In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve disobey God’s Word and try to hide from God’s presence. God seeks them out in the Garden and asks them a series of questions:
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 3:9-13)
It might strike you as odd that the all-knowing God would ask questions. If he already knows the answer, why does he ask Adam and Eve about their location and their actions? Why doesn’t he just come to them and hand down the judgment immediately?
The Patience of a Father
God asks these questions as a patient father who wants his children to recognize what they’ve done and confess and own it. His questions show a gentleness and a patience with Adam and Eve. He’s like a father who catches his kids doing something wrong and he asks them, “What are you doing?”
God doesn’t come, seize Adam and Eve, and immediately hand down the punishment. His questions reveal a fatherly tenderness, gentleness, and patience with his people. He gives the man and the woman an opportunity to answer these questions and to own up to what they have done, come clean, and repent of their sin.
His Patience is an Active Seeking
God is the one to find his people who have sinned. He doesn’t just wait around for sinners to come to Him. His patience isn’t a passive kind of waiting. It’s an active seeking and an active questioning.
God takes the initiative towards his people. He moves in towards them. He enters his temple to question the people he has made. In his active patience, he seeks the repentance of sinners. God’s patience was an opportunity for Adam and Eve to confess their sin and repent of it.
Counting God’s Patience as Salvation
God is never slow to keep his promises or deal with sin, but sometimes it seems like it. Even in Genesis 3, it seems like God slows down everything for a minute and asks these questions when he didn’t have to.
In our world today, we look out at the evil of the world, and we might wonder, “God, why are you being so slow in dealing with this world?” Why does it seem to be taking so long for Jesus to return, to rescue his people and hand down judgment upon the wicked? Why does a good God let evil go on in this world?
Part of the answer is to give sinners the opportunity to repent and turn to him. If God were to deal with all of the evil in the world, that would include you. Evil isn’t just something out there. It is deep within the hearts of all of us. God’s “slowness” is his patience toward you.
Thus, if it seems like God is slow to judge sin, one reason is because he is patient and kind toward you.
God’s Word does expose our sin. God calls us to bring our sin out into the open and confess it and repent of it. All of this reveals his patience and his kindness.
Don’t miss God’s patience and his kindness towards you today. Don’t presume on it. Don’t take it for granted, but don’t miss it either. Repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ.
As Peter put it, count the patience of our Lord as salvation (2 Peter 3:15).
This post was adapted from the sermon below:
