God's Generosity in the Garden

Is God stingy? Mark D. Roberts observes that many writers and preachers focus on the prohibition of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil instead of Genesis 2:16: "You may freely eat of each tree of the garden."

They miss the context:

We have already learned in Genesis 2 that God “made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” (2:9).... God is giving us all kinds of fruit from all kinds of trees, inviting us to enjoy it....

I’m struck here by this picture of God’s generosity. God did not give us just one kind of tree with one kind of fruit. God did not provide just what we need to survive. Rather, God created a great variety of trees with a great variety and quantity of fruit. If you’ll permit me to read into the text a bit, God created apple trees and orange trees, lemon trees and pineapple trees, cherry trees and plum trees, almond trees and coconut trees, peach trees and pear trees, pecan trees and olive trees. (If I have missed your favorite fruit tree, please add it to the list!) God made all of this variety and then said, not, “Eat just what you need” but “Freely eat” from all of this. “And as you enjoy the taste and benefit from the nutrition, enjoy the beauty of the tree as well, not to mention its shade.”

Were you taught (by implication) that God is stingy? That God just makes rules and bosses us around? That God is about what you "shall not" do? Roberts sees this passage as a corrective.

The balance of this passage weighs heavily on the side of provision and freedom, reflecting the gracious generosity of God. (Ironically, or perhaps providentially, God’s most generous gift will also come on a “tree,” a tree formed by Roman hands...)