Walking in the Garden (Genesis 3:8), a meditation by Ralph F. Wilson

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Walking in the Garden (Genesis 3:8)

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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Stained glass window of the Garden of Eden, Congregation Beth Ahabah synagogue, Richmond, Virginia.

Like a tree, planted by the water, I shall not be moved.' Stained glass window of the Garden of Eden, Congregation Beth Ahabah synagogue, Richmond, Virginia.

The third chapter of Genesis describes Adam and Eve sinning by eating the fruit of the tree of good and evil. But then the text portrays a scene of quiet, of intimacy -- or of what should have been such.

"⁸Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹But the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?'

¹⁰He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'

¹¹And he said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'" (Genesis 3:8--11)

The Cool of the Day

God is walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day as is his custom. Ancient Near East monarchs would commonly construct private walled gardens near their palace, with fountains, streams, trees and flowers, even with birds and animals, where they could walk and enjoy shade, coolness, and privacy. The king might invite an honored guest or a family member to join him in his daily enjoyment of the garden.

I think this is what we are seeing in Genesis 3. The Garden of Eden is Yahweh's own garden and Adam and Eve are its caretakers.¹

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day...." (Genesis 3:8a)

This isn't the first time God has walked in his garden; it is his frequent practice.² In the Holy Land, "the cool of the day," or better, "breezy time of day"³ is the late afternoon, when the heat of the day begins to drop off and the cooling breezes begin to pick up. As I read the story, I sense that Yahweh looks forward to finding Adam and Eve there in the Garden. He is so fond of their company. Together they would walk slowly, casually, no hurry. They would tell him about their day and he would listen as they describe their challenges and problems. He enjoys their presence as they enjoy his.

Before the sin, before the Fall, Adam and Eve walk with Yahweh in full nakedness, unashamed, joyful, nothing to hide from God or each other, fully right with God, fully trusting. What a beautiful picture.

In God's Garden there is peace. The animals that come before Adam to be named pose no threat to him -- or to one another. The law of the jungle has not yet come; food for both man and beast came from vegetation.⁴ It is an untroubled time.

But today, as God seeks Adam and Even in the Garden, they are hiding, nowhere to be seen. Yahweh knows what is going on, but it still hurts deep in his heart. He misses them. He mourns their innocence. Their unfeigned affection. Sadly, he knows that these pleasant walks are now over. It will never by the same again.

"A-dam," he calls. "E-v-e. Where are you?"

God knows where they are, but needs them to come out from their hiding voluntarily, rather than have to chase them down. Adam finally answers.

This story is the prototype of the tragic tale of sin and separation. It takes away the innocence that nakedness represents and replaces it with the shame and distance that sin inflicts upon us.

Somehow, peace in the animal world is also shattered by the Fall -- just how we are not told. Now animals become predators. The world becomes a dangerous place, literally "dog eat dog." Only the fittest survive, and they only so long as they are strong and healthy. The world is a place of fear and pain. And, not unsurprisingly, the twenty-first century hasn't seemed to lessen the danger, the pain, and the separation all that much.

New Heavens and New Earth

But there is hope. In the prophets, we see glimmers of a profound restoration of peace to come.

"The wolf will live with the lamb....
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain...." (Isaiah 11:6a, 9)

When? When, Lord? In Revelation, we read,

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or mourning
or crying or pain,

for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)

You can count on it, my friend, an end to pain, a time of joy. A day when our tired, damaged world will see a new dawn of peace.

We see this in the Book of Revelation. The New Heavens and the New Earth where righteousness dwells represent the Kingdom of God come in all its glory. And clearly, in a symbolic sense, this is Eden restored.

In Genesis we read of "a river watering the garden [that] flowed from Eden...."⁵ In Revelation we see "the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb."⁶ This is the water that brings life to the garden and eternal life to those who drink from it.⁷

The Tree of Life grows in the Garden,⁸ causing one who eats of it to live forever.⁹ In Revelation, this Tree is growing in the City of God beside the River of Life yielding monthly fruit. And its leaves, like a soothing herbal poultice, bring healing to the nations.¹⁰ All citizens of the City may eat its fruit and thus live forever.¹¹

The gentle walks with God in the Garden of Eden of long ago culminate in the New Heavens and the New Earth where there is a renewed intimacy:

"The dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them." (Revelation 21:3)

"They will see his face!" (Revelation 22:4).

