Scripture:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:1–13
Devotional Thought:
The first question God asks in the Bible is not a request for information. He knows exactly where Adam is. The question is an invitation: Where are you? It is the sound of a God who pursues even when his people are hiding.
And they are hiding. That is what sin does first — it doesn’t just break our relationship with God, it makes us afraid of him. Before the fall, Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day without shame. After it, they hear his footsteps and run for cover. The intimacy they had known becomes the very thing they flee.
Notice too how quickly blame spreads. Adam points to Eve. Eve points to the serpent. Neither of them simply says: I did it. I chose this. Sin not only severs our relationship with God — it distorts our relationships with each other. The kingdom God designed for flourishing begins to fracture the moment trust in God’s word is abandoned.
But God still comes walking. He still calls out. The garden is broken, but God has not stopped moving toward his people. That impulse — God pursuing what was lost — is the thread that will run through every week of this series. The kingdom perished here. But God is already working toward its restoration.
Reflection Questions:
1. Where in your life right now are you hiding from God — avoiding his presence because of shame, fear, or unconfessed sin?
2. How does the pattern of blame in Genesis 3 show up in your own relationships when things go wrong?
Application:
Respond to God’s question today: Where are you? Write an honest answer — not the polished version, but the true one. Then sit with the reality that God is already walking toward you in that place.