Thoughts about Genesis (19)

Review of Chapter 3

•   We learned in lesson 17 that the word serpent should be translated as shining one in the context of the verses.
•   We learned that the word crafty should be translated as sneaky or scheming in the context of the verses.
•   We learned that the shining one deliberately misquoted God in an attempt to mislead Adam and Eve.
•   We learned that Adam had put a fence around God’s command by adding the phrase neither shall you touch it regarding the forbidden fruit.
•   We learned that (according to Jesus in John 8:44) the devil is not capable of telling the truth. He cannot even mix any truth into a lie, because there is no truth in him at all. He cannot even speak the truth with evil intentions. He can only lie.
•   Keep in mind that the word die used in God’s command meant immediate physical death. If Adam ate the forbidden fruit, God would execute him.

In this article, we will explore the consequences of prioritizing the devil over God. This is a lesson about consequences that many Christians today have yet to learn. Every time we sin, we have essentially believed the devil rather than believing God. I say this to keep us humble. It is easy to point our finger at Adam, and not see the four fingers pointed back at ourselves.

Genesis 3:7-10
⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
⁸ 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?”
¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

Adam and Eve have only known the gentle, loving God of creation. Today, however, they are going to see him in his holy, righteous fury. These verses are only the beginning of the consequences. I’m only covering four verses because I don’t want to bite off more than we can chew in 1 lesson. A lot happens in just these four verses, so we’ll be content with that. So let’s start unpacking everything that happened in these verses.

Before we take a look at verse 7, let’s back up look at relook at verse 6:

Genesis 3:6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Question: When Eve plucked the fruit off the tree, what happened? Answer: nothing, she did not die. Why? Answer: because God allowed them to touch the fruit
Question: When Eve ate the fruit of the tree, what happened? Answer: nothing, she did not die. Why? Answer: because God gave the command to Adam. Eve did not exist when God gave the command.
Question: When Adam held the fruit that Eve gave him, what happened? Answer: nothing, he did not die. Why? Answer: because God did not forbid them from touching the fruit.
Question: What do you think Adam may have been thinking as he watched nothing happen to Eve or himself (he had not yet eaten the fruit)?

Adam had a dilemma. Who would he believe, God, or the “shining one”? The shining one had told him that he would not die. He watched as Eve touched, ate, and did not die. At this point, Adam was holding the fruit in his hand, and much to his surprise, they were still alive. Adam had completely bought into the lie of the devil that God would not physically execute them. I wonder if the shining one was beckoning him to eat the fruit. Adam lifted the fruit to his mouth and ate.

Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Question: at what point did their eyes get opened? Answer: not until Adam ate the fruit. Why? Because God only gave the command not to eat that fruit to Adam.

The word eyes (Strong’s H5869) can imply more than just eyesight. It means to see and by extension, of understanding and obedience.¹ In the context of this verse, the word would be better translated as understanding. Then their understanding was opened. Understanding is a lens that brings the facts into crisp focus and produces principles.²

The word opened (Strong’s H6491) means to open, but specifically in the sense of to open the eyes (Genesis 3:5, Job 14:3) or ears (Isaiah 42:20): it describes a physical or mental ability to see or hear.³ It is also used in sense of being able to observe something. Figuratively, it refers to one’s eyes being opened to wisdom, understanding and reality.⁴ In the context of this verse, it is used in the sense of being able to observe something.

The word knew (Strong’s H3045) means to observe, realize, perceive, to know, to have insight.⁵ It connotes a deep, intimate knowing, more than intellectual knowledge. It speaks of a deep intimacy between the person and what (or who) is known.⁶ It carries not only a mental but an emotional perspective. In the OT, knowing was more by the heart than by the mind, and that knowing comes not by mere observation, or reading about it in a book, but by active and intentional engagement through experience.⁷ Knowing involves understanding. Understanding involves doing. (This is why homework is effective.) Knowing requires knowledge gained through experience.

The word naked (Strong’s H5903) is used in the OT to designate more than just physical nakedness. The word used here, “erom,” comes from the root word “ur,” which means to be exposed.⁸ “Erom” can be thought of as being naked (totally exposed) and unable to hide secrets. To be naked depicted an awareness of the openness and understanding of their guilt to God.⁹ The prophets often used the word naked to portray the shame and destitution Israel would suffer for her covenantal disloyalty.¹⁰ This is precisely what happened to Adam and Eve. The spiritual nakedness that they had enjoyed with God (a fully open, undefiled, transparent relationship) was suddenly gone. They were expecting the ability to see God’s wisdom. All they could see, however, was their shame, because they had destroyed their intimate relationship with God.

Genesis 3:7b
And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Why did they suddenly need clothing? (I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable fig leaves as apparel would have been.) When they ate of the Tree of Knowledge, the inclination to do evil became a part of them. No longer did they need an external tempter to incite them to sin—now, that tempter resided within their psyches. And specifically, guilt – an emotion that tends to remove the desire to give worship to, or praise God. Their thinking may have been that if they could cover up their guilt, perhaps God would not see it either. But their guilt could not be covered over, covered up, or even hidden from God.

