Questions From Genesis (Part 1)

What’s the very first question asked in the Bible? No, that’s the second one—if you thought of God saying to Adam, “Where are you?” in Genesis 3:9. The first question was asked by the serpent to Eve a few verses earlier: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). The way Satan calls attention to this matter is by emphasizing, as various translations put it, “Has God indeed said….”; “Has God really said….”; “Has God actually said….” The devil feigns incredulity over one tree being prohibited, as if God is somehow unjust in forbidding it.

The question itself is oddly worded. One might expect the antagonist to say, “Did God actually forbid you to eat of one of the trees?” which would be a precise statement. Instead he asks if God had said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”? The first question is not so subtle. Eve might have defended God by answering, “Yes, but look at all the trees we may eat of. He created them all and certainly has the right to withhold one from us.” The second question—the one he actually asks—frames it more this way. “Can’t you eat of all the trees? They all have food on them, and they are for eating. Why shouldn’t they all serve as nourishment?”

This implication is reminiscent of an argument the Corinthians used many centuries later when trying to justify fornication. “Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods” (1 Cor. 6:13). “Both were created for each other,” is the argument, but wouldn’t that justify gluttony? Or eating things offered to idols? However, God would destroy both. Life is not about foods. Nor is it about sexual relations, concerning which the same type of argument was being made. Paul swiftly answers, “Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”

Likewise, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did bear fruit, but it was not for man to eat of it. Of course, Satan knew that. He knew it when he asked the question. He did not ask Eve about eating from the trees to obtain information. Questions are asked to prompt people to think. Teachers ask questions—not for themselves—they already know the answers. They ask to find out if the student knows.

God was about to ask one to Adam, and it would be for a good purpose, but the serpent asked his with evil intent—to get Eve to doubt the love and fairness of God. “Why should he restrict us from any tree? What’s up with that?” Harold G. Stigers verbalizes this thought in A Commentary on Genesis:

The construction in the serpent’s mouth thus expresses amazement (but not truly), implying that the prohibition against one tree is unworthy of God, thereby implanting doubt and suspicion in the mind of the woman to the effect that God was not wholly good in the probation He had placed upon the man and woman. The result is facilitated by Satan avoiding a direct mention of the one tree: Why should one tree be excluded, as though man by this was unreasonably deprived? … Man is asked to be a judge of God! Man is asked to become his own God! (74).

Ultimately, Eve does judge God, thinking that He has withheld something good from them. A little insinuation goes a long way.

In Shakespeare’s Othello, the villain Iago (Othello’s standard-bearer) manipulates his commander so as to provoke within him jealousy over his wife and his lieutenant, Cassio. Iago is not quite as subtle as the devil, but he effectively arouses suspicion.

IAGO: Ha! I like not that.
OTHELLO: What dost thou say?
IAGO: Nothing, my lord: or if—I know not what.
OTHELLO: Was not that Cassio parted from my wife?
IAGO: Cassio, my lord! No, sure, I cannot think it, that he would steal away so guilty-like, seeing you coming.
OTHELLO: I do believe 'twas he (Act 3, Scene iii).

Satan is an expert at planting seeds of doubt in the hearts of human beings. One question to Eve opened the door for him to provide a phony rationale for God’s ban on the one tree.

What does Satan say to us? No, he does not speak to us directly, as he did through the serpent to Eve. He may speak to us through a friend or a family member, who takes his part. He could communicate with us through a book, movie, or even the words of a song, any of which might cause us to have doubts about the sovereignty, compassion, or love of God. Some attacks against the Almighty are bold, visible, and direct. But others come to us in a subtle form.

So, how to we combat the wiles of the devil? The first thing that comes to mind is to do what Jesus did: Apply the Scriptures properly. When Satan tempted Him, He knew the Word so well that He was able to quote it. Satan said that intense hunger is a reason to change stones into bread, but God wrote that man does not live by physical bread alone—but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. We must always, in every situation, seek out what God said.

Second (and this is related), we must analyze all we hear by the truth, which is God’s Word (John 17:17). We should test all ideas (1 Thess. 5:21-22) by the Word, since many false teachers have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1).

“Where Are You?”

After Adam and Eve sinned, they heard the sound of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. It must have been a sound they were familiar with. Until this moment, it had been a welcome sound, a friendly sound. Perhaps God spoke to them each evening. God did not provide us any information concerning these times. All that we know is that, prior to this day, no sin had entered the world; therefore, they had enjoyed fellowship together.

