Cameroon Bible Institute

Lesson 2: Paradise Lost and Found
In Genesis 2:4-3:24, Moses wrote about Adam and Eve losing paradise to encourage Israel to retrace and reverse their steps that Adam and Eve took.Tge narrative goes in various stages:
The first stage of this narrative talks of the privilege that Adam had to live in the garden and the commission he had to work it. 
In the second stage- humanity’s  enhanced condition, God identified a problem- he needed a companion and this introduced another creation- woman.
In the third step of narrative in Gen 3:1-21- humanity’s condition cursed, where they are tempted, fall into temptation and cursed.
In the fourth stage – humanity out of the garden God has to look for a way to keep man from eating from the tree of life and death.
As we study we see that Gen 2:4-17 and Genesis 3:22-24 contrast each other in three ways-: Adam enjoying the blessings and comfort of the garden and at the end he’s cursed; in the second place we see a presentation of a tree of life and death to g and a tree of knowledge but towards the middle of the narrative  the focus is on tgr tree of knowledge only because that alone could help man distinguish between sin and goodness.At the end, God focuses on the tree of life which limited free access to eternity.
A third contrast between the beginning and the end of our narratives is in humanity’s  in which man lost the comfort of the garden and was banished. These three contrast make up the opening and closing sections of the narratives.
The middle   introduced a harmonious relationship  with God which ends with disagreement,  the second presents  the human  relationship between Adam and Eve and ends with ZGod creating strife between them.At the third level evil is absent at the beginning  but at the third level they had succumbed to sin.
This analysis helps us to understand that: Moses wrote his primeval history to give his people practical instructions about current religious and social programs like leaving Egypt to Canaan.this he did in connectivity from the garden of Eden, to requirement of loyalty from Adam and Eve and his depiction of the curse placed on Adam abd Eve. 
The new Testament speaks of the salvation  that Christ brings to the world in his earthly ministry . In the inauguration of the kingdom, Christ retraced and reversed what Adam and Eve had done in the garden.Chrust fulfilled God’s command where Adam abd Eve failed as affirmed by apostle Paul in Romans 5:14..Mathew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13,
There’s continuation in Paul’s writing in 2 Corinthians 11:3, and James 1:12,15.
There’s consummation in Romans 16:20 and Revelation 2:7.
We are called to retrace our steps from sin and reverse the curse we inherited from Adam and Eve.