Jehovah in the story evidently asked the man and woman a question,
the answer to which he already knew, in order to give them an
opportunity to confess their wrong-doing. Parents and teachers
often seek to give the culprit the opportunity to confess his sin.
What is the attitude of the law towards the criminal who pleads
guilty? What is the reason for this attitude? A loving parent or
even the state might forgive an unrepentant sinner, but the effect
of the wrong-doing upon the sinner and upon others may still remain.
While the man and woman remained conscious of their wrong-doing,
though defiant, to abide in Jehovah's presence was for them
intolerable. Are toil and pain essential to the moral development
of sinners who refuse to confess their crime? Are toil and pain in
themselves curses or blessings to those who have done wrong? The
picture in Genesis 3 clearly implies that God's intention was not
that man should suffer but that he should enjoy perfect health and
happiness. Jehovah's preparation of the coats of skin for the man
and woman is convincing evidence that his love and care continued
unremittingly even for the wrong doers. Modern psychology is
making it clear that the effect of sin upon the unrepentant sinner
is to increase his inclination toward sinning. But when a man in
penitence for his sin has turned toward God and changed his
relation to his fellow men, God becomes to him a new Being with a
nearness and intimacy impossible before! May the Christian believe
that this new sense of nearness and love to God is met by a
corresponding feeling on God's part? In the light of Christian
experience is there not every reason to believe that God himself
also enters into a new and joyous relationship with the man? This
thought was evidently in the mind of Jesus when be declared that
there was joy in heaven over one sinner that repented.