What is the meaning of Genesis 3:11? Who told you that you were naked? • God’s first words expose the sudden awareness of guilt. Until sin entered, “The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25). • The question uncovers that something foreign has intruded—shame. Similar moments appear when conviction comes: “When He comes, He will convict the world regarding sin” (John 16:8). • No one had “told” them; disobedience awakened an inner alarm. “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2). • God’s inquiry invites confession, offering a path back, just as He later invites Israel: “Come now, let us reason together… though your sins are scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). • Revelation 3:17 pictures the same blindness: “You do not realize that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” Sin strips, and only God can clothe (Genesis 3:21). asked the LORD God. • The covenant name LORD (YHWH) highlights a personal, relational Creator who seeks the sinner. He is “the LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious” (Exodus 34:6). • Though omniscient (Psalm 139:1–4), He asks—not for information but to draw Adam into responsibility. Jesus does the same: “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). • Divine questions reveal hearts. Hebrews 4:13 reminds us, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God… to whom we must give account.” • From the beginning, God initiates restoration. Luke 19:10 echoes this pattern: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? • The question pinpoints the transgression, tying guilt to a clear command: “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17). • Breaking God’s word brings death (Romans 6:23). Paul links Adam’s act to universal consequence: “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12). • Notice God’s gracious method: – He states the fact. – He recalls the command. – He waits for confession. Similar grace appears in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us.” • Disobedience is never abstract; it is measured against specific revelation. Deuteronomy 30:15–18 shows this principle—life or death hinges on obeying God’s commands. • James 1:14–15 traces the same path: desire → sin → death. Genesis 3 is the prototype. summary Genesis 3:11 records a real dialogue in which the Lord skillfully exposes sin, awakens conscience, and invites repentance. His questions reveal humanity’s lost condition—naked, ashamed, disobedient—while also showcasing His relentless pursuit of restoration. |
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