Genesis 3:8 Can you imagine what it must have been like in the garden of Eden, before sin entered the world? Its sort of like saying, The Bible never says Jesus wasnt married, so He might have been. Its true that Scripture never states this plainly, but there are certain inferences people make from some verses in an effort to support such an idea. While its within the realm of possibility that Adam and Eve were 60+ when expelled from the garden, I find it extremely unlikely. God, by nature, is Spirit and a spirit does not have a bodily form. Much like those of us that have the infilling of the Holy Ghost and walk in the Spirit. He could have done it audibly from the heavens, or He could have spent time with Adam in the garden. God had told them to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). To your third point (in the next post), I think the temple imagery is overdone a bit in modern times. If youve been impacted by our resources, we invite you to make a year-end gift before December 31. I would assume that they drank goats milk during this time as well. If so, Adam and Eve's reaction makes more sense. Because Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Lord sent them out of the Garden of Eden into the world. This is very important to walk with god on this because if they didnt walk with god by keeping his commandments sabbaths and statutes then there would be no rain. Again, nothing in Scripture tells us that they walked with God or carried on a conversation with Him. In the later OT the Temple was the place of God's special presence where he made himself known and felt to Israel. Then God gave Adam a rule for living in the garden: And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.". 1991 - 2023 Eternal Perspective MinistriesAll Rights Reserved. How beautifully expressive are these words of the familiar and condescending manner in which He had hitherto held intercourse with the first pair. But again, that doesnt change my point. For the record, I strongly reject such a notion. (Meditating upon God's Word makes it a consistent part of our daily . Yes, Adam and Eve were sinless, but this doesnt mean that Gods physical presence needed to be right where they were. Here is the verse in its entirety. why couldnt it have been Jesus walking in the garden. Was it God walking or was it something different? To add to the post above, another theological consideration is the temple. We know that God is Omnipresent. In other words, he wasn't Jesus of Nazareth walking . It does say he was afraid-afraid because they were naked. Yes, I do understand that God desires relationship with His peopleto walk with them as they walk with Him. What is the one thing that He values the most, as we know it? Thanks for taking the time to read and leave a comment. The Garden of Eden, the terrestrial Paradise known also as the Garden of God, is one of the most famous settings in the Bible. Thanks for the kind words. The ESV accurately captures Adams response in verse 10. However, I dont see how your final statement about the garden has any relevance. Where is the specific support for this argument found anywhere in the scriptures? Genesis 3:1-12; 21-24. Gen 2:16-17. Whats different, and merits the commentary, is not that God has for the first time come to walk in the Garden, but that for the first time his walking in the Garden is responded to in fear and hiding, due to sin. We can speculate, contemplate, and imagine probable scenarios by referencing other relationships in the Bible, but in this day and time especially, we must be diligent and aware of the texts true contents. Adam and Eve said, 'Lord, when we were in the garden, You walked with us every day. But there is so much more to the story. If this is the correct way to understand the wording in Genesis 3, then I think it would be something similar. Adam blamed the woman, the . It is true that they had not experienced death yet, they came pre-programmed with an ability to speak and understand things. For example, Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22, 24) and Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9). Later after the fall of man, mankind lost the ability to see God physically save through the theophany. I guess its just hard to let go of certain ideas, but we must always allow our thinking to be challenged by what Scripture actually says rather than what we want it to say. It seems likely that many people have just remembered some of the wording in this verse and assumed that it says Adam and Eve walked with God. Our adversary seeks to discredit the validity of the Word of God. The point was to urge Christians to pay closer attention to the text of Scripture. Or maybe they read Gods mind. Adam and Eve and God literally walking next to each other in perfect harmony. I to am searching regarding worship in OT times and wondered about Adam walking with God. Thank you for helpful writing. But I am very clear in the post that I have no problem with the notion that they might have walked with Him. When the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh. The animals possess none of these characteristics, at least not to the same degree as man, so these seem like strong possibilities for what it means to be made in Gods image. Theres no definitive proof, but the passages implication seems clear to me. What an amazing thing to be able to do. Because at this time there are only three people left from the list. Read lev 25:20 and if you shall say what shall we eat in the 7th year? He was given the title