Afraid

“And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself’”  (Genesis 3:10, ESV).

They say that when Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon, Sinners In The Hands of an Angry God, people sat clinging to their seats with white-knuckled grip for fear that at any moment they would be dragged to hell. As an early teen, I remember watching the movie, Poltergeist, in sheer terror. It was the scariest thing I had ever seen. The latter represented a fear of the devil and his demons; the former a fear of the judgment of God.

God is perfectly holy. We are utterly sinful.

When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree from which they were expressly prohibited, their spiritual eyes were opened; they became aware of sin for the first time. Their physical eyes were opened; they became aware of their nakedness. Prior to this, there was no shame and no fear.

Genesis 3:10 is the first instance of the concept of fear. Our first progenitors were not afraid of any of the animals in Eden. They weren’t afraid of the serpent. Sin brought guilt; and guilt brought fear.

It was a fear of God. They hid themselves from Him for fear of His judgment. Prior to their fall, judgment was a concept that was completely foreign to them. God was a father, but He had now become a judge.

What does fear mean to you? What is your earliest recollection of fear? Could it have been a fear of getting caught for doing something you shouldn’t have? Think about these things as you go about your day.

We will continue our look at fear tomorrow. Blessings on your day!

–Image by Amber Clay from Pixabay