“The whole Bible grows from the seeds planted in Genesis 1-3. The patterns, persons, and events of the early chapters of the Bible set the trajectory for the whole story. Every man is a variation on Adam, every woman a daughter of Eve, every environment an Eden or a ruined Eden, a wilderness. To read the Bible well, we have to have the first chapters firmly in our minds” (On Earth As In Heaven by Peter Leithart, 2022, p153).
I love this. This opens up the whole Bible. For every passage you can ask yourself, “Is the man in this passage a good Adam or a bad Adam? Is the woman a good Eve or a bad Eve? Is the environment a good Eden or a bad Eden?”
The themes of Genesis 1-3 are told over and over throughout Scripture. Until they finally culminate in Jesus as the new Adam, the Church and the new Eve, and the Kingdom of God as the new Eden.
So how do you read the Bible? You start by making sure that you know Genesis 1-3 inside and out. And then you look for Adams, Eves, and Edens everywhere else.
What do you think?
Joseph