of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" because he knew good and evil. Maybe it is implied elsewhere in the Bible? Perhaps some people may have this figurative sense in mind when they speak of our first parents walking with God. I completely agree that Adam and Eve had the freedom to obey or disobey regarding the forbidden fruit, but that doesnt really have anything to do with my point in this post. ILL TAKE YOUR APOLIGE NOW ,,WHERE THEY USE TO WALK WITH GOD ,THEY CHOOSE TO HIDE !! And how many times is this a supporting argument for a main point or the main point itself? And they heard the sound of the Lord God, walking in the garden. Perhaps some people may have this figurative sense in mind when they speak of our first parents walking with God. Tim, thanks for striking the axe at the root of this human imagined concept. I will make a helper suitable for him" ( Genesis 2:18 ). If that suggestion is accurate, then it would have been a physical presence of God coming in judgment, similar to how He spoke from the whirlwind in Job. Genesis 3:8-9 . 14Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.. Genesis 3:8. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. To say that life was good in the Garden of Eden would be an understatement. I even pointed out that when the Bible speaks of Enoch and Noah walking with God it should be understood in the figurative sense of them living godly lives (as opposed to taking physical strolls with Him). there are many who use the idea of Adam and Eve actually walking with God to stress the theological point of mans closeness to God prior to sin in order to contrast that with mans lost condition after sin. So, it is not a far stretch to suppose that God and Adam might have walked together in the Garden, if not regularly, else why would God have gone to the trouble to create a garden and put man into it, if not to have a direct relationship. The Tree of Life was in the Garden was it not? And maybe that is it, people just want to believe they they did as that is such a powerful feeling knowing God is walking with you. . We do see God speaking to both of them in Genesis 1:2830 when He blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply and told them to eat vegetation. I know you didnt use the word constant but thats sort of the point in my article. There are some who says He came in angelic forms throughout the Bible yes He did but thats through another likeness. I looked in Genesis, Psalms and even searched for New Testament references. They had bone and flesh before they sinned, before they recognized their nakedness. Christ exemplified the relationship that mankind should have with our heavenly Father and creator. Hello! What can we honestly infer from the scriptures? Tim,I will have to agree that scripture does not state outright that God and Adam walked in the garden together on a daily basis, as many assume, however, the earlier verses in Genesis would seem to indicate that Adam and God did enjoy some sort of periodic personal interaction, such as when God brought the animals to Adam to see what he would name them, or when God gave Adam instructions regarding the work that he was to do in the garden, and what he was, and was not, supposed to eat, and certainly when God put Adam to sleep to remove one of his ribs. God cannot look upon sin ( Habakkuk 1:13) and that's why He told Moses no one can see His face and live ( Exodus 33:20 ). The episode of God walking in the Garden of Eden is one of these instances. No? I have been studying this part about god walking with Adam when I came across your post. However, many scholars believe the best way to explain the image of God is to think of it as a verb. This is why Christians generally believe that all human life is precious. Therefore while at yet there was no temptation, walking with God was natural. Theres no reason to think that they waited 60+ years to have children when they were already husband and wife and were created by God to fulfill the instructions He had given them, including be fruitful and multiply.. 16 I also will do this unto you I will appoint unto you terror consumption burning ague that shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart and you shall sow your seed in vain your enemies shall eat it17 and I will set my face against you 18 and if you still dont listen to Mei will punish you 7 times more for your sins please not that it is sin that seperates man from god. It is also the case that Adam and Eve had been commanded by God to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the Earth" (Genesis 1:28). God appeared and revealed Himself in many different ways throughout the Old Testament. I was scanning Gen 2&3 to use the text where God walked with Adam in the garden. So if they were in the garden for a month, how many times (if ever) did they walk with God? God speaks, asking Adam where he is. Thanks for reading. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. However, that fact has very little to do with whether He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. That certainly could have been the case if God made a physical appearance (called a theophany), as He did in other places (e.g., Genesis 12:7; 18:1. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Did Adam and Eve Walk with God in the Garden? Im not sure what this has to do with whether they walked with God in the garden. No the bible didnt directly say they walked with God. Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts. The book of Genesis tells us that the Lord appeared and fellow-shipped with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (ch. The Bible doesnt say that Cains wife was from Nod. I dont recall a specific instance of this, but since the promised land was repeatedly spoken of as a land flowing with milk and honey, I take that to mean that their flocks would thrive and they would have an abundance of milk (in addition to honey and more). For those of you who are unaware, this one major question is mainly centered around Genesis 3:8 where it stated "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the lord as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the lord God among the trees of the garden.". Even if this translation is accurate, which is debatable, it does not say that they walked with God. Adam did hear Gods voice at another time. The first words recorded from Eve are from her encounter with the serpent. So what if he didnt say the words in genesis one would think you would be wise enough to figure it out its not hard. when they heard God they hid from Him. Thanks for taking the time to comment. He was there, He is everywhere and He was always with them. Hi Carrie, But this does nothing to prove that they walked with God in the garden. the Word of God walked in Eden. god wanted to walk (live) with them in an ongoing and fruitful relationship and the whole book of Leviticus shows them how to correctly walk with god. (Gen 3:5-8). The adverbial phrase in the cool of the day (NIV, NASB, NJB) or the breezy time of the day (NJPS, NAB) translates the Hebrew phrase wind [rah] of the day. The NRSVs rendering makes the time more explicit, at the time of the evening breeze (also REB). Song of Solomon 2:17. One of those commandments was as follows: "And the LORD God gave this command to Adam: 'You may freely eat from every tree in the garden, except you must not eat of the tree of the knowledge of . God called (using a Hebrew word that also means "to summon") Adam to face . I have a problem with Christians continually repeating that the Bible says they walked with God in the garden because it doesnt say that. So when the text says that Adam heard the sound of the Lord moving in the garden, it doesnt necessarily mean that Adam knew right away that it was God making the noise. It is meant to point out to people that the text doesnt say what so many people have claimed that Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden. The goal of this post is to encourage people to take a closer look at the Bible instead of repeating what theyve heard. Our hearts were reformed for this exact purpose. In terms of the theological questions of how God could do this, one answer could be that it is an embodied pre-incarnate Christ, the Angel of the Lord, who is himself the Lord and who appears many times in the Old Testament. Gods presence is also noted by his walking in the camp and sanctuary of Israel. I would argue that angels are probably made in His image as well,. The children of Israel had a great amount of lifestock during the time of their exodus. I dont have a problem with people thinking that Adam and Eve walked with God (as I stated, they may have), but I want people to realize that the Bible doesnt say that they did. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.<<<<. The main point of this entire post is to encourage Christians to look closely at Scripture, so that they will stop saying, The Bible says Adam and Eve walked with God or something very similar. Your email address will not be published. Furthermore, nothing in John 1 states that Jesus walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Hi Jeff, So if this is accurate, then what Adam heard was the sound of the Lord moving in the garden, as indicated in the same translations mentioned above. If he was just manifesting himself in a strong wind, there would be no need to use the word walking. Did you notice something else about the way people typically define the image of God? Apparently, you have missed the point of this entire post. Adam said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself (Genesis 3:10, ESV). Have you ever wondered exactly how the conversation between God and Adam went down in the Garden of Eden? Song of Solomon 4:6. He may have seen the trees and the garden as God spoke those words, but he probably hadnt eaten yet. But that is not what it says, so Im trying to help people avoid teaching false ideas about Scripture. 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned. Its not that the inferences are necessarily wrong, its that they should not be mistaken for the Word of God. 2. After creating Adam, God "put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). I dont believe I said anywhere in the post or in the comments that the coats of skin were made from animals, although I certainly believe this is easily the most logical conclusion. It doesn't come before, which furthers the notion that God would have been content with them being without clothes, at least provided they didn't eat from the Tree. they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the gardenThe divine Being appeared in the same manner as formerlyuttering the well-known tones of kindness, walking in some visible form (not running hastily, as one impelled by the influence of angry feelings). Its not like Genesis 5:24 (Enoch walked with God) or Genesis 6:9 (Noah walked with God). Im glad to know that what you are able to recognize what I hope to accomplish whenever I respond to people. Anyway, Im very surprised I forgot to include a link to an