Genesis 3:9-13
Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
We know from the rest of the Bible that God knows everything. He didn’t really need to ask Adam and Eve what happened. The Bible tells us that He knew before He even created the universe that this would happen. God is a good God and He gently deals with His creation because He really cares about them. The thing I find very interesting about this particular passage is how little we have “evolved” in how we deal with sin. We still have trouble admitting that we are wrong. It is normal for both adults and children to hide their sin, and if hiding doesn’t work, blame is often the next choice.
Notice how Adam responds. He actually blames his wife for his actions and, at the same time, blames God because He was the one who gave her to him! Adam completely avoided confessing his own responsibility in the matter. Notice that God didn’t deal with it until He got to the bottom of the issue. He continues to trace the path of wrong to Eve. He asks here about what she did and she blames it on the serpent!
God stopped asking questions at that point. He knew all along what was happening, but He
gave us a good pattern for how wrongdoing should be judged. We should carefully listen to the facts and then, when we get to the bottom of the issue, make a judgment. Sin is evil, but by allowing it temporarily, God was able to demonstrate His righteousness in judgment. God’s judgment of sin is not complete. He still sees what goes on today. Nothing surprises God and when people attempt to hide from Him they show how ignorant and faithless they are and they store up punishment for the future.