Who Told You?

Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
Genesis 3:9-11

Who told Adam he was naked?

Vain and ungodly commentators have suggested God really did not know how Adam learned this. They speculate that the Hebrews had not "evolved" their concept of God to the point where their idea of God knew everything.

This depiction of God is pragmatic for such commentators who do not wish for any story of God to be told where He knows the darkness going on inside their hearts.

Many devout commentators have suggested this question had a particular motive. They claim God graciously wanted to give Adam a chance to confess his sin. I can only imagine how that would have turned out, but the Bible tells us Adam only used this as an opportunity to address the wrongs of other people.

Perhaps there is another element in this question.

Who told you that you were naked?

God's question to Adam implies this was something Adam could only know if he was told. Are there some things people do not need to be told? Let me give an example.

I like milkshakes. How much do I like milkshakes? I like milkshakes SO MUCH that no one has to tell me I like milkshakes.

I like spending time with my wife. How much do I like spending time with my wife? I can at least say no one has to let me know about this favorite activity of mine.

Many things can be speculated about Adam's nakedness ... but most readers are already very clear that Adam was oblivious about his nakedness and then found out about it at some point because something external revealed it to him.

Which is another way of saying he was not very fond of knowing he was naked. This is why he was embarrassed.

If someone "had" to tell me I like watching science fiction movies, you could understand that as a way of speaking between the lines that my affection for science fiction movies was in question.

Adam was afraid because of his nakedness.

Just as Adam made a claim to God about nakedness, Jesus heard a number of claims from other people.

Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?"
John 18:34

There is a big difference between the information in phone books and our knowledge of the things we love.

When a person knows something through love, they take a leap into it. Their knowledge has an aspect of ownership to it, because they have chosen it.

When God asks people how they know things, it's not because He is too tired to go browsing an encyclopedia. He wants to find out what is really in us, and how serious we are in the things we claim to hold dear.

This is why Christ asked Peter if he loved him. This is why Christ asked the disciples who they said he was. This is why Jesus asked people what they wanted him to do for them.

These are all questions Christ asks of us. How seriously do we love him? Who do we say he is to us? What do we want Jesus to do for us? Do we want to make him our Messiah?

We might not get asked these questions in words or out loud. The challenges we face in life ask these things of us every day. Jesus does not answer for us, and no one else can tell us how to respond. How will you respond to these questions in your life today?