Matthew Henry Commentary Genesis 3:9-13

"And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And Jehovah God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." — Genesis 3:9-13 (ASV)

Observe the startling question: Adam, where art thou? Those who by sin go astray from God should seriously consider where they are; they are far away from all good, in the midst of their enemies, in bondage to Satan, and on the direct path to utter ruin. This lost sheep would have wandered endlessly if the good Shepherd had not sought after him and told him that where he was straying, he could not be either happy or at ease.

If sinners will only consider where they are, they will not rest until they return to God. It is the common fault and folly of those who have done wrong, when questioned about it, to acknowledge only that which is so obvious that they cannot deny it. Like Adam, we have reason to be afraid of approaching God if we are not covered and clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Sin appears most plainly in the mirror of the commandment; therefore, God set it before Adam, and in it we should see our faces.

But instead of acknowledging the sin in its full extent and taking the shame upon themselves, Adam and Eve excuse the sin and place the shame and blame on others. There is a strange proneness in those who are tempted to say that they are tempted by God, as if our abuse of God's gifts would excuse our breaking God's laws. Those who are willing to take the pleasure and profit of sin are reluctant to take the blame and shame of it.

Learn from this that Satan's temptations are all deceptions; his arguments are all deceits; his allurements are all cheats; when he speaks pleasantly, do not believe him. It is by the deceitfulness of sin that the heart is hardened (Hebrews 3:13). But though Satan's subtlety may draw us into sin, it will not justify us in sin. Though he is the tempter, we are the sinners.

Do not let it lessen our sorrow for sin that we were deceived into it; but let it increase our self-indignation that we should allow ourselves to be deceived by a known cheat and a sworn enemy, who would destroy our souls.