Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

The subject of our lesson today is one that is near and dear to all of our hearts: the subject of food!

While we all may have our own preferences concerning which foods we favor, all of us enjoy food.

I’ve never known a person that didn’t enjoy a good meal.

Deeper than our enjoyment of food, however, is the fact that all of us need food.

There is not a person alive who does not need the sustenance provided by food.

Thus, in a very real way, food is a great unifier.

Rich and poor, young and old, men and women - no matter how you break up and classify people, all of us must eat to survive.

Thus, since food is essential and can also be enjoyable, it can unify people in more ways than simply our shared reliance on it.

From ancient days, meals have been a means of getting together for various purposes.

We use meals to celebrate and to mourn.

Meals are used to celebrate birthdays, holidays, and special achievements.

Companies often provide meals at corporate gatherings; schools provide meals for students; and of course there is the familiar scene of the church pot-luck.

And while it has largely and sadly disappeared from contemporary American life, there are few greater pictures of family love and unity than the family sharing a meal together at the dinner table.

As with other blessings, we can abuse food.

We can be gluttonous.

We can covet the delicate meals of others.

We can greedily hold on to what we have without being willing to share with those in need.

But when we have the proper attitude towards food and its purpose, we can actually use it in powerful and helpful ways.

As I said, food and meals can be a great unifier.

For our sermon this morning, I want to take a brief look at the role food plays in the Bible.

We’ll see how food is present from the very beginning of Scripture until the very end.

Afterwards, we will pay special attention to the role meals played in the life and work of Jesus.

Lastly, we’ll review a few ways in which we can uses meals in order to grow spiritually and to serve others.

Food and Meals in the Old Testament

God’s Provision: When God created man, one of the primary elements of His provision was that of food.

After commanding Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and to have dominion over all the earth, He said

When God created man, one of the primary elements of His provision was that of food.

After commanding Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and to have dominion over all the earth, He said

Genesis 1:

The Garden of Eden is described as a place where God made trees which were “pleasant to the sight and good for food.”

Adam and Eve were permitted to eat the fruit of every tree save that of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Of course, this becomes the source of mankind’s first sin and rebellion.

While God had richly blessed man with the provision of food, Satan tempted man with food.

He used the forbidden fruit to entice Eve and Adam away from God’s clear commands.

Thus, food is at the very center of man’s beginning, and the beginning of man’s downfall in sin.

Other Meals in Genesis: After the fall, we find meals throughout the Genesis story, and in a variety of contexts.

In , when Abraham is returning from rescuing Lot and the people of Sodom, he is met by a man named Melchizedek, who is described as the King of Salem and priest of God Most High.

Abraham would give a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek, but we’re told that Melchizedek brought out “bread and wine” and blessed Abraham.

Whether this meal was merely a form of hospitality or a sacred meal of some type is not spelled out, but it was significant enough to be recorded in Scripture.

One of the last and perhaps most tender meal scenes in Genesis is the meal in which Joseph reveals himself to his brethren in Egypt.

The meal was not a mere form of hospitality, but a powerful scene of reunion and forgiveness.

One of the last and perhaps most tender meal scenes in Genesis is the meal in which Joseph reveals himself to his brethren in Egypt.

The meal was not a mere form of hospitality, but a powerful scene of reunion and forgiveness.

Both scenes in which Jacob takes his brother’s birthright involve food.

First, he withholds food from his starving brother and negotiates for Esau’s birthright.

Later, he tricks his father by not only dressing in a way to fool Isaac, but also by having a special meal prepared for Isaac that was typically a meal Esau prepared for his father, thus tricking Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing instead of Esau.

One of the last and perhaps most tender meal scenes in Genesis is the meal in which Joseph reveals himself to his brethren in Egypt.

The meal was not a mere form of hospitality, but a powerful scene of reunion and forgiveness.

The Great Hebrew Feast: One of the greatest and most meaningful meals in the Bible finds its beginnings in .

Before the final plague on Egypt, Moses delivered God’s will to the people concerning a meal that would become a great and central feast of the Jewish religion - the Passover.

It is interesting that God chose a meal to symbolize His provision for and deliverance of His people.

When the Law was later given, the Passover was to become an annual celebration - a perpetual reminder of God’s deliverance and mercy on the Hebrew people.

The remembrance wasn’t just a matter of retelling a story though.

Every year the people were to reenact the scene and enjoy the passover meal in their homes.

Passover was not the only feast to be found on the religious calendar of the Jews however.

There were other feasts throughout the year that brought the people together to worship God and remember and praise His goodness.

Again, isn’t it interesting that God used such a fundamental concept as meals to give His people a method of coming together and remembering Him?

Meals among the Kings: There are many meals mentioned in the times of the kings, and we don’t have time to discuss them all.

I will call our attention to one great story - that of David and Mephibosheth.

In David wanted to find a survivor among the house of Saul, not for vengeance but to show kindness for the sake of his great friend Jonathan.

There was one son of Jonathan, a man named Mephibosheth who was a cripple.

David found the man out, and brought him into his own home to take care of him.

The end of that story says, “So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table.”

To fully represent David’s kindness, provision, and mercy, the greatest example was that of Mephibosheth eating at the king’s table.

And how great an honor that truly is.

Enemies don’t eat at the king’s table.

Only the closest and dearest to the king get to eat at his table.

Keep that though in mind as we consider other examples in a moment.

The Psalms: Throughout the Psalms, there are times when food is used once again to show God’s provision for His people.

Perhaps the clearest example is , “You prepare a table before me....My cup overflows....I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

The Prophets: Throughout the prophets there are various ways in which food and meals are used, but we will mention just one prominent and powerful image.

Multiple times there are references to the Messianic age and the deliverance the Messiah would provide, and the language used is that of a great feast or banquet.

Remember, to dine at the King’s table is a great honor.

The prophets spoke of a time when not just a few, but all of God’s children would dine at the table of the King.

What a promise!

Just a couple examples from Isaiah:

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

(Lk 14:12–14).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Throughout the prophets there are various ways in which food and meals are used, but we will mention just one prominent and powerful usage.

Multiple times there are references to the Messianic age and the deliverance the Messiah would provide, and the language used is that of a great feast or banquet.

Remember, to dine at the King’s table is a great honor.

The prophets spoke of a time when not just a few, but all of God’s children would dine at the table of the King.

What a promise!

Just a couple examples from Isaiah:

Meals play various roles in the Old Testament, but often they remind us of God’s provision.

They also exemplify hospitality, closeness, friendship, and unity.

Table fellowship is an intimate thing.

It is a time to draw together; it is a time to learn from one another; it is a time to serve one another; and most of all it is a time for us to remember and to remind one another of God’s love, mercy, provision, and deliverance.

Food and Meals in the New Testament

To review food in the New Testament, we must be brief if we are going to spend special time on Jesus’ meals.

But consider the following:

The Lord’s Supper: Just as God used a meal as a central point of worship in the Old Testament, so he uses a meal as a central point of worship under the New Covenant.

Of all the ways God could have mandated for Christians to remember Christ’s sacrifice, He gave us a meal.

A simple meal, and yet a feast.

But why a meal?

Perhaps because as a meal, it draws us together.

It is a memorial that we each partake of as individuals, but a memorial that cannot be partaken of alone.

It mandates and requires closeness; togetherness, unity, and fellowship.