God’s Word for You
Genesis 3:8 Walking (and scurrying)
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, September 13, 2026
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking here and there 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.
“The ‘cool’ of the day.” The word here is ruah, which can mean spirit (Genesis 1:2) or breeze. Here it is the welcome breeze, probably the one that comes in the late afternoon or evening as the sun sets. But their fear about this sound in the breeze exposes another one of the evils that illustrated the fall. First, they noticed right away that they were naked and this made them feel shame. Next, they tried to cover their nakedness with the aprons or skirts that they wore, which was a kind of permanent confession of guilt. Now they tried to hide themselves from God. Why? Just because they heard him walking. It reminds me of the urgent whisper of my brother when we had too many toys scattered around the upstairs hallway: “Here comes dad!” We weren’t afraid of him, but the mere sound of his foot on the stairs when we knew he would not be happy with what we were doing made us panic. In Leviticus, the Lord promises that if his people rebel against him in sin and unbelief, he will take away their blessing, and make them terrified of everything. “The sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them” (Leviticus 26:36).
This shouldn’t surprise us. What makes us afraid today? Isn’t it strange sounds in the night, whether we are out walking on a lonely road, or even tucked snugly into our beds? The creak of a floorboard, a branch scraping against a window pane, a branch being stepped on by an unseen creature in the dark (such as a deer or a bunny) makes us think that wolves or worse are after us. But Adam and Eve were not frightened by the rustle of leaves in the dark, but in broad daylight. They were truly terrified of the coming of the Lord! The “sound” of his coming is not an anthropomorphism. Rather, we should call the presence of God moving in the garden a theophany, a rare and wonderful appearance of God in order for him to come and communicate directly with his people, such as when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:4; Acts 7:30-31).
The verb for “walking” is a participle, which suggests that this was not unusual; that God was accustomed to walking in the garden of his creation. The “sound” of this was something that they had heard before, so that they recognized what was happening.
There is another study in Hebrew verbs here that will reveal God’s holy truth. There are two hithpael verbs. This stem or form of the verb has a reciprocal, intensive and reflexive force. First, there is the hithpael participle of God’s walking. This is what he usually did, walking here and there in the cool breeze of the evening.
The second verb is a hithpael imperfect, showing the beginning of or the attempt at an action. They scurried here and there like terrified mice, or the way that my kittens will suddenly explode in a sudden burst of energy on account of an unexpected noise inside or outside the house. This showed their fear, just as God warns about in the Leviticus passage about the windblown leaf.
Their attempt to hide from God led them “among” the trees. Notice that this is not the word “under” (which would have been tachat, as in Job 40:21) or “in” (which would be beh, Joshua 2:6), but “among” (which is tavech). They weren’t even trying hard to hide, just standing or crouching next to this tree or that tree. Were they hoping God wouldn’t notice two trembling people in his forest next to stationary tree trunks?
Professor Jeske writes: “Here is the beginning of the opinio legis, man’s vain thought of somehow rescuing and saving himself from God’s just punishment. This ‘opinion of the law’ has remained indelibly ingrained in natural man ever since.” As our Confession declares: “In opposition to the judgment of God, [our opponents] set a trust in their own works, for they say that they earn grace and eternal life by merit. Such a trust is simply wicked and vain. In this life we cannot satisfy the law, because our unspiritual nature continually brings forth evil desires” (Apology of the Augsburg Confession).
The more deeply we study this verse and the other verses in the account of the fall, the more deeply each Christian will feel guilt over every single sin. For besides the original sin we inherit from Adam and Eve, our ancient grandparents, we, too, sin just as they did, reaching for what God forbids while our faith shrinks back, and we have done what is wicked, what is forbidden, what is evil.
This is what we admit in our prayers and confess deeply in our hearts. As we say in our liturgy, “I have done what is evil, and failed to do what is good.” But we go on: “Trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ I pray, ‘Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.’”
And God’s grace is ours, not because of our sincerity (even though we strive to be sincere). It is not because of our piety (even though we want to do what he loves us to do). It is not because of our good works or merits (even if we have done some, even the same day). God is gracious on account of Christ’s love and sacrifice.
And what does God add, for our comfort? When God led his people to the Promised Land, he told them, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people” (Leviticus 26:12). Here is that same hithpael verb for “walk,” but in God’s promise to be with us and to protect us—forgiven sinners that we are.
Thank the Lord with your prayers, your words, and your life. Know that he loves you. This is most certainly true.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.