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In an area called Strangford lock near where I grew up once in a while at a very low tide you could see the remains of a rusty old car. The rumour was some drunken teenager had done exactly that driving their car into the sea at low tide. Those of you who are married with grown up children I would like to do a bit of a thought experiment with you. I’d like you all to cast your mind back to your child’s 18th birthday. Imagine for a moment you are wealthy enough to buy that child a new car the day they turn 18. Imagine that that child on their first day out in it, took that car and knowingly, willfully, deliberately went out and destroyed it. Imagine they drove the car into the sea at low tide and left it there for the tide to come in and cover it over every day it sat there on the beach and every day the tide went out  could see it sitting there rusting and gradually decaying. How would that make you feel, if that had been your son or daughter? I'd like to pause for a minute and let you simmer on that and what would your response might be?

Well, that's the closest analogy I can think of to what happened to God the father in relation to His perfect creation. He created Adam and Eve and didn't give them a new car but he gave them a perfect place to dwell a paradise gave then he gave the possibility of having everything they needed and having enjoyed it for a time they deliberately knowingly went out and disobeyed him destroying their relationship to him and destroying paradise. In the last podcast you may remember we considered the nature of temptation. What I want to do now, is look at God's response to what happened when Adam and Eve responded to temptation.

So, let's see how God responded to what they did. Basically, several things going on in this passage. The first thing that happens is God confronts Adam and then he confronts eve. The second thing he does is pronounce several judgments and he does so in the order in which the temptations occurred. It starts with a judgement on Satan then he goes on to address the woman and then the man. So, first God confronts, and then God pronounces judgement. So, let's look at each of the beginning of these events beginning with God calling upon Adam.

"But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”  He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid.”

(Gen: 3-9-10)

The Lord God called to Adam, and this is interesting because Adam had run away from the Lord and hid. When God called him, and the particular Hebrew word is used is one of a summons in order give an account for something. So, he calls to Adam, and he says, where are you. Let me ask you a question, do you think God knew where Adam was. Of course, he knew where he was. This reminds me of when as a disobedient little boy I’d run into a room and hid behind a door or a settee and my father would come into the room and stand in the door and say…. where are you. God knows where he is, and he's call is intended to provoke some kind of confession or acceptance of responsibility from him. Adam replies, I heard your voice in the garden I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself. Please note this is not a genuine confession, because he is just offering excuses and rationalising. 

By the way I have a passing interest in psychology and over the years I have read many books in this area. I read with interest one secular physiologist who used this Genesis account as a perfect example of example of what he called denial, rationalisation and justification. It seems we were born with these impulses in our genes and it started with Adam who passed it on to the whole human race. We are all inclined to do this when we know we have done something wrong. Our explanations usually become excuses that ends up blaming someone else. Which is exactly what's going on here - I wonder who Adam is going to blame? 

Well, we will find out in the next episode.