Adam and Eve finally heard the voice of the Lord. David was the same way when Nathan finally confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba, and all the other sin that came from it. If he had only turned away. Indeed, if he had only confessed to Urriah. Had he merely repented, “Urriah, I’m sorry, I sinned against your wife and you; I have sinned against my Lord,” would Urriah not have forgiven him? King David would have had to live with what he’d done. Urriah and Bathsheba probably would have raised their son with David never seeing or knowing about him, for God would certainly not have sanctioned the stoning of the King. It would have been as when Joseph, being a just man, didn’t want to make Mary a public example, and considered putting her away privately, before learning she was pregnant of the Holy Ghost. (Matt. 1:20) But, King David still would have been saved many troubles. It would have been a beautiful picture of God’s mercy. The Law was put in place so we might see God’s grace and mercy once we come to Him in repentance and receive it. But he didn’t, and he suffered horribly. His family became all messed up because of it.
In the same way, Adam and Eve sinned. In the heat of passion, they had acted, and now, in the cool of the day, they heard the voice of the Lord. They realized that they, too, had fallen short of His perfect glory. They had no idea of the total cost, either. But, they felt they had to hide, too! Many sins are made worse by not coming out and confessing right away. The Law sounds harsh, but only because we fall so short of it. There is none righteous; no, not one. (Rom. 3:10)
Notice, however, that in His love, the Lord God still came down and was walking in the Garden. It would have been so easy for God to forget them. He could have zapped them right there. He could have made everything new, with the next people being robots that had to worship Him. But, He didn’t.
He wants people to worship Him because they want to. He wants to show them that love and compassion that is such a part of Him. This is why He was in the garden, so he could reach out to them. When he reaches down, people have three choices.
1. The proper choice is to receive Him. He stands at the door of each heart and knocks. (Rev. 3:20) He wants to be invited in to each person’s life. He wants people to come to Him just as they are. It was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8) We have all come short of God’s perfect love and glory. We simply need to accept that, and let Him cleanse us. We must let Him make us new. (2 Cor. 5:17) We need to do that at first to be forgiven, so we can escape God’s judgment and go to Heaven. But, then we must do it once we’re saved to restore the fellowship. Saved people will always be saved, and part of the family of God. But, He can’t touch sin. So, He comes down to the saved, also, and guides them in the path He has that is best for them. And, to lovingly guide them back if they stray.
2. Too many people try to reach up to God. That’s what religion is. God doesn’t want religion. He wants a relationship. But, when He walks in the Garden of our lives, to either save or to restore the relationship, too often we try on our own merits to please Him. He desires mercy, though, and not sacrifice. (Ho 6:6, Mat. 9:13) He doesn’t want people to come in their own righteousness. He wants people to admit they are sinners and unable to do anything on their own to restore that relationship with God. It’s all by His grace.
3. Other people try to do what Adam and Eve did. They hide. Some feel they have done something so horrible that they can’t be forgiven. However, that is impossible. If your conscience is bothered, then you are capable of being forgiven, if you just come to Christ. He is not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance. (1 Pet. 3:9) However, some don’t want to accept guilt for they they’ve done. This is what Adam and Eve were like. They were afraid of God’s judgment, because that perfect love that they had felt was gone. But, they tried to get around it, instead of coming right to God, confessing, and forsaking. They would have still suffered consequences, but it would have been much better than the fear they felt when they hid.
Mankind can never get high enough to reach God. He must come down for us. When He comes down, and urges us to come to Him, we must never hide, or try to work our way to Him. We must simply come, just as we are, with nothing of ourselves. We must admit that we can only cling to that old, rugged cross.
