God fashioned Eve out of Adam's rib (Genesis 2:22). I was putting together a Bible lesson today for my twin girls on the Fall of Man. 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. Thanks for your focus on this and for sharing the fruits of your consideration of the passage. In my searching I found your website and I am so glad I did. But even that would not prove that He took strolls with Adam. The same two words are translated elsewhere . They probably werent in the garden for very long at allperhaps just a few days to a few weeks. Christ exemplified the relationship that mankind should have with our heavenly Father and creator. This would have been after God made Eve and Adam awoke and uttered the words in Genesis 2:23. That is why I have a whole series of commonly misused Bible versesnot to condemn but to encourage believers to elevate Scripture above our own ideas that weve unwittingly added to it. I believe when the Bible states they heard the Lord in the cool of the day I think its a spiritual voice. They are not taking a leisurely stroll with God, they are hiding from Him as He comes to announce His judgment. Mentions of Eden are also made in the Bible elsewhere in Genesis, in Isaiah 51:3, Ezekiel 36:35, and Joel 2:3; Zechariah 14 and Ezekiel 47 use paradisical imagery without naming Eden. To say that life was good in the Garden of Eden would be an understatement. But why wouldnt the Israelites use the animals for sustenance-milk,meat,skins, etc. Finally, 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. That's why he was walking in the garden: he wanted to meet with Adam and Eve and spend time with them. That he still comes to them even after theyve sinned emphasizes that they have made the first move away from him, before he moves them away from Himself by putting them out of Eden. That is, Enoch and Noah lived faithful lives. He was there, He is everywhere and He was always with them. Adam blamed the woman, the . While its within the realm of possibility that Adam and Eve were 60+ when expelled from the garden, I find it extremely unlikely. Regardless, my point is that Adam was familiar enough to recognized it was God. If you must doubt something, I think you would have to doubt that. This is just another suposition made by humans who try to understand divinly inspired scripture with a flawed human mind. An additional notable commentary is that God made Adam in His image and likeness, and imbued him with His Spirit the breath of life. Contemporary English Version Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the LORD God walking in the garden. My main point is that we dont go around saying that the Bible says that Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden, because that just isnt in there. Yes, they could have done this if God made a physical appearance (called a theophany), as He did in other places (e.g., Genesis 12:7; 18:1). I have a problem with telling people that the Bible says they did this. I am simply trying to point people back to Scripture as Ive done in many other posts in my Misused Verses series. We do see examples of theophanies in the Old Testament where God does appear to people in human form, as He did to Abraham. Your email address will not be published. I was scanning Gen 2&3 to use the text where God walked with Adam in the garden. Hi Ed, Hi Greg, What was their relationship? After all, they had not experienced or seen death as of yet. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. why couldnt it have been Jesus walking in the garden. Another potential source for this idea is found in the statements made about those who did walk with God. Lord God (pre-incarnate Jesus Christ) was also the burning bush that app. September 13, 2019. 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. I looked in Genesis, Psalms and even searched for New Testament references. My main point throughout has been to direct people back to Scripture to see what it really says. Why dont Adam and Eve know that God is with them at all times? 1. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Did Adam and Eve Walk with God in the Garden? I have no problem with the concept of Adam and Eve walking with God and seeing Him. I dont really hear anyone saying, The Bible says Adam and Eve never walked with God in the garden, but if I did, then Id correct that as well. Now go to verse 17 Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. However, God could have manifested himself as a human being, but this would not be the glorious spirit being that he actually is. I hope you will continue in the pursuit of God's Truth. But at least enough time passed to provide people who lived in Nod and a wife for Cain. God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden (Gen. 3:8). I think there are two reasons why it seems best to conclude that God had walked in the garden before: 1. 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. Thank you for helpful writing. As a father communes with His children, so does the Creator with His created beings (Psalm 103:13). While its true they could have been over 120 years old when Cain killed Abel, they also could have been any age from very young up to 120+. 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. 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 ). 11 Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. It is definitely possible that the person in the Garden was the preincarnate Christ. As I mentioned in the conclusion, God could have walked with them, but the Bible does not tell us that He did. The ESV accurately captures Adams response in verse 10. So if they were in the garden for a month, how many times (if ever) did they walk with God? Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) is the author of over sixtybooks and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries. It was a choice that they both made in full knowledge of what was right and wrong. But the most beautiful thing of all was that they walked with GOD. thank you so much. 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. On page 57 of Heaven you say Before the Fall, God came to Eden to visit with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8). This passage refers to God walking in the Garden after Adam and Eve have fallen, but before God has confronted them. It is a special, peaceful garden oasis God created as a home for Adam and Eve (and maybe also Lilith) where their two jobs were to give animals names . However, most people inevitably mention . And they heard the sound of the Lord God, walking in the garden. It says that he went to the land of Nod and then she conceived a son (Enoch). when they heard God they hid from Him. All these imply direct personal interaction, probably on more than one occasion. Hi Janice, Or maybe they read Gods mind. I to am searching regarding worship in OT times and wondered about Adam walking with God. They are not taking a leisurely stroll with God, they are hiding from Him as He comes to announce His judgment. The complete bible account of the story of Adam and Eve can be found in Genesis 1:26 to Genesis 5:5. Yes, Jesus is God and was in the beginning with God, but the part about the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14) is a reference to the Incarnation that began when He was conceived in Marys womb. Seems to me there was plenty of interaction & communication between Adam (& Perhaps Eve) and God. But thats not at all what is going on here. There may have been thousands of years, who knows? However, the walk in these passages should probably be understood in a figurative sense. He claims that seeing