From the Garden to the Throne Room
Have you ever done something wrong and tried to cover it up? I remember one time growing up when my mom asked if I had been speeding in the neighborhood. I said no, even though she had physically seen me do it. I started making excuses for why I was speeding, but respectfully, she didn’t care (lol, as she should). She took away my car and my phone. I remember thinking, If I had just told her the truth, maybe the consequences wouldn’t have been as severe. Instead, I lied because I didn’t want to face the consequences of my actions.
This is just a small example of something we do with God more than we like to admit. Why do we do this? When did it start? Well, it started in the Garden of Eden, with the first humans God ever created.
Did you know we used to live in perfect harmony with God? Before sin entered the world, there was no shame, there was no sin. God told Adam that he wasn’t allowed to eat from one specific tree in the garden. Adam could have the choice to eat from any tree God created. God told Adam this in Genesis 2:15-17,
“The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die” Genesis 2:15-17 (NLT).
God gave Adam the availability of every tree except one. He wasn’t hiding something from them, but asking them to trust that His definition of good was better than their own.
Most of us know this story. After God created Eve, because He thought it was not good for Adam to be alone (this is a whole separate blog post, lol), Satan came slithering to Eve in the garden as a snake. It is important to note before the enemy comes crawling to Eve, that in Genesis 2:25, before sin entered the world, that Scripture tells us this,
“Now the man and his wife were naked, and they felt no shame” (NLT).
Now, back to the slithering snake. The enemy comes to Eve and asks her, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1, NLT).
Eve replied perfectly to the serpent in the next verse, “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” (Genesis 3:2-3, NLT).
The serpent lies to Eve and says, “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil” (Genesis 3:4, NLT).
Eve responds in this way,
“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves” (Genesis 3:6-7, NLT).
Wait, I thought Adam and Eve didn’t feel shame for their nakedness? Why do they suddenly feel shame now?
Their eyes were opened, and for the first time they experienced the reality of good and evil, as well as their own guilt and vulnerability.
God was protecting us when He gave Adam the command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In the very next verse, we see a beautiful picture of the way God continues to chase after us,
“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:8-9, NLT).
God already knew where Adam and Eve were. He is omniscient and omnipresent. So, why did He ask them?
I think for the same reason my mom asked me if I was speeding in the neighborhood, even though she knew I was. She offered me a chance of confession, and instead of telling her the truth, I lied. God was giving Adam an opportunity to come out of hiding.
Adam responds in a similar way I did to my mom to God,
He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
“Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (Genesis 3:10-13, NLT).
Adam immediately turns to Eve and blames her for his sin. Eve immediately turns to the serpent and blames him for her sin.
How many times do we do the same thing to God? Well, this person tempted me, so I sinned. This person told me to do it, so I sinned. Their sin is worse than mine, so I’m okay.
We make excuses for our sin, when in reality, God is asking us to confess and own up to our sin.
What amazes me about this passage is that even in the midst of their rebellion, God doesn’t abandon Adam and Eve. He comes to them, confronts their sin, gives them consequences, yet still cares for them.
The text tells us this,
“And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife” (Genesis 3:20, NLT).
Even in the midst of Adam and Eve’s shame, when they tried to cover themselves, God clothed them. God knew they were ashamed and afraid, yet He clothed them with clothing He made for them. He knew the fig leaves weren’t going to cut it, and He covered them up.
The consequence of sin was separation from God, not just banishment from the garden.
This is where we need to slow down and realize the magnitude of sin. The tragedy wasn’t just that they were kicked out of the garden, but that they were separated from the presence of God.
And if we’re honest with ourselves, we do the same thing today. We hide from God when we do wrong.
Under the Old Covenant, sacrifices were offered repeatedly for sin. They pointed to something greater: a once-and-for-all sacrifice that could finally deal with sin.
This sacrifice was Jesus.
God actually promises the enemy something in Genesis 3. He tells the enemy,
“He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15, NLT).
Who is He? He is Jesus. Christians understand this verse as the very first promise of the Good News. That this is a prophecy pointing toward Jesus, the One who would ultimately defeat the serpent, sin, and death.
One of the most important questions of the Bible is, “Where are you?” Not because God didn’t know, but because He was offering Adam and Eve a moment of confession and relationship with Him.
He does the same for us today. But because of Jesus, we don’t have to hide or approach God through repeated sacrifices. WE have a better way into His presence.
Paul says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (NLT).
When you come to God, how do you come to Him?
Do you come timidly? Anxiously? Begrudgingly?
Do you approach Him like Adam and Eve, attempting to cover yourself up and hide?
Hebrews tells us through Jesus, we can approach God differently.
The author of Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us this,
“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (NLT).
The same God who called out to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” tells us to come boldly to his throne of grace.
The greek work for boldly in this passage is parrēsia, which means outspokenness, frankness, or confidence. God tells us to approach him boldly, without fear, so that we can become fully free in Him.
We don’t come boldly to the throne of grace because we earned the right to.
We don’t come boldly because we have nothing to hide.
We don’t come boldly because we haven’t sinned.
We come boldly because Jesus has made a way for us. We come boldly because we have a High Priest who understands our weaknesses, pain, and struggles, yet never sinned.
We don’t come boldly because we are worthy. We come boldly because He is gracious.
We come boldly to the throne of grace because Jesus invites us in.
So friend, you can come boldly to Jesus because the story of Scripture doesn’t end in the garden.
It ends in the throne room.
