Week 1 Day 3

"After their disobedience, Adam and Even were filled with shame, suddenly aware of their nakedness and fearful of the consequences of sin.  They attempted to hide from God and as they did, God asked His own "first question"- Where are you?" (Seamless, p 20)

When God asked this question, He was not wondering where they were in the garden, for He knew their whereabouts.  He was speaking to the condition of their heart.  We find that Adam has fear for the first time, and he wanted to hide from God.

How many of us would love to experience the relationship Adam had with God- before the fall.  He walked with Him in the cool of the day and talked to Him without fear.  However, when sin entered the world, fear came with it.

At this point, the curse of sin enters and mankind is forever changed.  This is also the point where the sacrifice of an animal originated for the atonement of sin.  In order to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness, God made "tunics of skin" (Gen 3:21).  In order to make those tunics, animals had to be slaughtered.  Animals would continue to be sacrificed until God sent His Son as the ultimate sacrifice.

With the fall came the prophecy of the Messiah.

Genesis 3:15 (KJV)

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God sends Adam and Eve out of the garden.  

We then learn of the first murder in the Bible. One of their sons, Cain, kills his brother, Abel, out of anger.  

As a punishment to Cain, he is cursed and will be a fugitive and vagabond upon the earth.  Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear!" (chapter 4:13), for he feared that anyone who finds him will kill him.

God shows his incredible love for sinners when immediately he put a mark on Cain to protect him.

God loves you

It wasn't by chance that you found this blog, 

it was by the direction of God.

My prayer for this Bible study is that God's word will become real to us.  I pray that it will be more than just a collection of stories.  I pray that everyone involved will apply each story to our own life.  

MAKE IT REAL

Just like my job as a teacher.  I can teach children to read- I can tell them how to do it all day long, but they will never learn until they apply it themselves.  

The Bible becomes life changing when we apply it to our own life.

The author challenges the reader to think about the first question as we start thinking critically about this passage and apply it to our self.  

Just as God asked Adam, He's asking us ... 

Where are you?

Take a moment and respond- are you hiding as Adam and Eve were?
Are you ashamed?
Are you afraid?
Are you doubting?
Is there something you need to confess to Jesus?  

Write down your thoughts- realize that God already knows your heart.  
He wants to bring comfort and relief to you.  You cannot hide from God.  
Open up your heart to Him, for He cares.  

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.