God Seeks Adam's Repentance, Not His Conviction

"When a person has on the skin of his flesh, etc." (Leviticus 13:2). This is what Scripture says: "For You are not a God who delights in wickedness" (Psalms 5:5) — to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not delight in condemning any creature, as it is said, "For I do not delight in the death of the one who dies" (Ezekiel 18:32). And in what does He delight? In vindicating His creatures, [as it is said, "The Lord delighted for the sake of His righteousness, etc." (Isaiah 42:21) — for the sake of vindicating His creatures], and not in condemning them. And so you find with the first Adam: when He created him, He set him in the Garden of Eden and commanded him and said to him, "Eat this, and from this you shall not eat, for on the day you eat from it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). He transgressed, and He brought a sentence upon him. The Sabbath came and reprieved him. He began to converse with him about whether he would repent, as it is said, "And the Lord God called to the man" (Genesis 3:9). "The Lord" means nothing but the attribute of mercy, as it is said, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious" (Exodus 34:6). He brought the attribute of mercy before the attribute of justice. Thus, "For You are not a God who delights in wickedness" — for He does not delight in condemning any creature. He began to converse: "Who told you, etc." (Genesis 3:11), "And the man said, The woman, etc." (Genesis 3:12). He left the man and began to converse with the woman, as it is said, "And the Lord God said to the woman, etc." (Genesis 3:13). But when He came to the serpent, He did not converse with him; rather, immediately He gave him a sentence, as it is said, "And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, etc.," "And I will put enmity, etc." (Genesis 3:14-15). He returned to the woman and said to her, "I will greatly multiply your pain and your conception" (Genesis 3:16). And when He returned to the man, He did not condemn him, but hinted to him to repent. From where? Said Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Levi, that He said to him, "By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return" (Genesis 3:19). "Return" means nothing but an expression of repentance, as it is said, "Return, O Israel" (Hosea 14:2). Since he did not repent, He drove him out of the Garden of Eden, as it is said, ["And He drove out the man" (Genesis 3:24). Thus,] "For You are not a God who delights in wickedness." What is the meaning of "evil shall not abide with You" (Psalms 5:5)? Said Rabbi Tanchuma bar Hanilai in the name of Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Only angels of peace and angels of mercy stand before the Holy One, blessed be He, but the angels of wrath are far from Him, as it is said, "They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the Lord and the weapons of His wrath, to destroy all the earth" (Isaiah 13:5). [Another interpretation:] "evil shall not abide with You" — said Rabbi Yohanan: You are not drawn after evil, and evil is not drawn after you, and it does not dwell beside you.