Hence, verse 7a. “The eyes of both were opened.” God didn’t just open Adam’s eyes to what he had done; he opened Eve’s as well. Not only were they aware of their guilt, but they also became aware of their physical bodies, and they knew that they were naked. Only now was it inappropriate for them to be unclothed. Adam and Eve’s effort to clothe themselves was a sinful effort to conceal what had happened. They tried to hide from God (Genesis 3:8). Their nakedness felt too revealing and too vulnerable. So they tried to close the gap between what they had become and what they ought to be by covering what is, and presenting themselves in a new way.¹¹

Remember our definition of shame from lesson 16? Shame is the awareness that my action(s) did not bring God pleasure and went against His nature and His will. Adam and Eve are attempting to hide their shame. The problem: the fig leaves didn’t work. Nothing we can do will hide our sin and shame from God. Now that their eyes were open, they were focused on themselves. They knew they had sinned against God. It is crucial here to acknowledge that the devil did not pick the fruit and give it to Eve. Eve reached for it herself and ate. Eve may have handed another piece to Adam, but Adam chose to eat it. That made Adam and Eve responsible for their sin. They couldn’t say the devil made me do it. All he did was tempt them; they chose to give in to the temptation. We are no different. We choose to do right or wrong just as Adam and Eve did. Just like Adam and Eve, we also prefer not to take responsibility for our actions. We like to blame others and shift the responsibility onto them.

The word loincloths (Strong’s H2290) is a generic word for clothing or covering. What makes this word interesting is that it is in the feminine plural noun classification. Technically, the correct translation would be belt, girdle, or loin covering.¹² Their girdles were meant to hide their shame, but instead declared their sin. Interestingly, when the Messiah (Jesus – the second Adam) came, he also (symbolically) wore a girdle. According to Isaiah 11:5: Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The word translated as belt in this verse is the same word translated as “loincloths” in Genesis 3:7. Jesus’ girdle of righteousness and faithfulness does not hide anything, but instead declares his victory over sin.

Genesis 3:8a
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden …

Have you ever wondered what sound God was making while he walked through the garden? Probably not, but these kinds of questions haunt me, so I feel it necessary to haunt you. Was he whistling a merry tune, or humming loudly to himself, or perhaps singing a song? What kind of sound did God make as he approached the sinful couple? Things that you go hmmm.

The word sound (Strong’s H6963) means sound, voice, cry, thunder, rumor, or report.¹³ It basically means voice, or rather, a sound that carries the identity of whatever brings it forth. There are two words in this definition I would like to focus on: voice and thunder. We can identify each other simply by the sound of our voices. No two people have identical vocal chords, so no two voices are the same.¹⁴ How do we get to the point where we recognize each other’s voices? By spending time with each other. Even if I walked into a room blindfolded, I would be able to identify my wife simply by hearing her talk. Adam and Eve had spent a lot of time with God. They were so familiar with the voice of God that they immediately recognized the sound of his voice. However, God is not pleased at this point. His voice probably sounded like thunder.

I found five verses (there are probably more) that refer to the sound of God's voice as being like thunder. Deuteronomy 4:32-36 describes God’s voice as so terrifying that the Israelites asked God not to talk to them. Psalm 18:13 states that the Lord thundered from heaven. In Psalm 29:3-4, David uses thunder as a metaphor for the voice of God. Job 37:4-5 refers to God as thundering with his majestic voice. Revelation 14:2 refers to God’s voice as thunder. It makes sense that the voice of the angry God in Genesis would also sound like thunder.

The word walking (Strong’s H1980) means to go, to come.¹⁵ In English, this presupposes feet. We assume that this word implies walking. In many verses, that is exactly what it means. But is that the context of verse 8a? The context is the sound or voice of God. The context is about the voice of God going and coming. I am suggesting that this verse really says that Adam and Eve heard the voice of God from all directions. It is His voice that walks back and forth, back and forth, repeating the sound over and over. His voice may have reverberated just like thunder reverberates. Is it any wonder that Adam and Eve hid?

Genesis 3:8b
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.

The word cool (Strong’s H5869) is mistranslated in the ESV. It is the Hebrew word ruach which can be translated as breath, wind, or spirit depending on the context of the sentence. It is the same word that is used in Gen 1:2, and the Spirit (ruach) of God was hovering over the face of the waters. That verse would not make any sense if the translators interpreted it as “and the cool of God was hovering over the waters.” The word ruach is never translated as cool anywhere in the Old Testament. Ruach should not be translated that way in this verse.

The phrase in the cool of the day does not convey the time of day that Adam and Eve heard the sound of God. It does not mean that God picked a pleasant time of day to show up and confront the guilty couple. Instead, it conveys to us a deeper understanding of the situation that is unfolding. The phrase also describes the sound that God made as he walked in the garden. Therefore, it would make more sense to translate this word as wind. Not necessarily a gentle breeze, but perhaps a strong storm-type of wind. Remember, God is not happy right now. More than likely, they have experienced a cool, gentle breeze in the past, but a strong wind caused by an angry God would be a new (perhaps terrifying) experience. In addition, God’s voice sounded like thunder.