article on theophanies that I wrote for Answers in Genesis. * In The Garden * And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. Let me shine light on tis section you have written: If you will count the number of people listed as being created, you will find Adam #1, Eve #2 then Cain #3 and Able #4. so thats a total of four people listed as being on the Earth. Third, Adams response at seeing Eve confirms the point: This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh (Genesis 2:23). What if Adam and Eve were not human as we are today. You are essentially appealing to an argument from silence. I think you misunderstand what was meant by the possibility of God coming in the wind. . As my case shows and many of the comments here show, man created truth is powerful over our minds. who knows perhaps it was. Conclusion. #2 They both "saw" their nakedness. Its not hard at all to see that Adams and Eves sins broke the right standing they had with God. Thanks for your comments. Considering that each year subtracted from Cain and Abels ages at the time of Abels murder could be added to Adam and Eves time in the Garden, its quite possible that Adam and Eve spent many years in the Garden, which would make their sin all that more sorrowful. After all, they had not experienced or seen death as of yet. It seems from Scripture that they lived on manna exclusively. And a good place to start is The Garden of Eden. Adam heard God making a sound (aside from speaking) that God had made before and which enabled Adam to recognise that it was the sound of God. Thanks for taking the time to read the article and for the comment. The sound of God that Adam heard was not the sound of God speaking, because God speaks after Adam has hidden himself, which Adam only does after he hears the sound.. God Arraigns Adam and Eve. We walk with the voice of God as well. They were created with perfect bodies and were husband and wife on the day they were created. constant) communication with God (e.g., the angel in Daniel 10:13 who was withstood by the prince of Persian for 21 days until Michael came to help him). And to the hill of frankincense. The Hebrew verb, halak, is translated as "walking" in this passage. Beyond that, the Bible does not tell us about any communication between our first parents and God until after the fall. Adam and Eve were ashamed of what they had done and afraid to face God, so they hid in the trees. How many pastors and other teachers have taught that the Bible says Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden? The only time it mentions the voice and walking (if those are the right translations) is when Adam and Eve were hiding from God. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8).The use of the term walk with reference to God brings up the issue of God communicating to humankind in human language. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.". Seems to me there was plenty of interaction & communication between Adam (& Perhaps Eve) and God. 4. Maybe He was physically there throughoutthe short time that they were in the Garden, but I have my doubts. Whats not fine with me is saying that the Bible says something that it doesnt. !NOW YOU CAN TAKE THIS LIE DOWN FOR GOOD ,,,THANK YOU !!!!STEVI. Who was his wife? Then ended up here. He gives instructions and warnings and they fear Him when they disobey. What does it even mean? I think too often we read ideas into a passage that might be accurate, but then through the years, our interpretation of the passage is taken as a given that it must be true. If we were to narrowly abide only what the text OUTRIGHT affirms of given things, then this inference would be patently erroneous or, at least, unreasonable. Thanks for your thoughts on this. Im not making an accusation here, but I do want to help people avoid making this mistake. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden Genesis 3:8. I believe one of the biggest weapons used against it is when secular opponents are more aware of the accuracy of the passages like this than we Christians who misuse and misquote them. Thanks for caring about biblical accuracy. He gives them clothes in Verse 21 because the evil deed, of eating from . No sowing or reaping for 3 years! When I was young I remember the most favorites of things I would get for Christmas. Its not even hard to imagine that Adam and Eve did walk with God prior to the fall. God goes to great lengths to explain how he wants the relationship to be. Useful insights. We read that God planted a garden and placed Adam there to tend it ( Genesis 2:8, 15 ). God then planted a garden 'eastward in Eden' (2:8), containing both the tree of life and 'the tree of knowledge of good . Thanks for the kind response. But even that would not prove that He took strolls with Adam. Josh 5:13-15 - the commander of the LORD's army (compare Rev 19:9, 10) Dan 3:25 - the "Son of God" in the fiery furnace. My post simply raises the possibility that He may have used something similar to the whirlwind of Job 38:1. Fifth, if someone doesn't like the idea that God knew they would be . Weve arrived at a very similar conclusion very recently that Adam and his wife or help-meat very possibly disobeyed their creators command not to eat of the fruit of tree in the midst of the garden the first day they were placed there. There are several possibilities, such as siblings, nephews, and nieces. It saddens me to let go of the notion that God would hang out with them in the cool of the evening. God loved to come and take a walk in the garden in the evenings when the shadows were cool, and the flowers smelled sweet, and when all the animals came out to play. 