Questions God Asks

Who Told You?

Genesis 3:11 "And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree, whereof I commanded you not to?"

Genesis 3:12 Adam's response to God's questions was to blame Eve for the actions which caused God's first question. He totally sidestepped the current questions and refused to take accountability for his own actions.

The Declaration of Independence states that we are 'all created equal'. It's not true, you know. Some are given more talents than others. Some are given many gifts, some only one. But all are created for one purpose and that purpose is to glorify God. But Adam and Eve's actions caused all future generations of mankind to be born into sin.

They ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. So, in one sense, we may say, Yes, we are created equal: we are all born with the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. The knowledge of good is to do what is right, while the the knowledge of evil is to do what is wrong. This knowledge is not in the brain, but in the heart. For it is from the heart that all decisions are made. Our thought process begins in the heart, the seat of our emotions, our will, our attitude.

When Momma tells us not to touch the stove because it is hot and we could get hurt, do we listen? No. We must test her words to see if what she says is true. And we learn.  Or how about this question we hear from our parents, when we tell them that "all our friends are doing it"? You know the answer as well as I do. "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" I was pretty stupid when I was younger, so I may have done that if my friends had done it. Why? At the core of any honest answer, and we must be honest, is the truth.  Why do we want to to the bad things our friends are doing? We don't want to lose them. We don't want to be separated from their company.

Adam didn't want to lose Eve, either. So, he bit into the fruit from the forbidden tree. But immediately he knew he was in trouble. They both were. The decision to disobey God's Word came from his heart, because he loved Eve and didn't want to lose her. But on the other end of that rationale, he did lose something more precious than his beloved companion: Adam lost his other Beloved Companion. He lost his relationship with his God.

When sin rules our hearts and our minds, we are far from a relationship with God. Our sinfulness separates us from God's nearness. It is as if a great chasm kept us from reaching Him. So, God made a way for us to reach Him. John 3:16 tells us that because of God's great love for us, He GAVE His only begotten Son. John 3:17 tells us that God SENT His Son to be our Savior. And we needed saving by God for we cannot save ourselves. And the bridge we cross is Belief. John 3:18 "He that believes is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed on The Name of The Only Begotten Son of God."

Belief. Faith. Trust. Faith is believing God. Not just faith in what He can do, but in Who He Is. That His Word is "Faithful And True" ( Revelation 19:11).

There are times in life when we make a decision to live a righteous life, to do that which is good, to be obedient to God according to the Scriptures. And we miserably fail: every single time. Why? Because we are trying to live righteous lives without The Word living in us, nor seeking God's Word for every decision. On the surface we are good citizens of our communities; but our hearts are darkened with hidden sins. We must surrender fully to God's Word: a 180-degree turn from unrighteous, unholy living, repenting of our wicked ways and submitting 100% of ourselves to God's purposes and God's will for our lives. It is only then that we are freed from the chains of sin that have wrapped themselves around our hearts.

But to get there we need to be obedient to The Holy Spirit when He nudges us. We need to read our Holy Bibles, The Holy Scriptures, wherein we learn that we need this Holy Spirit of Whom God speaks. Who tells the unbeliever, the one who is still lost in sin, that he or she needs a Savior, when no witness is near to share testimony of the gospel of salvation? (Isaiah 65:1; Joel 2:28) God's Holy Spirit will reach out in dreams, visions and God's Word will confirm the meaning of these visitations from The Holy Spirit.

Who told you that you were a sinner? Whose hand came upon your heart and convicted your spirit? God's Word tells us we are sinners: Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10 "There are none righteous, no, not one." God's Word also tells us how to avoid the penalty of sin. Romans 10:9-13 tells us plainly that regardless of who we are, where we live, all we have to do is believe on The LORD Jesus Christ for our salvation. And when we believe, we are born again into the kingdom of God, into God's family. Now are we sons and daughters of The God Most High, YHWH.

Questions God Asks

"Where Are You?" 

Genesis 3:9 "And The LORD God called unto Adam, saying 'Where are you?' 

Why do you think God asked Adam where he was? Hadn't he just been walking and talking with him just yesterday? He could see Adam then. 

Adam was hiding from God. Why? He did not want God to see him because he had disobeyed God and was trying to avoid being found out. But as soon as he bit into that fruit from the forbidden tree, sin was not only on him, but in him. God could see that Adam's heart was not right. 

