We discover important lessons in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. One of those lessons involves the question that God asked Adam after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit. As we all know, God had prohibited them from partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In Genesis 3, verse 9 we read: "Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?" This is the first time that God asks a question in the Bible, and His question is also the shortest one in the entire Torah. The Hebrew is just one word, ayeka, which is translated "Where are you?".

Doubters and deniers of God's existence view this question as proof that God doesn't know everything. According to them, God didn't know where Adam was, so He had to ask the question. But God knew exactly where Adam was. Let's not forget King David's words in Psalm 139: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall fall on me, even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You" (verses 7-12).

Why did God ask the question? Because He wanted to find out where Adam was? Hardly, because He knew where Adam was! God knew exactly where Adam was, even though Adam had tried to hide from God: "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8).

God asked the question for Adam's benefit. It was as if He were saying: "Adam, what happened? What have you done to yourself?" By sinning Adam had put distance between himself and God, which is always the case when people sin: "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you" (Isaiah 59:2).

Are there times when we seem to sense in our walk with God that God isn't as close to us as He once was? If so, remember the first question God asked in the Bible and ask yourself: "Who moved?" It wasn't God. Instead, we allowed distance to come between ourselves and God.

With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath!