But, like other things, there is truly not a single word to directly support the notion that Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. You cant see that god desires to walk with his people and expects rhem to walk with him? As I mentioned in my post, I have absolutely no problem with the idea that they might have walked with God in the garden. How many pastors and other teachers have taught that the Bible says Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden? Thanks for taking the time to read and leave a comment. Thanks! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Did Adam and Eve Walk with God in the Garden? So I wouldnt personally address this part of Adam walking with God or not unless the message was ill. Hi Bryan, I think youve understood exactly what I was seeking to accomplish. Theologians have long wrestled with the very concept of being made in Gods image. Answer (1 of 22): Yes. I clarified my statement about strong wind being a better translation to point out that there are scholars who make this claim, like J.J. Niehaus. Adam tried to put the blame on Eve, and Eve tried to put the blame on the serpent, but God was angry with all three of them! Required fields are marked *. 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. You have argued that a strong wind would be a better translation, but you havent explained how it was that Adam knew that this was the sound of God as soon as he heard it. Is it so hard to see that broke the fall in a righteous or right standing with God, the first family would run hard to God. Based on the sheer number of people who have claimed this, it must be found somewhere in the Bible, right? The Garden of Eden, the terrestrial Paradise known also as the Garden of God, is one of the most famous settings in the Bible. God speaks, asking Adam where he is. He never showed him self He when He was showing himself to Moses and the others He revealed himself to in some other form. They turned to their own ways, sinful ways. Adam & Eve had been very naughty and they were hiding from the Lord!! Hi Mel, To add to the post above, another theological consideration is the temple. But as seasoned believers we need to understand it is better to use our hearts to hear the sermons the pastors preach rather than the details of the text. There were two special fruit trees in the garden: The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. Thats the point of this post. Thats the one where I spend time talking about the ages of Cain and Abel. We did not know, nor trained ourselves to do that and now see our own child in the consequences. See my article, Was Jesus Married? (Gen. 3:8) Adam is placed in the garden to "cultivate (abad)" and "keep (samar)" it (Gen 2:15). Ed, I went to church this past Sunday and my pastor who is pretty good with the Word of God and quick to say if he is wrong said he had a revelation thats god ohyically walked with Adam and Eve and as he spoke my discernment clearly was NO THIS DID NOT HAPPEN. What can we honestly infer from the scriptures? So what if he didnt say the words in genesis one would think you would be wise enough to figure it out its not hard. That's why he was walking in the garden: he wanted to meet with Adam and Eve and spend time with them. I think that would be fantastic. Its not that the inferences are necessarily wrong, its that they should not be mistaken for the Word of God. Did you notice something else about the way people typically define the image of God? Instead, He manifested as a violent wind, perhaps not too different than how He spoke to Job out of the whirlwind (Job 38:1). The Bible doesnt say that Cains wife was from Nod. 9 GOD made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. This is a different subject. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Did they do this daily, weekly, etc.? With that in mind, what makes you say, from the text of Genesis, that the phrase translated cool of the day would be better translated a strong wind? If strong wind is the better translation, when prior to this event did God manifest himself to Adam and Eve in a strong wind in such a way that when they heard the strong wind on this occasion, they knew instantly that it was the sound of God? As I mentioned in my conclusion, God certainly could have taken taken strolls with Adam and Eve, but the Bible does not directly teach this, and I have my doubts about it. If that suggestion is accurate, then it would have been a physical presence of God coming in judgment, similar to how He spoke from the whirlwind in Job. Adam said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself (Genesis 3:10, ESV). I even pointed out that when the Bible speaks of Enoch and Noah walking with God it should be understood in the figurative sense of them living godly lives (as opposed to taking physical strolls with Him). Far too often, we allow traditions, even seemingly innocent ones, to become the basis for our understanding of Scripture. I think there are two reasons why it seems best to conclude that God had walked in the garden before: 1. . Of course, since I work in a ministry that emphasizes Genesis 111, Im going to hear it more than most people. Genesis 3:21 comes after Genesis 3:7, in which Adam and Eve ate from the Tree and realized they were naked. Tell everyone with small kids! To find out why God made you we have to look in the Bible. I would argue that angels are probably made in His image as well,. Man, this helped challenge me to really read through the scriptures on this topic. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I have a problem with Christians continually repeating that the Bible says they walked with God in the garden because it doesnt say that. Why werent they mentioned? "And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. When the Lord made him on the sixth day, He commanded him not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I would assume that they drank goats milk during this time as well. They walked and talked with God. And they heard the sound of the Lord God, walking in the garden. It is like asserting that, since NO text in the Bible OUTRIGHT affirms that Adam ever saw the stars, then It is unwarranted to assume that he ever did see the stars.. Here is the verse in its entirety. God appointed angels to guard the way back (Genesis 3:23-24). Adam and Eve surely knew that the punishment for rebellion was deathand even if they didnt understand the fullness of that word, they knew it wasnt good. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much You love us.' . I completely agree that Adam and Eve had the freedom to obey or disobey regarding the forbidden fruit, but that doesnt really have anything to do with my point in this post. 5 Bible Verses about God Walking. The reasoning for this conclusion may make more sense in the next post on Cain and Abel. Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.". I can see that cool of the day can be also be breath, spirit, or wind. 2. Because Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Lord sent them out of the Garden of Eden into the world. Your answer leaves many questions for me though Please explain the remaining context of Gen. 3 in Adams walk with God. They were placed in the Garden of Eden and given everything they needed: food, work, companionship, and fellowship with God as they walked with him in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). I appreciate the encouraging words. Answer (1 of 21): The context once again gives the answer. Apparently, you have missed the point of this entire post. How cool would that be! It would literally have been paradise just to walk with Jesus in the . They probably werent in the garden for very long at allperhaps just a few days to a few weeks. My goal in these types of blog posts is to encourage believers to look carefully at the text. But I dont think we need to have them walking with God in the garden to show how bad sin is. However, the walk in these passages should probably be understood in a figurative sense. I decided to search the internet to see WHY people believe this. I found it interesting that with all the opinions to the idea of walking with God in the comments section, not too many have thanked you for letting us know that Gods Word does not say that Adam or Eve walked with God in the Garden. Perhaps some people may have this figurative sense in mind when they speak of our first parents walking with God. I happened on this post because the thought came to my mind that God only walked with Adam, not EveI do not know why I had the thought, and I had not checked Gods Holy Word on the issue, but I read your article which partly validated my thought in an unexpected way. Thanks for your focus on this and for sharing the fruits of your consideration of the passage. Adam and Eve were the first human beings, from whom every other human being descends. 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. The Tree of Life was in the Garden was it not? Adam and Eve and God literally walking next to each other in perfect harmony. Now at that time there was an evil spirit called Satan. They hide among the trees. 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 . Thanks for your thoughts and kind words. Just read John 1 it says God was there in the beginning and on earth in the flesh so just read the book. Im not opposed to this idea. Thanks for your thoughts on this. Adam and Eve obeyed God. Thanks for the comments. I dont think it was a mystery to themat least not completely. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.<<<<. If how we are not that naive to believe that this is a new thing with Him, no we can reasonably infer that God spent time with Adam and Eve. You can see from the above that God decreed several things for Adam to honour and obey. In that claim, I put your OWN verbatim in single quotes. Here are 6 things that you need to know, insights that will help you in your life today, in helping to refine the way you view God. I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.". After creating Adam, God "put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). So there is no need to appeal to some sort of walk in the garden for them to know Gods voice. Thanks for this article, it was an interesting read. Your article keeps us on the ever-important path of faithfulness. Adam fell because he freely chose to disobey God, but second because he listened to his wife who had also freely chosen to disobey. Thank you for your post and your diligence to pursuing Biblical accuracy! The Hebrew Bible depicts Adam and Eve as walking around the Garden of Eden naked due to their sinlessness. Some people have inferred from this statement that they must have known what it sounded like to hear God walk in the Garden so they must have walked with Him before. That is, Enoch and Noah lived faithful lives. Granted, Adam and Eve walking with God poses no theological problems, but my point here is that the strength (or better, weakness) of that particular argument is roughly the same. They and their children would experience sickness, pain, and physical death. What does it mean for God to walk with them? Im not sure what this has to do with whether they walked with God in the garden. 1. Christ exemplified the relationship that mankind should have with our heavenly Father and creator. But again, that doesnt change my point. Say, for example, that they werent expelled from the Garden until they were 60+ or 70+ (or older). From this view, Adam and Eve were with God in the Garden for a whileand they had the privilege of regularly hanging out with Him. Adam doesnt need to know instantly that it is God moving about, but once God speaks to Him (whether out of a whirlwind or appearing in human form or any other form) then Adam recognizes who is addressing Him. Because they nearly always cite the verse about Adam and Eve hearing the sound of the Lord walking in the garden. I plan to search through it much more. The point of my post was not to condemn anyone who believes that they did. He gives them clothes in Verse 21 because the evil deed, of eating from . If He did or didnt is still and can always be up for discussion , its a gut instinct in me that says no but at the end of the day Im just glad Im saved and can sort it out when I get to Heaven! Thanks for taking the time to read the blog post and for your kind words. He created a vast array of angels prior to the creation of man, so theres no guarantee that God spent a bunch of time with Adam and Eve. The Lord could speak from His throne and these actions could be performed just as easily as if He had manifested in the garden to perform the actions. Maybe it is written somewhere else in other ancient writings? Ive heard pastors, speakers, authors, and many other Christians confidently state that Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden of Eden. Behold we shall not sow,nor gather in our increase: now look at 21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year and it shall bring forth fruit for 3 years 22 and you shall sow the 8th year and eat of the old fruit until the 9th year until the fruits come in. The natural reading of arithmetic is that according to arithmetic. So when the text says that Adam heard the sound of the Lord moving in the garden, it doesnt necessarily mean that Adam knew right away that it was God making the noise. 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. What if Adam and Eve were not human as we are today. Genesis 3:8 Context. Its the generous support of our ministry partners that enables us to continue our eternity-shaping work. Hi Robert, 00:00. Theres no reason to think that they waited 60+ years to have children when they were already husband and wife and were created by God to fulfill the instructions He had given them, including be fruitful and multiply.. 