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Justin Gielski's avatar

Really good! I love the parent analogy. There are plenty of times as a parent when Iโ€™ve asked questions of my kids that I already knew the answer too.

Itโ€™s done to give the opportunity to build their own character. Put into that perspective, itโ€™s very easy to unpack why God would do the same for us.

Itโ€™s for our benefit not His. I also love the Hebrew breakdown. Thatโ€™s not something I knew, so really appreciate it.

Chris Larson's avatar

I have thought of the verse as a parent too, asking the question to allow the child to confess. The additional questions God asks are prompting Adam and Eve to admit, to come clean.

I have also thought of it as God asking not where they are physically, but where their heart is.

Realizing what youโ€™ve allowed in your heart humbles you and allows you to accept the discipline you need, and work toward returning your heart to where it belongs.

๐•ฎ๐–”๐–š๐–—๐–†๐–Œ๐–Š๐–”๐–š๐–˜ ๐•ฎ๐–๐–—๐–Ž๐–˜'s avatar

It's interesting you bring that up because traditional Jewish and Christian interpretations also argued that God's question was alluding to the status of Adam's and Eve's hearts.

Chris Larson's avatar

I think itโ€™s the right way to look at it. We are repeatedly reminded to love God with our whole hearts through the rest of scripture, and taught that hardening our hearts toward God leads to our destruction.