"And they heard the voice of Yahweh Elohim walking in the garden"
Lets state the obvious upfront...a "voice" does not "walk."
However, the Hebrew “golquole” is frequently rendered "sound". This word is elsewhere used of the sound of footsteps in 2 Sam 5:24; 2 Kings 6:32, and no doubt that is what is intended here.
Adam and Eve heard the sound of the approaching angel, and being sadly conscious of their sin, they experienced fear.
Looking back we have seen the process of temptation in the flesh how it leads to the three lusts of 1 John 2:16; Sin led to guilt, shame and now resulted in fear.
Of interest:
Is it significant Moses used the Covenant Name of Yahweh here when looking for the pair? What do you think the use of the name infers?
From my perspective its use is teaching me that man had broken and would continue to break the covenant because of sin!
On a side note we know the Father Himself did not who appeared to Adam and Eve but His representative as in Exodus 23:20.
God Himself dwells in unapproachable light, and has never been seen by mortal man (1 Tim. 6:16).
"In the cool of the day"
Why did the Angel approach Adam and Eve in the cool of the day?
It appears to be an idiom for "evening".
Any thoughts?
Remember when God acts its always with purpose and meaning.
This was revealed to me last year when studying this section of Scripture which I found very insightful.
From the time of Adam and Eve sinned to the Angel’s approach in the Garden; how much time had passed?
Would you consider a short, moderate or long time span between the sin and the coming judge?
Leave it with you....
The Cool Breeze
The cool breeze is highly typical in the Middle East where a wind moves upon the land at sundown.
Did you notice the word for “cool”?"ruach", "wind".
This is highly interesting!
The angel chose to visit them at a time
which was most comfortable for them. It wasn’t in the heat of the day when the sun is at full strength. No the angel approached them in a pleasant manner during a pleasant time of the day.
Why is this important?
I believe this was a
sign in itself of Divine grace...perhaps the very
first instance of grace after the fall in the Garden.
Why?
Adam and Eve were guilty of sin which occurred that “day”.
Do you know when the Hebrew day commences? It is always at sundown! The day begins in the evening as it was from the beginning...
“And there was evening, and there was morning the.... day”.
Song of Solomon 2:17
“Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether”
This literally means
“when the new day breathes". i.e when evening comes!
“When the shadows flee away”
Adam and Eve would need to put off this terrible day of dark shadows and hope and pray for a new day to arrive with hope.
You might like to consider a time when the
"shadows" of this life “flee away” when Christ appears in great glory to the world:
"For the law was given through Moses; [but] grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
In place of an Angel we shall hear the voice of the true Arch Angel (Christ) the
"Sun of righteousness" (Mal 4:2) who will truly remove all shadows from our lives.
"And Yahweh Elohim called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?"
Another act of Divine grace; Yahweh
called, as He has continued to do so from this time but His calling will one day cease! (Luke 19:10; Rom. 5:6-8). Note how "the longsuffering of God waited" with outstretched hands, as it were, "in the days of Noah" (1 Pet. 3:20), as it again does today (2 Pet.3:15).
Insight
