Adam and Eve hid because sin had broken their fellowship with God, and their fig-leaf covering could not make them fit to meet their righteous Creator.
When Adam and Eve heard the Lord in the garden, their fig leaves did not give them confidence. Les Feldick says the fig leaves fell into nothing and they were in no shape to meet God, so they ran and hid. Their hiding reveals the Adamic nature: people love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. God had to make the first move and call out, 'Adam, where art thou?'
Genesis 3:8 — This verse directly records the act of hiding that the question asks about.
Genesis 3:10 — Adam himself states that he hid because he was afraid and naked.
Genesis 3:7 says, "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Then verse 8 says, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." In verse 10 Adam explains, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." The Lord then called to Adam and said, "Where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). Later, the Lord did what Adam and Eve could not do: "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21).
Les explains that Adam and Eve's fig leaves were a human endeavor, not God's idea. When they heard the Lord coming down the path, those fig leaves just sort of fell into nothing, and even with their covering they were in no shape to meet their righteous Creator. So they ran and hid. God did not give up and go back to heaven; He found them and called out, 'Adam, where art thou?' and restored them. Les draws a timeless principle from this: mankind will never, of his own volition, go looking for God. It is contrary to our makeup. God has to make the first move. He connects this to John 3:19 — men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil — and calls it the Adamic nature first seen in the garden.
Scripture says the fig leaves only covered their physical nakedness (Genesis 3:7). Les makes the point that those fig leaves 'just sort of fell into nothing' when they heard the Lord coming down the path. They had done a human work to address an outward problem, but their spiritual condition before a holy God was unchanged. Les defines this kind of human effort as religion — man's attempt to reach and merit favor with God. He ties their hiding to John 3:19: men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
Les says plainly that even with fig leaves, Adam and Eve were in no shape to meet their righteous Creator. Their sin had broken the relationship, and a covering made by their own hands didn't change that. So when they heard the Lord, they ran and hid. Les draws a timeless principle from this: mankind will never, of his own volition, go looking for God; God has to make the first move.
The Lord called to Adam, 'Where art thou?' (Genesis 3:9). Les points out that God did not give up and go back to heaven; He found them and restored them. Then God Himself killed animals and made coats of skins to cover their physical nakedness, and the final phrase 'and clothed them' points to a spiritual restoration back into relationship with the Creator. This restoration came by the shedding of blood, the only way God can receive lost persons.
Religion Defined
Les defines religion as man's attempt to reach and merit favor with God, which explains why the fig-leaf covering was a failed human effort.
Fig Leaves and Hiding
Les says the fig leaves fell into nothing when Adam and Eve heard the Lord coming; even with their covering they were in no shape to meet their righteous Creator, so they ran and hid — and God found and restored them.
God's Coats of Skins
Les emphasizes that God, not Adam and Eve, killed animals and made coats of skins; this was God's provision, and the words 'and clothed them' go beyond physical clothing.
The Spiritual Clothing
Les clarifies that the last phrase 'and He clothed them' points to spiritual clothing, not just the physical skins.
God Must Make the First Move
Les uses Adam and Eve hiding to show that mankind will never go looking for God on his own; God has to make the first move.
Pre-Fall Intimacy
Before sin, Adam and Eve were comfortable naked in God's presence and enjoyed fellowship with their Creator, providing the contrast to their later hiding.
Loving Darkness Rather Than Light
Les ties Adam and Eve's flight to John 3:19 — men love darkness because their deeds are evil — and calls it the Adamic nature to run from God.
Blood-Bought Restoration
Les says God killed sacrificial animals because the only way to restore fallen sinners is by the shedding of blood, and this is behind the coats of skins.
Genesis 3:7: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Shows what Adam and Eve did to cover themselves — a human response to their newly realized nakedness.
Genesis 3:8: And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Records their hiding despite the fig-leaf covering.
Genesis 3:9: And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Shows God seeking Adam and asking where he was.
Genesis 3:10: And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Adam explains his fear and hiding because of his nakedness.
Genesis 3:21: Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
God replaces human fig leaves with coats of skins, pointing to His own provision.
John 3:19: And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Jesus' words that Les uses to explain the Adamic nature of loving darkness rather than light.
John 3:20: For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Adds the reason — evil deeds make people hate the light and avoid being reproved.
No. The fig leaves only covered their physical nakedness. Their relationship with God remained broken, which is why they hid when they heard the Lord in the garden. Les says even with their fig leaves they were in no shape to meet their righteous Creator.
Adam's nakedness exposed his shame before a holy God. The fig leaves did not remove that fear. Les explains that human effort can't restore a broken relationship, so Adam hid when God called.
God did not give up or return to heaven. He found them and called to Adam, 'Where art thou?' Les points out that God then restored them and later made coats of skins — a provision that involved the shedding of blood.
Yes. Les says mankind will never, of his own volition, go looking for God. It is contrary to our makeup, and God has to make the first move. He sees this pattern first demonstrated when Adam and Eve hid and God came looking for them.
Watch the Teaching: The Moment Death Entered the World: Genesis 3 & Romans 5 Explained