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Genesis 3:8-9
“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?’”
The Bible is no mere book!
The Bible is more than just a record of events of the past. It is not a book of myths and legends. It is also not a complete record of everything God has ever done. Instead, the Bible is God’s Word, given to man so that we can know Him to the extent possible within our human form. The Bible records accounts of human activity that range from mundane to almost unimaginable atrocities. Throughout, however, we find a message and a plan. The message tells us about God and his plan for us to have a relationship with him.
In the opening chapters of the Bible we find that God created us in His image and, in chapter 3, we see that God walked in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Why? Why would He walk in the garden with them and why would He call to them, “Where are you?”
God intended to speak with His creation! God intended to appear to us in a way that we could comprehend. Scholars agree that this passage is the first appearance of Jesus Christ before He was born, about 4000 years later. This is known as a “pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus”.
Why does this matter?
God always intended to be with His creation and have a personal relationship with us! Man sinned and separated himself from God, but God provided a way to restore that relationship, and that way is through the person of Jesus Christ! He desired to walk with us when we were first made, and he will walk with us in eternity!