Did God talk to them about eternity? Did He offer insights into what would happen in a perfect world? Did He speak to them of their future? Or did they ask him questions, such as, “How long did it take to create this universe?” Did they have a question and answer session where God gave them insight into what it took for the Creation to occur? Did He discuss the sun and moon, the orbits of the planets, and the stars? Did they wonder what the names were? Did He explain how rivers worked and oceans and tides? Did the first couple asked, “How old are we?” Did they want to know more about being fruitful and multiplying? How would giving birth occur?

Did God show them how to make a fire, or did it not cool off that much at night? Did He give them instructions on the way to make a salad or show them what ingredients worked well together? Did they just sleep on the ground or construct a bed to be a little bit higher while they slept? Did God supply the idea of a pillow? Did He teach them some elementary mathematics or suggest the usefulness of a wheel? We don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but whatever the three of them shared, it was undoubtedly wonderful.

As happens so often with respect to sin, they probably neglected to think of these blessings when temptation came. Rather, Eve focused more on what she might possibly be missing than on what she had (that she was about to lose). How often does a married man or a woman only see the possibilities and excitement when contemplating having “an affair”? This description always sounds better than “committing adultery” (which seems so vulgar). The individual leaning in that direction is only thinking of possible gains—not the loss of fellowship with God, a mate, or the family. Solomon points out the bitterness and many other results that ensue the decision to be an unfaithful mate.

Adam and Eve did not consider possible losses—but only alleged benefits from eating of the forbidden fruit. However, the detrimental effects of rebellion cannot be stopped. Just as a bell cannot be un-rung, so no one can un-sin, having transgressed of the will of God. The time for thinking, meditating, evaluating, or analyzing the pros and cons of a decision are over. The consequences will soon overtake the guilty. Adam and Eve surely wondered about the death that had been promised. Did they understand it fully? Or were they thinking to themselves, “Well, so far, so good”? If so, a rude awakening was about to befall them.

They heard God walking in the garden, but instead of experiencing joy at the sound, a new emotion gripped them—fear. How sad—for both them and God. For them, they knew that some kind of punishment was on the way; thus, their futile attempt at hiding themselves. God, by virtue of His very nature, was compelled to give them the punishment they deserved. Of course, in His mind would also be the cost of Jesus dying on the cross for their salvation. The day sin entered the world proved to be a horrible one for both God and man.

When God asks Adam the question, “Where are you?” He is not asking for geographic co-ordinates. These words are not spoken to elicit information for God’s benefit; they are to make Adam think about his spiritual location. So, where is he? In uncharted territory. Adam has never been in such a position before. Because of the choice made, the world will be forever changed. Relationships have changed. Adam probably had never blamed Eve for anything—up to now, but he will (even though he made no effort to restrain her from committing sin). Had they even thought about how blissful their marriage was? This decision to get more than what God had given them would affect it.

When Eve had a number of children (one guess is 36), the pain would remind her of her decision. When her oldest son killed his brother, she would remember the lie that Satan told her. Never could either one ever forget what the entrance of sin into the world accomplished—miseries which even in the face of punishment they had no concept of. Could they envision man’s inhumanities to man? They eventually grasped the damage that Satan’s lie brought upon themselves, but how much affliction would be brought upon others—those innocent of wrongdoing? They could not see the innocent Naboth being put to death at the instigation of a wicked queen. Nor could they see the evil chief priests riling up the crowd to clamor for the crucifixion of the very Son of God (Mark 15:10-13).

But the lie which came from Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), had achieved its results because it had been believed. Rebellion against God was unleashed. It may seem as though what they did was a small thing, but the concept itself is larger than the Pacific Ocean. And with rebellion came shame and guilt, which in some would give way to a seared conscience. Yes, where was Adam? He could not begin to fathom the answer to that question yet, but over his lifetime he would learn—probably more than he would have cared to.

This first sin forces us to ask ourselves the same question: “Where are we, spiritually?” The choices are not many. If we have sinned (and all who can comprehend these words have), then like Adam we are separated from God and lost. The just penalty is eternal separation from God (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Or we have been saved from our sins by the blood of Jesus when we repented of them and were baptized (Acts 2:38). Or for whatever reason we have departed from the truth and will yet die in sin (James 5:19-20). Or we are walking in the light (1 John 1:7-10). We must ask, “Where am I?”