Genesis 3:10 Commentary and Bible Study

Adam answers for both of them. ‘And he said, I heard thy voice in the gardens, and I was afraid.’ Even this simple answer has deceit in it for he attributes his desire to hide from God to his having heard the voice of God in the garden, not to his sin. But since when did God’s voice make him afraid? In the past, the voice of God had been a welcome sound that drew him joyfully to his Creator. Now his fellowship with the Lord had been severed. The fact that he heard God’s voice explained nothing, but Adam will not willingly put his finger on the true cause of his estrangement from God. ‘Because I was naked’ – but he had always been naked and yet it had not troubled him before. He again avoids mentioning the true cause of his shame. This was not because he did not know the cause, but because he was continuing to hide behind a screen of evasion. Fear had come in and guilt also. He does not admit that, but it is the reason – ‘and I hid myself.’ And God challenges him again to own his sin. Adam was now afraid of the death which had been threatened by God. Adam had never known this emotion before. Fear is one of the effects of sin. While Adam obeyed God, he was safe. He had the guarantee of divine protection and he fully trusted in it. But the very one who had been his protector had now become his enemy.