The word day (yom – Strong’s H3117), indicates that God did not waste any time in confronting the trio. The word yom demonstrates that God intervened on the same day Adam and Eve sinned. It might be possible to translate this section as in the storm wind, the same day.

If the sound of God walking toward them was like a strong wind (perhaps even accompanied by a strong wind), and his voice was like thunder, then is it any wonder that they hid themselves? They were about to encounter God in a manner that God never intended. They were about to encounter the God of wrath and judgment. The wind and the thunder announced the arrival of the Judge, and the trees were not enough to hide them. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

Genesis 3:9
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

But the Lord God called to the man and said to him. Isn’t it interesting that God singled out Adam? God is focused solely on Adam. “Where are you (singular)?” God was not looking for both Adam and Eve. He wanted the person who broke his command. That person was Adam.

When God asked the question, Where are you? I don’t think he used a gentle, inside tone of voice. Why did God ask the question: Where are you? Did God not actually know exactly where Adam was hiding? Of course, he knew exactly where Adam was. A wise Rabbi once said: God did not need to ask Adam where he was, it was Adam who needed to be asked; and God does not need to ask each one of us where are you, it is we who need to be asked.¹⁶ In other words, ask yourself the question, Where am I in my relationship with God? Am I where I should be, or am I hiding? When God asked the question, he knew Adam was physically hiding. The problem is that God’s question was not so much about where Adam was physically, but where he was spiritually. Adam needed to realize that he was not where he needed to be.

It is a question that we need to ask ourselves: Where are we in our relationship with God? Are we hiding, trying vainly to cover ourselves so that our sin is not noticeable? Those fig leaves won’t last very long. God is going to see right through them anyway.

Genesis 3:10
And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.

God did not ask the question because He needed to know Adam’s physical location; He asked the question so that Adam would reflect on his moral location. Adam’s answer to God was not with his physical location, but about why he was hiding. The seemingly simple question shot straight to the heart of the matter; Adam’s heart. Adam’s heart was no longer right with God.

God gave Adam the chance to come clean and repent. God could have pointed an accusatory finger at Adam and pointed out his disobedience. Instead, he graciously allowed Adam to repent. Adam is standing in the presence of the holy God who does not tolerate sin, and yet, he did not repent. So God asked a pointed question instead: Where are you in relationship to me now compared to where you were? The question was intended to get Adam to confess his sin. God already knew the answer to the question, but he wanted Adam to understand the nature of his transgression.

Adam answered God with a half-truth. What Adam omitted was the real reason why he was hiding. Adam's folly was in thinking that if he omitted half of the truth, that would be enough. Adam may have been thinking that if God didn't ask the right question, he wouldn’t have to tell God the whole truth. God was not impressed. It is easy to fall into Adam's trap of thinking that omitting the truth is not telling a lie. But think about that. Here is the logic: remaining silent and refusing to tell the truth is not the same thing as telling a lie. Really? How is it not different? Refusing to tell the truth is the same thing as telling a lie (not telling the truth). It boils down to this: intentionally omitting the truth to create a false impression or to deceive someone is a lie.¹⁷ In other words, omitting the truth is knowingly leaving out information that the other person wants or needs to know about.

God was not about to settle into the So that’s the game you want to play. Okay, let’s play. God will proceed to ask the right questions. God doesn’t need to play the 20 questions game to get to the truth. Guess what? He still doesn’t. It begs the question: Why do we still think that God is a fool and doesn’t know what we're doing? We may be able to hide our sin from others, but we cannot hide our sin from God. We cannot deceive God by omitting the truth. (It only works on people.)

Final thoughts

1) When God confronts us with sin in our lives, we need to take care how we respond. Are we going to offer an excuse or genuinely repent? God gave Adam the opportunity to repent, but he did not. But I have to ask the question: Am I all that different from Adam? God has given us Adam as an example of what not to do. Let's learn from his example.

2) After Adam and Eve sinned, God went straight to Adam. It wasn't Eve that God confronted for breaking the command. Even though the command had been intended for both of them, God expected Adam to enforce it. Let's jump forward in time 2000 years to Abraham. Genesis 18:19 states, For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. (Emphasis mine) Enforcing the command was Adam’s job. He failed miserably. He should have stopped Eve (because he knew better) but did not.

3) God did confront Eve for her sin (as we see in later verses) and Adam for his. God did hold them each accountable for what they did. No matter how they got there or to what extent they tried to place the blame on some other entity, God still held them accountable. God did not hold Adam responsible for Eve’s sin, nor vice versa. Adam was accountable for Adam. Eve was responsible for Eve. In turn, each of us is accountable for our own sin(s). You are not responsible for the sin(s) someone else chooses to commit.

Here is my paraphrase of the 4 verses we covered:

Genesis 3:7-10
⁷ Then the understanding of both was enlightened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
⁸ And they heard the thundering voice of the Lord God reverberating through the garden, and the husband 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 husband and said to him, “Where are you?”
¹⁰ And he said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.”

© September 2025 by Steven P. Wickstrom, all rights reserved.