Contact tracing technology in the forms of physical monitoring devices or software applications are now being used in some countries during this COVID-19 pandemic period to track and trace individuals—from government officials to private citizens—of their whereabouts.

There are rational objectives for its usage. First, in case a person is tested positive for the disease, it can trace where he has been and whom he has had come in contact with in recent days. Second, it can locate where a person is in real time in order to determine if he is abiding by government stay-at-home restrictions. For both purposes, the goal is to get an answer to the question: “where are you?”

Interestingly, the first time this age-old question was asked in human history is recorded in the Bible by God Himself to our ancestors, Adam and Eve. God was seeking for the couple when He asked, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9). This question found man in a state of hiding himself from God (v. 8). Why were they hiding from God?

God’s Purpose in Creating Man

In God’s creation of the earth and everything in it, man was distinctly different from other creatures which were created according to their kinds (Gen. 1:25). He created man according to God’s kind (Acts 17:28), for man was created according to God’s own image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-27). God had a specific purpose for doing this; He wanted man to be like Him and to be able to represent Him (v. 28).

Having been created according to God’s image and likeness, man was like God inwardly and outwardly. Inwardly, man has God’s image, which is the expression of the inward essence of God’s divine attributes. Outwardly, man has God’s likeness, which is God’s form, the expression of the essence and nature of God’s person. In short, up until then, man was a duplication of God, except that he did not have the life of God.

In order to fill this lack, God brought man before the tree of life (Gen. 2:9), which signifies the eternal life of God, so that by eating of the tree of life, man shall, in God’s own words, live forever (Gen. 3:22).

Man’s Fall and His Hiding from God

Aside from bringing man before the tree of life for man to eat of it and receive His life, God sternly warned him not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was also in the middle of the garden right beside the tree of life (Gen. 2:9; 3:3), for in the day that man eats of it he would surely die (2:17).

A tragic story soon unfolded. Instead of eating of the tree of life to receive God’s life into him, man was deceived by Satan, who came in the form of a serpent, and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man had disobeyed God and, as a consequence, Satan’s life, along with its element of sin, entered into man. Alas, man sinned against God! The shame and guilt resulting from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil caused the first couple to hide from the presence of God when they heard the sound of Jehovah walking about in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8).

Man Continuing to Hide from God

Fast forward to 6,000 years later in this generation, history is still repeating itself. Men are still hiding from God! The difference is that in our times we are hiding from God not merely out of guilt and shame of having sinned, but because we have been enjoying and are even hooked to the evil tree that caused our ancestor to be cast out of the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:23-24), which is worse. Ignorant of what the eternal purpose of God is, and evading God in our lives and living, we have been “hiding” from the presence of God by reveling in all sorts of worldly desires like food, clothing, recreation, movies, travel, and, most of all, money!

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to its onslaught, humanity has taken a severe beating. All regular activities and our usual “hideouts” are shuttered. God has closed down restaurants, coffee shops, bars, shopping malls, movie theaters, opera houses, sports arenas, tourist spots, fitness gyms, offices, convention centers, cruise ships, the stock market, and every other place of social convergence. Gatherings such as ceremonies, festivals, celebrations, parties, and even “church-going” have been prohibited. We are now all strictly locked down in the confines of our own homes.

God’s Purpose in “Locking Down” Man

We may think that our staying home is all about abiding by the government directives on community quarantine and about social distancing to stop any further spread of the coronavirus. But our God whose ways are higher than our ways, and whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa. 55:9), has another idea. In fact, it is by His sovereign, permissive will that we are forced to be locked down at home and “hide for a short moment until the indignation has passed” (Isa. 26:20). He wants us to “hide” in our home instead of “hiding” in our usual “hideouts” so that we can have a quiet time of soul searching. He wants us to reflect on the life we used to have before the lockdown—a life on the run and hiding from God!

Isaiah 26:21 continues by saying that He is coming forth from His place. While we are locked down and socially inactive, He is actively coming to this sinful world, looking for lost souls like us and asking, “Where are you?” the same way that He asked Adam and Eve when they hid from God behind the trees. In many instances in our lives He had been speaking to us, but instead of heeding His word, we chose to hide ourselves behind the “trees”—our “hideouts”, and neglected Him. We can run, but we cannot truly hide from God (Jer. 23:24; Heb. 4:13).

At this juncture when the whole world has become paralyzed, when all that man trusted in are of no avail, and you have nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide, God is coming to you to remind you of His promise, “I Myself, even I, will search for My sheep and seek them out” (Ezek. 34:11). The Lord Jesus Himself is coming to you “to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10).

Prayer to Receive the Lord

Dear friends, the gracious God has found you today as you read this tract. His plans for you are good, as He intends to give you a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11). Stop hiding from Him. Come out to meet Him and speak to Him with this prayer:

“Lord Jesus. Please forgive me of my sins. Forgive me for hiding myself from You. I confess that I have neglected You and have been preoccupied by the things that You have blessed me with. Lord, thank You for coming to seek after me to save me. I open myself to You now for Your salvation work. Do save me and recover me back to You. Thank You, Lord Jesus. In Your name I pray. Amen.”