“But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9)
This week I want to highlight something that we have mentioned in passing several times over the past few weeks. In Genesis 3, when God came to the garden and called its inhabitants to account, God addressed Adam directly not Eve. This is a stark contrast in the text, because the narrative has been using plural pronouns over and over in the description of the first couple’s sinful behavior. Here is verses 7-8 with all of the plural referents underlined for emphasis.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:7-8)
Therefore, it is all the more striking when in the next verse abruptly shifts to the singular. “But the Lord GOD called to the man and said to him…” (Gen. 3:9) This striking contrast cannot be an accident, and it is just as explicit in Hebrew as it is in English. Clearly, Moses is making a point. When God approached the first couple to hold them accountable, He addressed Adam first.
Again, this narrative functions as a creational pattern. We see the pattern that God holds the man accountable before he holds the woman accountable. Both are accountable for their own actions, but the man is also accountable for both he and his wife. This accountability is indicative of the responsibility that Adam has for Eve, and, as a creational pattern, the responsibility that every husband has for his wife. There is little doubt that the family structure is partially what Moses intended to communicate through this narrative.
This is related to the account in Genesis 2 when God gave His commands to Adam alone before He created Eve. The point isn’t that Eve didn’t need to hear the commandment. Rather, because Adam would be responsible for Eve, God gave the commandment to Adam as the one primarily accountable to see that the command was kept.
Again and again, Genesis points back to this: Men are the head of their wives. Men should be good heads. They should lead with passion and purity. They should show honor to their wives in all things as the weaker vessel. They should see to it that their household is one in which the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is revered and the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ are obeyed. He must do all these things with gentleness and love, but he must do them.
Next week: How does Genesis 1-3 appear in the teaching of Jesus and Paul?
In Christ Alone,
Pastor Charles
