with us. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18) If we confess our sins and then God grant us the grace of recovery.

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NASB

8   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.

9   Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”

10   He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

 

NLT

8   When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.

9   Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10   He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

 

CEV

8   Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the LORD God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees.

9   The LORD called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?”

10   The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”