Genesis 3:10

"He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'"  Genesis 3:10

The Qbible includes one little phrase left out of the NIV.  It reads the man's answer as "I heard your call."  It's just like a child who knows they are doing (or did) something they shouldn't - they hear Mom or Dad calling them and try to hide the evidence.  In this case, their own changed perception was the evidence. 

It's still a common reaction.  We hear God calling us, and look around and see the mess we've made and vainly try to hide from God.  Most of the time we don't even realize that we're doing it.  It's instinctual. 

For the past few months, I've been trying to hide from God, and believe me, realizing isn't the hardest part.  The hardest part is getting out from under your rock and facing the Almighty, even knowing that he is loving and forgiving.  There's still a part of me that has trouble accepting that he'll even forgive the sins I'm having trouble letting go of.

I pray that he will give us each the strength to trust him and to let go of what's holding us back, so that we may hold on to him tightly with both hands.

Genesis 3:9

But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"  Genesis 3:9

Man and woman are hiding from their sin and from God, so he calls out a simple question, "Where are you?"  Obviously, God knows exactly where they are.  Then why ask?  Perhaps he wants them to realize for themselves exactly where they are spiritually - separated from him.  He doesn't want them to hide from themselves either.  The first step to repentance is to realize you need to. 

So look around yourself now.  Are you really where you want to be?  Are you hiding from God?  from yourself?  Come out and face God.  He is merciful.

Genesis 3:8

"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, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden."  Genesis 3:8

It's interesting to note that the word "sound" is translate in the Qbible as "call" or "voice."  So now after giving in to temptation, only to see that it wasn't all it was made out to be, the first man and woman hear God in the garden.  So what do they do?  They hide. 

They should have known, you can't hide from God.  They could have gone to him and admitted their sin, but they didn't.  Maybe they just reacted in a moment of panic.  Maybe they just weren't willing yet to face the full consequences of their actions.  Maybe they just didn't want to face God's disappointment in them.  Either way, that's what they did - they hide.

Even today we still do the same thing.  We sin, knowingly or not, and once it's done, we try to hide from it and from God.  It's hard to admit when you've done something wrong.  Most of us would rather ignore it and pretend it never happened, but we can't.  At some point we will have to deal with it, whether that's in this life or the next.

Genesis 3:7

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." Genesis 3:7

The Qbible translates "coverings" as "aprons" or "belts."  So the coverings that the first couple made only covered the bottom.  I can't help but wonder how they sewed the fig leaves together...it doesn't sound like that would make very comfortable clothes or that it would stay together very well.

Of course the more important thing to take from this verse is that they received the knowledge that they were naked.  As pointed out on FGGAM the first thing they did with their knowledge was cover it up.  Can you imagine?  They were tempted by knowledge and then the knowledge immediately reveals what they're doing wrong.  Not only did they disobey God's only command for them, but what was gained from that was the knowledge of their own failures.

Genesis 3:6

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."  Genesis 3:6

In the Qbible "pleasing" can also be translated as "longing" as if it makes the eyes long for it.  This verse makes you wonder what the man was doing in the last verse.  If he was there with his wife the entire time why didn't he speak up and correct her and the serpent.  Was he just willing to go along with his wife whether or not it was doing something God had told them not to?  Or was he there listening to the snake and wanting that knowledge the tree would give?

Genesis 3:5

"'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'" Genesis 3:5

Here the serpent is tempting the woman with the promise of power and knowledge.  Just think, to be like God, in all his splendor and glory.  Who wouldn't want that?  And the knowledge of everything...The first temptation was a big one.  One bite had a lot of power.  The fall makes so much more sense now.

Genesis 3:4

"'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman."  Genesis 3:4

And thus the first lie.  It's the perfect lie because it's also true.  The snake was right, they didn't drop dead from eating the fruit, but it's also a lie, because from that point on death entered creation.