{"product_id":"where-art-thou","title":"Where Art Thou?","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eEvery January 1st we begin a new year. The beginning of each year is an opportunity to start fresh, to think, and to reflect. I have been thinking about some of the \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“firsts”\u003c\/i\u003e in the Bible. Genesis Chapter 3 contains several of them, including:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe First Temptation\u003c\/b\u003e, by the serpent. He \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made”\u003c\/i\u003e (Genesis 3:1).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe First Sin\u003c\/b\u003e, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, in Genesis 3:6. God had warned, \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”\u003c\/i\u003e (Genesis 2:16-17).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWe could spend our time examining The First Temptation and The First Sin, but there is another \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“first”\u003c\/i\u003e in Genesis 3 that is worth considering. It is \u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe First Question in Scripture\u003c\/b\u003e, found in Genesis 3:9: \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eNotice that,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI. The First Question in Scripture was asked by God.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhen Adam and Eve sinned, God didn’t react like an exasperated Parent, shouting, \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“What have you done!”\u003c\/i\u003e Instead, He called out, \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“Where are you?” \u003c\/i\u003eAdam and Eve were created to have fellowship with God. Each day He spent time with them, \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“in the cool of the day”\u003c\/i\u003e (Genesis 3:8). God still sought them out, even after their sin broke that fellowship.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eII. The First Question was asked even though God already knew the answer.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOur knowledge is limited. In order to find out how many seeds are in an apple, we have to cut the apple open and count them. But God is omniscient. That means He knows everything—everything actual and potential—past, present, and future. God not only knows how many seeds are in each apple, He knows how many apples are in each seed!\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGod knew Adam and Eve had sinned. God also knew Adam and Eve were hiding from Him \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“amongst the trees of the garden”\u003c\/i\u003e (Genesis 3:8). God even knew exactly where Adam and Eve were hiding. Why then did He ask, \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“Where art thou?”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIII. The First Question in Scripture was an opportunity.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAdam and Eve’s sin was serious. It offended God, His Holiness, Righteousness, and Purity. Something had to be done about it. God’s question, \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“Where art thou?”,\u003c\/i\u003e was an opportunity for Adam and Eve.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e• It was an opportunity for them to come clean, to admit their sin to God.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e• It was an opportunity for them to forsake that sin, to turn away from it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e• It was an opportunity for them to return to God, to seek His forgiveness and cleansing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eUnfortunately it was an \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“opportunity lost.” \u003c\/i\u003eNeither Adam nor Eve took personal responsibility for their sin. They both played the \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“blame game.”\u003c\/i\u003e Adam blamed Eve: \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat”\u003c\/i\u003e (Genesis 3:12). Eve blamed the serpent: \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat”\u003c\/i\u003e (Genesis 3:13).\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThankfully, it was God who sought Adam in Genesis 3:9. It was also God who promised—and provided—the remedy for sin. That remedy was His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He is the One spoken of in Genesis 3:15, who would crush the serpent’s head, even as His own \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“heel”\u003c\/i\u003e would be bruised. In the fullness of time Christ came \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“to seek and to save that which was lost”\u003c\/i\u003e (Luke 19:10).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFriend, the God who sought Adam in Genesis 3:9 is still seeking and saving the lost. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you have done. Admit your sin to God, turn from that sin toward God, and sincerely ask Him to save you. Put your trust completely in Jesus Christ, who died for your sins and rose again. He will not turn you away. Here is Christ’s own promise, in John 6:37:\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Apple-tab-span\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eBlessings to you! Daniel E. 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