Genesis 3:8-9 ESV
And 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. [9] But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Jesus told the woman at the well that God was looking for true worshipers who would worship him in spirit and truth. If we don’t know the truth about God’s nature, then it will be impossible for us to worship him appropriately, and in these two verses in Genesis, there are several truths about God’s nature that are unveiled. When Adam and Eve sinned, they cover themselves with fig leaves to hide from each other, and when they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden, they hid from the presence of God. It’s crucial for you to notice that God did not hide from them. Instead, God came to the garden in pursuit of them. When the Lord asked the question, “Where are you,” it wasn’t because God wasn’t sure where they were geographically. He knew they were hiding behind the trees, but his question was a relational one. God created Adam and Eve to live in intimate union with Him, and when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that union and communion were broken on their end. God reconciled us to himself through his son Jesus. He did not reconcile himself to us because he was never our enemy. We were at enmity with him.
The other thing that I noticed in verse eight is that God came to walk with them in the garden in “the cool of the day.” Why did God choose the cool of the day? Was it because he used to air conditioning in the heavenly places, and therefore when he came to have his garden walk with them, he didn’t want to come when it would be too uncomfortably hot for him? Of course, that is a silly question, but I do believe God was very intentional about the time of day he came to walk with Adam and Eve. Even before their fallen condition, they were still made of dust, and as people made of flesh and blood, I believe God came in the cool of the day so that they would be more comfortable. God made it easy for them.
I want you to glean these two essential realities about the true nature of God so that you can understand how to expect him to deal with you. One, he never separates himself from us. He is always the one who pursues, and no matter what you do or don’t do, he will never stop pursuing you because he loves your fellowship. In Song of Solomon 2, God says that our voice is sweet to him, and our presence is lovely. That is how God feels about you, and even though we by our actions can separate ourselves from our consciousness of His presence, he never separates himself from our presence. Secondly, the Lord doesn’t make it hard for us to walk with him; he makes it is as easy as possible without compromising his holiness. God doesn’t put hoops before us that we have to jump through to walk with him. He, in the end, leaves the choices up to us, but he always pursues us, and while still honoring our will, he makes it as easy he can for us to walk with him. God is not some kind of evil spiritual professor who is continually testing our earnestness by making it as difficult as he possibly can to fellowship with him. God is good, and he is full of loving-kindness.