Him is seeing the Father.. then I see no problem with Jesus being the physical manifestation of God walking in . Adam and Eve are walking around in the Garden of Eden, and they meet up with this serpent who asks them an interesting question: "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the . No, I mean that God must have spent time with them in order to teach them, how else would they learn to talk, to till the land, to eat, to basically live their lives in a way that was pleasing to Him! 9 GOD made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. If you want to believe they did, thats totally fine with me. But what did they actually hear that made them afraid? Nothing in that passage says it, and thats the main point of this post. They could not walk in the garden naked anymore, and they had to defend their actions. Abel may have had plenty of kids who would want revenge against their Uncle Cain for killing their father. Did they do this daily, weekly, etc.? 2. They heard God's approach as a terrible wind that lashed the trees of the garden, and they took cover. Apparently, you have missed the point of this entire post. There are many others that could be added to this list but this illustrates . Adam & Eve hid themselves from God. 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 . It was always my thought they in fact walked side by side as one would imagine them doing so. Since the Bible doesnt make this claim, its impossible to know for sure where people get the idea from. Genesis 3:8 KJV. However, God did come physically to Abraham and ate. Gen 3:8 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. There are many, many Christians who have heard and taught that Adam and Eve physically took walks with God in the garden before they sinned. Much of the talk of the Adam & Eve story revolves around how they ate the . Gods presence is also noted by his walking in the camp and sanctuary of Israel. No one is perfect, but when you are walking with God your desire should be to see your own selfish desires die for the sake of seeing God transform you more and more into the image of His Son: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. In all likelihood, it comes from a misunderstanding of or making an inference from Genesis 3:8: And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (NKJV). Hi Tim. Further, although the phrase could be translated as a strong wind, the text would still say that he came walking in a strong wind. Well, in Genesis 2, Adam names the animals, and the only words quoted from him in Gen. 2 have to do with what he said when he met Eve: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh (Genesis 2:23). It is doubtful that God threw Adam into a confusing environment where he would be overwhelmed with the array of plants and animals. Our adversary seeks to discredit the validity of the Word of God. 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.. Here is a portion of what I wrote on page 72 of my book, Fallen. 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). Then something happened. Why would anyone ask such a silly question? For example, Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22, 24) and Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9). And therefore, it seems to me familiarity was brought about by regular communion/ communication/ visits from the Lord. Im not sure where you got the idea that Im hellbent on trying to make a point of saying that Adam and Eve did not walk with God. I have no problem with the idea that Adam and Eve may have walked with God, which is what I stated in the conclusion of the post and in several follow-up comments. First it should be recognised that Genesis is a seed box if you want details you need to keep reading. So if the strong wind idea is actually being conveyed by the Hebrew, then there is no textual basis for claiming that Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden in the cool of the day. 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. I just want to offer a thought about Cain and Abels ages. I would take them apart and look inside to see how they worked. The book of Genesis tells us that the Lord appeared and fellow-shipped with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (ch. Both Adam and Eve, and all humans today, were made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1). That would be what we today would consider a lifetime of experiencing Gods faithfulness and guidance, only to throw it away in a single day! well, they say that Jesuss life was that of God or perhaps he was God. Ive heard this, believed this, and repeated this on more than one occasion. Although I agree, you simply cannot prove this one way or another, however I believe the scripture gives us enough evidence to assume with confadence, that Jesus did take a physical form and did actually, literally walk through the garden. Hi Mel, In a similar way, we are told in the New Testament to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Your entire post is irrelevant to the discussion because you are trying to show what it means when it says that someone walked with God. I have found Bible studies that indicate that God fellowshipped or walked with Adam and Eve, and they refer to Genesis 3:8. After all, how old did they have to be to be a keeper of sheep and a tiller of the land? 15? I think for me it comes from the song In the Garden, it is a peaceful way to think God is walking with us. Or perhaps just the knowledge of being disobedient & the result of knowing their nakedness is what caused him to be afraid. As you supposed, God did provide water for the animals too. IOW, IMV Where Adam FAILED, Christ Jesus PASSED, *Saying all this Tim, I truly respect your thoughts and views as a brother in Christ. This is a different subject. Who is this that would kill him? Whats not fine with me is saying that the Bible says something that it doesnt. This would still fit with the idea of God coming in judgment, which was given as a possibility in the article. (Vs. 24 says He drove them out the he place Cherubims). I can see that cool of the day can be also be breath, spirit, or wind. In this environment, Adam and Eve had safety, abundant food, meaningful work and fellowship with God. Is it that they are referred to as sons of God? holy ones? Thats not exactly a clear cut and dry case, beyond dispute, based on those sparse details. My post simply raises the possibility that He may have used something similar to the whirlwind of Job 38:1. Like your parents can be in the house with you and not in the same room but you can clearly hear them in another part of the house. Thank you Michael. Because they nearly always cite the verse about Adam and Eve hearing the sound of the Lord walking in the garden. 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. Adam & Eve had been very naughty and they were hiding from the Lord!! 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. In other words, human beings were made to reflect Gods gloryto show the world what God is likethrough who we are and what we do. Hi Ian, But nowhere does it mention or even implies that they "saw" God face to face. I think this point has to be acknowledged regardless of whether you think the sound is God walking in the cool of day or God manifesting himself in a strong wind. I agree with your conclusion that we should not assume that God was at Adam and Eves beck and call, coming around for a stroll whenever they wanted Him there, or that God spent considerable time fellowshipping with them in physical form as friends do.
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