The Reaction of God Sermon By T. T. Crabtree
“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 NASB).
Satan had challenged God’s goodness, and the fact that God came looking for Adam and Eve, who had sinned and who had tried to hide themselves from God, is proof of his great goodness.
“Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?”’ (Gen. 3:9 NASB). The garden of Eden in the cool of the evening—what a high and holy time of fellowship Adam and Eve had enjoyed in their daily meetings with God! Again, as usual, God came seeking.
Here is a lesson concerning the attitude of God toward sinners—he takes the initiative and seeks them! No move came from Adam and Eve. They were silent and hidden.
God’s question, “Where are you?” was not the call of a policeman arresting a criminal, but the wail of a father who had lost his child! It was God’s heart quivering with grief.
This is the first question of God in the Old Testament. (In contrast, the first question of the New Testament is recorded in Matthew 2:2: “Where is he?” It is the question of a sinner, convicted of his sins, seeking the Savior.)y by a confession of guilt.
Adam’s answer reveals the damage sin had done. “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself” (Gen. 3:10 NASB). God countered, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (v. 11 NASB).
The reaction of Adam and Eve was despicable as they tried to shift the blame. Adam blamed Eve and even indirectly blamed God (“The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me,” NASB).
Eve blamed the serpent, and God did not argue with her, for he knew that what she said was so. God asked no question of the devil, probably because confession on the devil’s part is impossible and irrelevant, and redemption and restoration for him are also impossible.
Verse 15 is the mountain peak of the chapter, for it contains the first promise of redemption. It came immediately upon the fall of man. This was the first movement of God in grace toward the sinner.
The sequel to this drama is described in verse 21: “And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” Any adequate covering for man’s sin that will make him acceptable to God must be provided by God himself.
The skins required the death of an innocent animal, which was symbolic of the death of Christ, the sinless substitute, on the cross.
Conclusion
“God clothed them.” He did not say, “Here, Adam and Eve, is the covering for your sins. Come and get it if you want it.
Take off your old coverings and put my covering on!” No! “God clothed them” means that he personally removed the poor and inadequate coverings that they had made for themselves and put on them his own covering.
God still works this way. Because sinful man is “dead in trespasses and sin,” he cannot help himself. All he can do is present himself, in response to the seeking call of God, and allow God to do the cleansing and the clothing.
T.T. Crabtree
T. T. Crabtree was for many years the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. He taught preaching and homiletics in Southern Baptist seminaries.
