Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”
There is some interesting terminology in this verse that can teach us some things about God, if we are willing to study a little. Genesis Chapter three is the fall of mankind through the sin of Adam. God, it seems, came to the Garden in Eden in the cool of the day so spend some time with His creation. Adam and Eve were born with full knowledge of speech and intelligence. The only thing withheld from them was the knowledge given by the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was for their best interest. They could live a good, fulfilling life without it and be happy.
Enter the serpent, casting doubt on the goodness of God. He is subtle. He is a liar. He is a corrupter of that which is good, pure, and without sin. His desire is to ruin the good relationship God has with his creation.
Lets touch on the serpent for a few seconds at least. Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Here we find the names the serpent was call other than just the serpent. He has one other name we find in scripture and it tells us a bit of his background story.
Isaiah 14:12-15 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
Today Satan is called the god of this world, the prince and power of the air, and several other phrases that all show us his desire for the earth and its inhabitants. As much as God loves us, the devil hates us. He teaches us to lie, cheat and steal. He teaches us the “pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) to enjoy while mocking God by our very actions. It breaks my heart to see such promising youth as we have in America, who are filled with goodness, enticed into the life of sin and degradation.
Now lets go back to our verse that can teach us something of the love of God. God chose to walk in the Garden amd fellowship with Adam and Eve. The sinful couple recognized His voice. He called to them. Being God, He knew they had fallen for the lies of the devil. Being God, He sought those that were lost in sin. God was not willing to overlook the sin. In the remainder of Chapter three we see the consequences of sin pronounced on the world because of the sin of Adam. Please take the time to read it for yourselves. The fall was great. He cursed the entire earth. Mankind was chased from the almost perfect garden.
A thought comes to mind here… the re is always a serpent in Eden. Any time things are going too good, watch for the serpent to appear. The second thought is a joke of sorts. An old preacher was talking about Adam and Eve. He paused and looked at the congregation with a twinkle in his eye and smiled a small smile. He said. “Adam had it pretty good until his wife ate them out of house and home!” I still smile when I hear this for in my upbringing, church was a place of serious contemplation and this was a sly joke added to the sermon. I was also shocked when the congregation laughed out loud in church!
The last thought I want to leave you is this.. .God desired fellowship with His creation, with Adam and Eve. He wanted to walk and talk with them. He wanted to have the pleasure of their pleasure in the garden He had made for them. The cool of the day speaks about a time when a breeze springs up and cools the suns rays. My mind thinks of evening, just at dusk when the land breeze stirs to temper the heat of the day.
Wouldn’t you like to walk with God in the cool of the day? You can, you know. Becoming a Christian will allow you to have a time of the day for you to spend some time with God on a personal level. God desires us to worship Him in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:23).
We can set aside that time to remove ourselves from the world and all of its turmoil to spend some quiet time with our Bibles, offering our praise and asking for our prayers to be answered. It is a precious time, that time alone with God. Please look for it in your own life. Do not let the business of the world to steal this great pleasure away from you. Take time for God and He will take time for you.