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. Hi Carrie, I was putting together a Bible lesson today for my twin girls on the Fall of Man. First it should be recognised that Genesis is a seed box if you want details you need to keep reading. You indicate a possible strong wind; did this wind also speak to the serpent and curse it? Well done! Ive added that to the article now to help clarify that point. 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. That certainly could have been the case if God made a physical appearance (called a theophany), as He did in other places (e.g., Genesis 12:7; 18:1. "Walked with God" is a favorite expression in Genesis, depicting the righteous conduct of Israel's heroes, including Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. Hi Greg, Much of the talk of the Adam & Eve story revolves around how they ate the . This is stated in the incident where Moses disobeyed by striking the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:1011). It was a choice that they both made in full knowledge of what was right and wrong. But its entirely different to claim that the Bible teaches or implies that they did when there just arent any statements in the text that teach or imply that position. Beyond that, the Bible does not tell us about any communication between our first parents and God until after the fall. I appreciate your effort Tim, thank you. Remember that the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost with a rushing mighty wind (Acts 2:2). I think we both agree that God doesnt need to appear in human form to bring the animals to Adam or to perform surgery on him. Yes, I do understand that God desires relationship with His peopleto walk with them as they walk with Him. At the same time, Adam understood what God meant when He spoke to him, so there clearly was some preprogramming that occurred when God created him. Sorry for the delayed response. Yes this is almost like apples and oranges because our parents are here in physical form but just trying to make a point and the Bible clearly says no one knows what God looks like except His Son . Before the fall, Adam and Eve were without sin and immortal . I think your comments were probably addressing this point though (http://midwestapologetics.org/blog/?p=1747). Whats different, and merits the commentary, is not that God has for the first time come to walk in the Garden, but that for the first time his walking in the Garden is responded to in fear and hiding, due to sin. I know when I say that Adam walked with God in the Garden, I mean to say that God spent time with them, not literally walking in the garden, God doesnt walk, He is Spirit! As I stated in the article and numerous times in the comments section, I have no trouble believing that they walked with God, but it is unwise for Christians to claim that the Bible says they did. Genesis 3:8, NLT: When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. I know you didnt use the word constant but thats sort of the point in my article. However, that story or statement being preached wont cause anyone to fall into sin. (Vs. 14) Did this wind also clothe Adam and Eve with skins from an animal that had to be killed? So comparing Adam and Eve to children who need to learn to talk, eat, etc. In fact, earlier this week during a Q&A session, one of the guests asked about Adam walking with God in the garden. But arguments from silence are not strong arguments to build a positive case for something. Yet now the man and the woman are hiding from God in fear. In conclusion, the whole of chapter 2 & 3 causes me to conclude that Adam regularly communed with God somehow; and to me probably daily (or at least almost) since we know we are the apple of His eye. What was their relationship? The imagery in the temple indicates that it was recreating Eden, indicating that God was present in Eden in a special way that he was not present in other places on the earth. I just want to offer a thought about Cain and Abels ages. To the second point in your conclusion, I think it is quite speculative. If so, then it seems to follow that there would be ongoing communion and communication between God, Adam, and Eve. Ive enjoyed reading your article, the comments and your responses. The animals possess none of these characteristics, at least not to the same degree as man, so these seem like strong possibilities for what it means to be made in Gods image. Looking at that from an opposite perspective; Is it not also true that it is not stated they werent walking with God? Who were they conversing with? Adam heard God making a sound (aside from speaking) that God had made before and which enabled Adam to recognise that it was the sound of God. Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. the Word of God walked in Eden. Could Adam and Eve have actually taken walks with God in the Garden? Well, Jesus wasn't there with Adam and Eve in the beginning. If so, Adam and Eve's reaction makes more sense. The natural connotation, to me, is that God often did this, perhaps daily in the cool of the day, but what was remarkable this time was that man was afraid, because he had sinned. It doesn't come before, which furthers the notion that God would have been content with them being without clothes, at least provided they didn't eat from the Tree. It doesnt say that they were walking with God. It is true that the Bible does not say, Adam and Eve never walked with God in the garden. That isnt the point of my post. Im not a Greek or Hebrew expert, or even a student. I depend on what I can find on sites (currently I use biblehub.com). Read lev 25:20 and if you shall say what shall we eat in the 7th year? Like I mentioned before, I dont have a problem with the idea that they may have walked with God in the garden. So when I say, The Bible just doesnt say that some people think Im saying that it didnt and couldnt have happened. Hi Janice, http://midwestapologetics.org/blog/?p=1349, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_Bibel_in_Bildern_1860_009.png, https://answersingenesis.org/jesus-christ/incarnation/theophanies-in-the-old-testament/, https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/cain/cains-wife-who-was-she/, http://midwestapologetics.org/blog/?p=1747. 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. But your claim is based on only such a narrow standard. Why dont Adam and Eve know that God is with them at all times? Psalm 104:3. He knew good because he once served God; he then knew evil because he committed evil in his rebellion from the Father. God also brought the animals to Adam so he could name them. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. 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