“And 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. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” (Genesis 3:8-13)
These days we continue to witness violence and incivility all around us. Many people are engaging in protests, demonstrations, and riots against Israel, various politicians, perceived injustice, and actions and words of others perceived to be offensive. Such behavior, at least here in the USA, is considered an exercise of free speech and civil rights but in God’s Kingdom, these are but manifestations of sin especially as these behaviors may malign and inconvenience many, injure, maim, or kill others, and result in extensive property damage. Such behavior is what we read about here in Genesis 3: sin. We inherit our sin nature from Adam and Eve. We are influenced by the lies of Satan the devil who appeals to that nature in us. Like Adam and Eve, we all fall for the his because we all think we know better than God and that the right to be ourselves is paramount no matter who gets hurt including Almighty God.
Now to be sure, no one likes to admit to sins, again, just like Adam and Eve. Like them most people rarely admit their sinfulness because they don’t want to feel shame or guilt. The usual response is to shift blame to someone else or make up some sort excuse that somehow absolves them. Even people who riot, loot, and destroy property claim their actions are caused by others who have dissed them, offended them, or treated them unjustly. They justify violence as an appropriate response to what they feel is injustice done to them.
No such excuse has any merit before Almighty God. Everyone is held accountable for his or her own actions. All stand condemned before God, so there is no use in shifting blame. Adam and Eve had disobeyed God. They knew they had to hide from Him for they felt guilt and shame. Their sin had broken their fellowship with God and they were afraid of Him. Consequently, neither of them took responsibility for their sin. Adam blamed Eve and, by implication, God, because God had given her to him. Similarly, Eve tried to shift the blame to the serpent, the devil. In doing so she admitted that she had disobeyed but claimed she had an excuse. The devil said nothing. Almighty God held each responsible for what they had done and punished all.
Explanations and excuses do not remove guilt. God’s Law condemns without mercy or exception or excuse. There are no special circumstances. It is not someone else’s fault. This is why God promised to send a Savior. The Messiah would conquer Satan the evil one with a decisive stroke. Jesus is that promised Messiah who came to make us right with God, to restore us into full fellowship with Almighty God. Now we no longer need to be afraid of God for we can, by faith, trust in His promise of eternal life through the body and blood of Jesus. https://trinityhicksville.org
Theophany: Meeting With God In His Word 