"Face," of course, is an Hebraic way of expressing a person's immediate presence. On that Day we will experience his Presence in full, with no impediments whatsoever. With the songwriter, my heart cries,

"Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face,
There to sing forever of His saving grace;
On the streets of Glory let me lift my voice;
Cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice."¹²

The Seeking God

Adam and Eve hid from God that day. But ever since, he has been seeking them -- seeking us. That's when he sends Jesus, to search for us and find us.

Jesus tells the story of a sheep lost in the wilds, until its shepherd comes after it and brings it back with joy.¹³ He tells of a poor woman who has lost her silver coin and turns her house upside down until she finds it. Come, she says to her neighbors, let's party. I have found my coin that was lost!¹⁴ Jesus tells of a father, whose younger boy has left home and ruined his life. Yet when the father sees the prodigal son far down the road heading home, he gathers up his robes and runs out to meet him.¹⁵ God is seeking us and isn't satisfied until he finds us.

Moreover, God seeks to restore in us now -- not just in heaven -- that fellowship of walking in the Garden. Jesus talks to a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, whose life has been diminished by sin to the point of near isolation. The disciples are in town, securing food, but Jesus talks with her. And in the course of the conversation, he tells her something of God's heart desire.

"A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." (John 4:23)

"Seeks, is seeking" is the verb zēteō, "seek, look for" in order to find.¹⁶ Our Father is actively seeking worshipers, people who want to draw close to him, who will know him. Who will talk with him. Our Father is seeking those who will walk with him in the Garden in the cool of the day. People who who refuse to hide any longer. Who are drawn to him out of love. Out of truth. My friend, he is seeking you. He is seeking me.

There is a sentimental song, not sung so often in this century, that puts this thought to verse. You may remember it.

"I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

And He Walks with me, and he talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known."¹⁷

I want that, and I know you do, too. And, by the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy times of blessing in the presence of the Lord. If not always, at least some of the time.

If you haven't already, I encourage you to set aside some time every day when you will come to the Garden to walk and talk with your Lord. If this is your habit, renew it, refresh it, and take time away from your devotional pattern just to listen and share.

When Andrew first meets Jesus along the Jordan where John the Baptist has been preaching, he asks where Jesus is staying. Jesus doesn't answer him, but extends an invitation to an extended conversation. "Come and see," Jesus tells Andrew and his friend. "Walk with me."¹⁸

[1] Genesis 2:15

[2] "Walking" is the Hithpael of halak, "go, walk." Here, "walk back and forth, walk around" (Holladay, p. 80, Hithpael, 1). Victor P. Hamilton (The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-17 (New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT); Eerdmans, 1990), p. 192) says, "The verb used here to describe the divine movement is a type of Hithpael that suggests iterative and habitual aspects" (citing E. Speiser, 'The Durative Hithpa'el: a tan-Form," JAOS 75 (1955), pp. 118-21, esp. p. 119).

[3] E. A. Speiser, Genesis, (The Anchor Bible; Doubleday, 1964), p. 25. The basic idea of r�aḥ is "air in motion, blowing, wind, what is empty or transitory, spirit, mind" (Holladay, r�aḥ, p. 334). "In the orient a cooling breeze generally arises as the afternoon wanes, and it is then that much of the day's business is transacted" ("Afternoon," ISBE 1:65).

[4] Genesis 1:29

[5] Genesis 2:10.

[6] Revelation 22:1.

[7] John 4:14; 7:38-39.

[8] Genesis 2:9; 3:22, 34.

[9] Genesis 3:22.

[10] Revelation 22:2.

[11] Revelation 22:14.

[12] Chorus of Gospel song, "Oh, I Want to See Him," words and music by R. H. Cornelius (1916).

[13] Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7).

[14] Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10).

[15] Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24).

[16] Present active indicative of zēteō (BDAG 428, 1b).

[18] John 1:38-40.

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