Whom shall I fear - The First Frightened One in History

When was fear born?
When was the first time in human history for someone to feel fear?
It was in the Garden of Eden, when Adam was afraid of God, and said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:10)

Adam was not afraid of the darkness, when dusk came upon him for the first time. And he wasn’t afraid of the beasts of the field and the creeping things of the wilderness, but he subdued them and took dominion over them and gave them their names. Neither did he fear to be alone (before Eve was there with him), even though it was not good for him to be alone.

Indeed, Adam was not afraid of the darkness, or of the beasts, or of aloneness, but he was afraid when he fell and sinned. He tried to cover himself and his wife with fig leaves. And he hid from the face of the Lord his God, amidst the trees of the garden.

Of whom was Adam afraid? Why was Adam afraid?

Adam was afraid from the voice of God!

Although the voice of God brings rest to the weary and gives confidence to the frightened, and in the past, had given Adam peace and calmness, yet now, it frightened and terrified him.

When a person falls, he is afraid of God, and the voice of God brings terror to his innermost being and conscience.

Here we find three reasons for Adam’s fear:

1. He was afraid when he knew that he was naked and realized that he was guilty.
• That is, the feelings of guilt and a tormented conscience.

2. He was afraid because he was separated from God, and was no longer able to have fellowship with Him.
• That is, the feelings of rejection from God, aloneness, and weakness.

3. He was afraid, because he realized that the wages of sin is death, and he was doomed to death because of his fall.
• That is, he was waiting for the punishment of God and the fruit of sin.

These three reasons, Guilt before God, Rejection by God, and waiting for the Punishment of God, cause mankind to live in torment and fear, even if one were living in an incredible garden like the Garden of Eden!

Sin is the main cause of our fears: the result of its effects, and the expectation of its punishment.

The sure cure to all our fears is…
to be justified by faith, thereby we have peace with God.

Fear from God torments mankind, but the Fear of God fills the heart with peace and assurance.

Magdy Samuel