They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
- Genesis 3:8
It’s late afternoon. The sun has settled in the sky just above the horizon. The heat of the day has passed. Adam and Eve hear a familiar sound, a sound like the breeze billowing through the trees; probably much like the sounds we hear in March as the waves of wind whisk through the newly sprouted spring leaves. They recognize it as the sound of the presence of God walking in the cool of the day. They were familiar with that sound. As a matter of fact, until today, that sound was music to their ears.
Normally when God walked through the Garden, He came to visit the centerpost of His Creation: man and woman. He treasured them so much. Can you hear Him calling out to them every time He came to play?
“Adam, Eve, where are you?”
God knew where they were all the time, but it pleased Him to let them know of His desire to spend His afternoons with them. It pleased Him because He wanted them to know they were acceptable to Him. They belonged to Him. They were complete.
The three of them would talk, laugh, play, and enjoy the Garden God had planted for them. Can you see them skipping rocks across the wide places in the turns and meandering of the rivers of Eden? Can you envision them wading in the streams and picking up the precious pieces of gold and jewels that shifted around under their feet?
As they look at their feet in the crystal clear water, can you see them racing toward God to show Him a diamond or an emerald they picked up from the floor of the river? As they lifted their hands toward heaven, the gold dust flakes shimmer as they fall through their fingers back into the stream.
Imagine walking in a river where the soles of your feet are shifting through jewels and gold simply because God thinks it looks good on your skin and between your toes. Or, imagine picking pears, apples, nuts, and berries and then sitting by the water till dark enjoying the fruit of the land in the presence of God under a shade tree He made grow just for you.
Imagine God wanting to be with you; wanting to be with you in the Garden. Imagine God wanting to spend the rest of His life with you for no other reason than because you are His choice; just like you are right now.
You see, when God created our greatest grandparents, He created them to enjoy intimacy with. His desire was to be with us, listening to us, encouraging us, loving us, protecting us, and nurturing us. One way for us to understand this is by looking at the reason we have children. Why did you have children? Did you have them to be your servants? Was one the laundry girl, another the gardener, and still another the cook? Why did your parents have children? I realize it may not have been or felt that way all the time, but the real reason was for intimacy, togetherness.
Can you imagine what it would be like to walk with God in a place He created for Himself, you, and His helpmate for you? In this mind picture, try to imagine living in an environment where there was no sin, nothing contaminated by sin, and no penalty for sin. There were no faulty mental images of “Who owns all this?” Or the thinking pattern, “How do I get some of this to my house?” Why? Because there is no my where He is. There wasn’t the influence of sin that we are born and mys-programmed with. Can you see it?
God can, and did. It’s called salvation. It was an idea that God and His Son had before creation; an idea that would be challenged, distorted, mis-taught, and what’s worse, misunderstood by most who receive it.
The idea is simply this, God as Creator and all-knowing God knew that Adam would blow it in the Garden. So He prepared the sacrifice of Jesus before the world was formed. He chose to exchange His Son’s Life for yours, and with this He was well pleased.
All our lives we have been taught the biblical truth that we are heading to hell unless we make a change. And without a doubt, that is the truth. But has anybody ever explained to you why this was true? It was Adam’s sin imparted and imputed to you. Yet the pre-fall relationship God had with Adam and Eve shows God’s pleasure with them. Why? There was no sin yet, thus no contamination by sin. It was very good.
Procreation is not “the sin of Adam and Eve!” God commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, so it could not be the “the sin.” All the references to the “loins,” however, do show us procreation is the vehicle that carried the contamination of sin through the years.
So because we are born out of the loins of Adam, we too are destined to perish unless we are transferred out of Adam and placed into a human born without the sin of Adam, a Virgin Birth.
Even if we had recognized this hopeless condition before we heard about God’s plan, we could have done nothing about it. We must believe and receive God’s love letter to us that tells us how we can be “born again” and receive the Life of Jesus as our own. As we do, we are transferred out of Adam by God and placed into Christ as our new greatest grandfather. So, instead of being headed to hell, we are going back to the Garden to be with the Shepherd of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).
Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms, hugging them as he carries them –Isaiah 40:11 MSG
Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. –Psalm 100:3
When we think of being sheep, we think of an animal that needs to be led, who is looking for a leader. That is why people are looking for rules and regulations. Lack of leadership increases legalism. A leaderless society will always rely on a system rather than relationship.
And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. –Ex 3:7
When did God hear this cry? Before the Law or after the Law?
Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. –Exodus 6:7
Notice that God is declaring this to unsaved, unregenerate people. These are His people because that’s what God does. He loves.
Back to skipping stones across the water. Or as C.S. Lewis would tell us, “romping with Aslan in the fields of Narnia.”
God’s desire is to be the best friend you never had; someone you can tell all your problems to with absolutely no fear of betrayal, violation of confidence, or rejection of you or your feelings.
And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout. –Psalm 105:43
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. [He will renew you with His love]. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” –Zephaniah 3:17 NLT
Would you like to “walk with God in the cool of the day”? To simply enjoy his presence and to know him as your best friend? At Crossway, we love helping people realize that God delights in you and longs for intimacy with you. Give us a call at 864-224-5557 or click on the counseling button below. We’d love to talk with you!