God's Second Question

You might already know the first one. If not, let me quickly remind you — 'Where are you?' But the second… hm, there seems to be an issue. Not many people have rushed to preach on this theme.

We’ve all surely read the biblical text, as it was part of the same passage. Reference point: Genesis, Chapter 3. Adam and Eve take a bite. And sin follows.

The Serpent’s prophecy (3:5) is fulfilled right before their eyes, with a sudden, jarring clarity: the first humans know good and evil. Simultaneously, they feel their nakedness and shame, trying to hide behind some leaves. Obviously, the other half of the prophecy does not come true — they do not become gods, nor immortal; instead, they camouflage themselves primitively in the bushes, in fear and trembling at the sound of the footsteps of the only one who truly is God.

And God comes to meet man as if nothing had happened. That is worth preaching about too! (Beware of those preaching the Three Angels' Messages like some forensic investigators.) Fact is, the Lord could have come with lightning, in a hurricane, or just unleash a flood; you can imagine countless variations dreamed up by a world that views Him as a tyrant.

Here is a piece of food for thought: He could have just not come at all. We are only here today because He showed up.

God chooses to go out and meet the man 'infected' by sin, just as a wise doctor would: solemn in delivering the diagnosis, compassionate when offering the treatment. And He asks the man: 'Where are you?' (that is God's first question). Not because He was lost, nor in a live game of hide-and-seek. It is the question a mother asks when she wants her child to confess, or a psychologist asks to help you realize the spiral you’ve fallen into.

Straight up — credit where credit is due — the man admits: 'I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.' Almost common sense.

So here comes the second question. Which is not a predictable 'What have you done?!' Instead, God acknowledges the victim's state but moves further into the truth:

'Who told you that you were naked?'

There, now you know it. This is God's second question.

'Who told you that you were naked?' See how, out of the three elements mentioned by the man, God addresses neither the physical state ('I hid'), nor the internal feelings ('I was afraid'), but frontally attacks the problem in Adam’s mind — the prison in which every human is locked by sin ('I am naked').

In our contexts it may sound something like:

• Who put that idea into your mind?

• Who are you listening to?

• Who poisoned you with that gossip?

• Who sent you the link to that conspiracy theory?

• Who brought you to this terrible state?

• Where did you hear about this 'miracle treatment'?

In translation: Who else is here, in your mind?

Some might mistake God’s approach for that of an abuser — deflecting after being caught. But it’s the opposite: God is unmasking the actual abuser.

Think with me for a moment, reviewing the news of the day: the wars, the long effects of the pandemic, the economic crises, they are all part of reality; and we hear more and more about stress, fear, anxiety, depression. We fret over a thousand questions that sound like counterfactual history. You know them, starting with 'What if?'

Well, we have no idea how it would have been if..., nor what if...

'Yes,' you'll say, 'but what if what's in the news happens to me?' Indeed, it’s quite possible. However, reviewing the last hundred fears you’ve had, how many (fortunately) never came true? It's not about doing statistics, since we are all, at best, 'limited liability' prophets of our own doom.

Let's ask ourselves, echoing God's voice:

• Who told you that you were naked?

• That you’re going bankrupt?

• That your loved ones will die?

• That you’ll have an accident?

• That you’ll end up a wreck?

• Who told you that you’re good for nothing? That you’re ugly or stupid?

• Who told you to leave the church? Who tricked you into thinking you won’t be saved unless…?

• Who told you you're not God's elect?

This 'nakedness talk' belongs to another. The same voice tells the world they are powerful and self-sufficient also tells the believer they are worthless. It is the voice of the one who seeks to smear and shame.

The crucial God's second question remains: Who told you?

Who told you? It was not God, and that's exactly why He comes toward you — to unmask the one who told shamed you that you were naked (John 12:31-32). Make no mistake, you are naked, I am as well. But the one who told us so, who brought us here, has no solution. He only wants you to run, to hide, to hate, to despair.

That's why God is coming toward you and me, solemn and compassionate. To cover our nakedness, not to cover up.

Who told you He can’t?

_____

For further study see John 8:1-11 and reflect on Jesus' first and second question to the woman. It's an eye-opening parallel.