Fear and Folly # 1

Fear and Folly # 1

"And Adam said: I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself!" (Gen. 3:10).

Sin is the source of both fear and folly.

Sin produces guilt; guilt fills with fear; and fear betrays into folly.

Every sinner therefore called a fool in God's Word. All this we see in our first father, Adam. He had loved God as his father, conversed familiarly with Him as his friend, and found his presence to be exquisitely delightful. He had no idea of being alarmed at the presence of God, or of being terrified by hearing His voice. He had rather listened to it with the deepest interest, had felt profound reverence, had glowed with holy love, and had been wrought up into a divine rapture while his Maker condescended to hold converse with him. Every thought of God had been pleasant, every view of his Creator had been delightful.

But now, he had new conceptions of God, and new and painful feelings sprang up towards him. He thought of his God as a Judge - a Judge who would pronounce sentence upon him, and deliver him over to the tormentors. Oh, fearful change! Oh, bitter fruit of sin!

He felt guilty, he had violated his Creator's law. he had merited his just wrath. He could only expect the fulfillment of the sentence, "You shall surely die!"

What was meant by death? He knew not. He had never seen death. He could not guess what was intended by it exactly. No doubt it was something terrible - very terrible.

He felt embarrassed. He knew not what to do, or which way to take. His minutes were hours. His life became irksome. Heavy sighs escaped him. Deep groans were heard in his soul.

He was alarmed. What was about to happen? What would be his doom? He felt that he was exposed to all that was contained in the divine threatening. But what was that?

He felt also that he was inexcusable. He had no cloak for his sin. He was blame-worthy. He deserved to suffer, and he saw no way of escape.

This is just how every sinner will feel, sooner or later: guilty, embarrassed, alarmed, exposed to the wrath of God, without excuse!

All this springing from his own guilt - his own sin!

He was AFRAID. What made him so?

He was naked. Not merely his body - but his soul was naked. His righteousness was gone. That righteousness had been to him as a robe, and as a diadem. It made him bold, fearless, confident. It was, like suitable clothing - his defense, his comfort, and his ornament. But it was gone! He had willfully cast it away - and he was naked. he felt defenseless, miserable, and degraded.

In this state, with such feelings - he must meet, face, and account for his conduct to his Maker. Oh, sorry plight to be in! Well may he feel afraid.

But so will every lost sinner. It is a fearful thing to appear naked before God. A naked soul, meeting the piercing glance of God's eye, which is as a flame of fire - must be most terrible! To feel exposed to the eye of God, ashamed to be seen - how painful!

Reader, you may have to appear naked before God! What if you should? If you die in your sins - you must!

Think of standing naked before the Heavenly multitudes! Think of standing naked before an assembled world! This is bad enough. But to stand naked before God's eye - what, oh, what will that be!

He heard his Maker in the garden, he dreaded his presence; and, therefore, instead of going forth to meet Him and converse with Him as before - he was filled with fear, and hid himself among the trees of the garden!

What FOLLY - to think of hiding himself from the omniscient eye of God, behind the foliage of the shrubs, or the trunk of a tree.

~James Smith~

(continued with # 2)