“He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””
As has been said before, God’s questions are never for God. God knows all things! Adding to this, because of God’s perfection, no action of his is “happenstance” or “misstep.” Therefore, God’s questions are always meant as a revealing device for his children.
Who told you? becomes something more. Rather than a simple ask to ascertain the facts (God already has the facts!), the question is meant to reveal guilt and incite repentance. In other words, the appropriate answer is I told me, and now God save me, please! This is not Adam’s answer.
God’s follow up question serves as a reminder of the covenant cut between God and Adam, where God told Adam not to eat of that specific tree with the stipulation of death for disobedience and the assumption of continuation of life in obedience. Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?
Sadly, Adam’s eyes have already been blinded. He cannot see God’s deeper intention and answers the Judge rather than the Father. And when answering the Judge, Adam’s sins of pride and deception are put on full display. In pride, he avoids faulting himself. With deception (looking more like the serpent than God), he suggests either Eve (or even God himself) holds guilt.
Typically, one hears of Eve’s great fault rather than Adam’s. She ate first, right? She gave it to Adam, right? Regardless of these things, she stands truer before God’s question than Adam. God asks, What have you done? Eve answers: I listened to the serpent over you.
The repercussions of sin are immediately evident. Self-preservation over Christ-representation becomes the norm. Pride replaces humility, and fault is passed off to the closest candidate. Deception reigns, and truth becomes a game of convincing others of the lie. Where peace existed, enmity is planted.
Nevertheless, God had not given over his people. Not only did he come to them, he spoke to them. Not only did he speak to them, he sought to reveal to them the deep wrong that had just been done. God did not simply take on the role of Judge and execute punishment. Rather, God reveals himself in a deeper manner—as righteous Judge who is also merciful Father.
In this moment, humanity sees a deeper telling of God’s intention for his creation. We exist because of God’s power. We continue to exist because of God’s mercy.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”