GOD’S WORD OF MERCY (1)

“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “WHERE ARE YOU?” – Genesis 3:9

In the face of humanity’s disobedience, GOD’S WORD of MERCY and Compassion came in question form: “Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “WHERE ARE YOU?” (Gen.3:9). This question spoke more of a condition than a place! The Lord knew very well where Adam was; He was concerned about his condition. There is nothing that escapes God’s eye, nor can anything be hid from the view of the Omniscient One: “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Heb.4:13). Of course, Adam’s place was the result of his condition. So, God’s penetrating question to him was fitting.

We can assume that just a day before, Adam had been in the open air of the Garden of Eden waiting for the arrival of his Creator and Friend, looking forward to “the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (v.8). What sweet fellowship this must have been; to commune with one’s Maker in uninterrupted friendship! To walk and talk with the preincarnate Son of God – What a Marvel! Alas, Sin broke that intimacy in communion. However, there is a promise of perfect restoration: “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1Jh.3:2).

When God asks a question, it is never from a position of ignorance, but of absolute Wisdom. He is not asking to be enlightened, but for our introspection and reflection. This was not an exception. It was a Question of a condition; as if to say, “Adam, is this the return I get for all My gifts to you? Is this My reward for endowing you with noble faculties of mind? You have sinned against knowledge, righteousness, and truth! Adam, what more could I have given you to satisfy you?” The object of My love, the focal point of My earthly affections; the centre of My earthly attention? Adam, what has become of you?!” With a language of lamentation, this was the first heart-searching sermon ever preached!

For Adam to sin he had to utterly turn his back on his Creator and Friend. He had to momentarily conclude that his thoughts were above God’s thoughts; his ways above God’s ways. Adam denied God’s truth when the Serpent said, “Has God indeed said?” (v.1). To deny the Word of God is to question His authority, righteousness, and truth. It is raising an autonomous fist in the Face of God. Adam once knew, in the excellency of his uncorrupted mind, the Lord’s command, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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). Yet he questioned God’s authority, and believed Satan’s lie. We do this too every time we sin, thinking our ways are better than God’s!

But God is not only the just Judge but also the merciful Saviour. He is not only an exacting executor of punishment, “but slow to anger and abounding in mercy” (Psa.103:8b). Although God is angry with the wicked daily, He is also longsuffering. He is eternally just and yet eternally merciful. He has no delight in the death of the wicked, but to repent and live (Eze.18:23; 33:11). Mercy triumphs over judgement (Jam.2:13b). In this Question, we see the Love of God who after being sinned against does not destroy, but seeks. Rather than exact His judgement from His Throne or destroy with the breath of His nostrils, God came down with the full compassion of redemption! If our names were to fit in Adam’s place, and God asks, “Sons and daughters of Adam: Where are you?”, may we be able to answer without shame, “Here I am Lord?”