Why did God want to find Adam? He missed him. They were friends, companions; they spoke daily with each other and wanted to be in each other's company. But now? Now, everything was different. Sin separated Adam from God and they could not do the things they used to do. No more walks in the garden. No more interesting conversations. No more enjoying God's presence. 

Because of one stupid thing that kept Adam from God's face. Because he disobeyed a direct command, "Don't eat that". His thoughtless, reckless actions prevented Adam from living a God-filled life like he had lived since his creation. But could he get back to God? Such a loss was devastating to Adam. And to Eve. Their actions changed not only their relationship with God, but with each other. 

Do not be judging Adam and Eve's actions. Direct that pointing finger and self-righteous attitude towards the mirror of God's Word and see ourselves revealed as we are. Our unrighteousness, our disobedience to God speaking the same to us. "Where are you?" What have we done that God cannot see us? 

We have, like Adam and Eve, put our own selfish desires above what God commands. And, instead of repenting and turning away from those desires, those temptations, we have tried to hide ourselves and failed. God can see our hearts and know that we are not right with Him. He calls to us, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith The LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land: But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of The LORD has spoken it." Isaiah 1:18, 19. 

How do we answer God, that we may get back into His presence, and have a relationship with Him the way He desires to be with us? Such love that He is patient and waits for our return. Acts 16:30-31 "...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they spoke to unto him The Word of The LORD, and to all that were in his house." Paul and Silas had been imprisoned for preaching salvation through Jesus Christ; though the prison doors had been opened, they did not escape. Because of their actions, the jailor and his family believed and were baptized, which is a public confession of the faith they now had. 

Is this salvation, this path of decision, for everyone? Yes. Romans 10:13 "For whosoever (anyone and everyone) shall call upon The Name of The LORD shall be saved." Joel 2:32 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon The Name of The LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as The LORD has said, and in the remnant whom  The LORD shall call." 

Now is the time to turn, to return back to God. Delay only makes it harder on us. Now is the time to put God first; to seek His face and have a close relationship with Him. Today is the day we get on our knees, and with humble hearts, confess our sins to Him, ask His forgiveness and turn from our wicked ways. Today is the day we rejoice in our salvation.

Today is the day we answer God's call on our lives. "Where are you?" 

Questions God Asks-Genesis 3

I started this study 3 1/2 years ago and I am still only half way through it. But if I don't start sharing it now, I may never get to.

I began studying Questions God Asks because I was ruminating on how many times we ask God questions, our reasons for asking and His replies to us. And I wondered, "Does God ask questions of us? And if He does, how many times has God asked us a question and what is the answer to the questions that He asks?

So, I went digging through my Bible. The best place to start any search is the beginning; to Genesis I went then. Herein is my study and prelude to study.

1. How many questions does God ask, as related in the Scriptures, and what are those questions?

2. Why are the questions asked?

3. What is the implication, if any, behind the questions being asked?

God does not ask rhetorical questions. Every question asked demands an answer. Every answer leads to a result. This three-phase conversation has an implication in life. It is as if every question God has asked then, He is asking now.

Q1. Genesis 3:9 And The LORD GOD called unto Adam, saying, 'Where are you?'
A. The question is asked because God could not see Adam, for sin was upon Adam because he disobeyed God. God is holy and as such cannot look upon sin, for sin is unholy.

Q2,3. Genesis 3:11 And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree, whereof I commanded you not to?'
A. Adam's response was to blame the woman which God had given him.

Q4. Genesis 3:13 And The LORD GOD said to the woman, 'What have you done?'
A. Eve blamed the serpent.

Man's first response when confronted with his sin is to deny responsibility and blame others for his own errors.

But God holds us accountable for our actions and our words.

The first question God asks us, He asks because He yearns for our companionship. He longs to walk with us, speak with length with us. God desires to know us intimately. He loves us and wants to spend time with us.

And, yes, because of our inclination to yield to sin and temptation,we are covered in darkness, cloaked with deception and wickedness. It is because we are unable in and of ourselves to atone for our unrighteousness, that Christ was given as our sacrificial Lamb. It is He who covers us with Himself, that God may once again look on us.

I must ask myself, can God see me? Yes, I know He can, for the blood of His Son Jesus Christ has washed away my sins. I am forgiven for I have repented before God and acknowledged that I was a sinner. In His infinite mercy God forgave me, Christ came to live in me via The Holy Spirit and every day I grow a little bit closer to God through Jesus Christ.

Then I can turn to you and ask the same question: Can God see you?