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Due to the craftiness of the serpent, sin found its way into the Garden and everything fell apart. At the same time, Adam understood what God meant when He spoke to him, so there clearly was some preprogramming that occurred when God created him. I hope this helps. Adam & Eve had been very naughty and they were hiding from the Lord!! I think youve understood exactly what I was seeking to accomplish. Their physical condition changed as a result of their eating the forbidden fruit. It was always my thought they in fact walked side by side as one would imagine them doing so. I have a problem with telling people that the Bible says they did this. Suggestions include that it means we are made as rational creatures that can communicate with and worship God, or that we have been given dominion, or that we will live forever. What does it mean for God to walk with them? Adam and Eve, according to the Old Testament, are the First Humans who ever walked on earth from which all humans descended. Hi Nucc, No, the One they were hiding from was one they were familiar with walking in the garden. Of course, from this view God was perceiveably with the pre-Fallen Adam and Eve, so that they had the privilege of regularly hanging out with Him. But Adam and Eve were almost certainly not in the Garden very long prior to their Fall. Thank you for your post and your diligence to pursuing Biblical accuracy! Never stop, word will not go void! I believe the context of the above verse was a time when ADAM was NOT at enmity with God and they conferred with each other. they heard him rebuke them. 9 GOD made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. It also seems to assume that they were in the garden for quite a while when they almost certainly were not there for long at all. John teaches that Christ the second person of the Godhead is the Creator "All things came into being through Him, and . It doesnt say that they were walking with God. I believe when the Bible states they heard the Lord in the cool of the day I think its a spiritual voice. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much You love us.' . My main point throughout has been to direct people back to Scripture to see what it really says. 21? The difficulties of translation, plus inevitable translator bias, can complicate getting a true understanding. That is, Enoch and Noah lived faithful lives. What if the coats of skin were actually human skin as we have now. Every description used can also be said about the angelic beings. I think your comments were probably addressing this point though (http://midwestapologetics.org/blog/?p=1747). You could be hiding with the Lord standing (figuratively speaking)right in front of them, and they wouldnt know. Moses was only granted the backside of Jesus. And how many times is this a supporting argument for a main point or the main point itself? They were not merely spiritual beings at that point. Hello Tim, I honestly do not understand why you are so hellbent on trying to make a point of saying that Adam and Eve did not walk with God? However, the walk in these passages should probably be understood in a figurative sense. 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Do you think that statement is a stepping stone for misleading Gods people? I could not find it. The reasoning for this conclusion may make more sense in the next post on Cain and Abel. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.". 9 But the LORD God called out to the man, "Where are you?" 10 "I heard Your voice in the garden," he replied . If you eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, you will die!". We'll come across one more tree towards the end of the chapter. In spite of being familiar with scripture, I never noticed that it doesnt exactly say this. I appreciate your fidelity to Gods Word. Can you show me some similar articles? So if we can claim that they walked with God in perfect communion before sin, then we can stress how bad sin is because we dont get to do that anymore. Thanks for taking the time to read the blog post and for your kind words. All the details of exactly how god walked with them are so plain to see that blind Freddy can see it. ? One has still So, heres one guy that wont repeat this again. He claims that seeing Him is seeing the Father.. then I see no problem with Jesus being the physical manifestation of God walking in . Just because Adam and Eve had no sin they still were not privileged to seeing God in physical form. We know that God is capable of doing this, but my point is that the text never states or implies that He did. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. To spend time with Him. He was their friend. The idea that one could walk with God, after all, had been a possible reality only once before, in Genesis 3:8, where Adam and Eve hear "the sound of the Lord God walking about in the garden." Adam and Eve were called to a radical intimacy with God, one that they forfeited through their sin, which resulted in their expulsion from Eden and . With that in mind, I would disagree with you on the reason you give for why God came to the garden that day. Because the Bible never says that Adam and Eve walked with God. From this view, Adam and Eve were with God in the Garden for a whileand they had the privilege of regularly hanging out with Him.
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