Knock, Knock. Who’s There? Oldest Joke or Oldest Clue in the Universe?

Today I realized that the answer to one of my oldest questions may be locked inside one of the oldest jokes in the universe.

My oldest question?

Why would God give Adam and Eve a choice about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? He knew the consequences for all humans if they chose badly but still, He gave them a choice. Would they choose to obey Him or choose to disobey Him?

Knock, Knock. Who’s there?

God. That’s who.

He is on the other side and you can decide to open the door or leave it shut.

Why is this a big deal?

Because Satan will never knock. Knocking implies choice and Satan will never offer a choice.

Satan is a home invasion. Satan is a totalitarian regime. Satan is a dictator who doesn’t allow his people to vote or, if he does, rigs the process from start to finish.

Satan is a robber who won’t enter through the door. If Satan saw a doorknocker, he would steal it. Satan is stealth, disguise, incognito, and anonymous. Satan is an undercover agent of evil. He is the secret you can never, never tell.

Satan steals into the sheep pen and does not enter by the gate. Satan is a storm trooper. He is a card-carrying officer of the KGB, the KKK, the SS, the secret police and sometimes, the IRS. (only kidding on that one).

Knock, Knock. Who’s there.

It has to be God because only God knocks.

He’s the one who requests entry and waits for us to answer. Satan never offers a choice but God knocks.

In Song of Solomon, His knock is that of a lover requesting admittance to His lover’s chamber:
“ He
1 I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
Friends Eat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love.
She
2 I slept but my heart was awake.
Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my flawless one.
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.” Song of Solomon 5:1-2

He knocks again in the gospels.

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.” Luke 12 35-36

He tells us to knock, too.

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

In Acts, there is a humorous story about Peter knocking upon his return the night he is released from prison.

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. Acts 12:12-17

And Jesus is still knocking in Revelation:


“ 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. 21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Revelation 3:19-21

So, He is knocking on doors until we make it all the way home. He is not breaking down doors or barging in or taking anyone by force.

Knock, knock. Who’s there? It must be God because God knocks. And then He waits.


He knocks and we have a choice. We can ignore His knock and leave Him standing on the other side (like Rhoda did to poor Peter) or we can open the door and let Him into our lives, our hearts, our situations.

Wondering where God is right now?
Maybe He’s standing on the doorstep of your life, your circumstance, or your day, knocking.

Right from the beginning, right from the garden, He was giving us a message about how to tell when it’s Him or when it’s Satan.

Knock, knock. Who’s there? It must be God because God knocks.