Sacred Meals: A Biblical Theology

Meals are powerful moments of connection. There is something about sharing a meal that builds community. Because the Bible has many pages, the theme of sacred meals can easily be lost.

In the following article, we will look at the biblical theology of sacred meals in two sections: (1) the Old Testament and (2) the New Testament.

OLD TESTAMENT

Meals appear throughout the Old Testament. Occasionally meals are used to make covenants with people while other times they are used to celebrate covenants with God.

Sometimes meals were used to make a covenant with people. In Genesis 26:30, Isaac entered into a treaty with Abimelech with a feast.

"They said, 'We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.' So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace."

- Genesis 26:28-31 (ESV throughout)

Other times meals were used to celebrate covenants with God. This is clearly depicted in Scripture. For example, consider the following verse in Exodus 24: "[T]hey beheld God, and ate and drank" (Exodus 24:11b). One author puts it this way: "Feasts appear to have developed among the ancient Israelites as a means of celebrating their special relationship with Yahweh."[1]

Moreover, in addition to the regular weekly feasting on the Sabbath, they celebrated with three large annual festivals: (1) Passover; (2) the Feast of Weeks; and (3) the Feast of Tabernacles. These were times of celebration, gratitude, and reflecting on what Yahweh had promised and what he had done.

Another significant section of Scripture concerning the theme of sacred meals is found in Leviticus and it covers the laws concerning fellowship offerings (see Leviticus 3:1-17; 7:11-21). In Leviticus 3:9-11, the reader is given a glimpse into the food offering given to God.

"Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the LORD its fat; he shall remove the whole fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the LORD."

- Leviticus 3:9-11

Studying meals in Scripture also highlights God's kind provision. Scripture demonstrates times where God provided food (even supernaturally). Notably, God rained bread and quail from the sky (Exodus 16:4, 13); God used birds to provide bread and meat to Elijah, and he provided the brook to drink water (1 Kings 17:6); and the land of promise was a land of abundant provision—including food and drink (Deut. 8). Note this description in Deuteronomy:

"For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you."

- Deuteronomy 8:7-10

Indeed, the psalmist in Psalm 145 comments on the kind God who provided and continues to provide to every living thing: "The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing" (Psalm 145:15-16).

In sum, in the Old Testament, meals were used to enter agreements with people, celebrate covenants with God, celebrate deliverance by God, and remember the various promises and acts of God. Meals also demonstrated the kind provision of God.

NEW TESTAMENT

Similarly, in the New Testament, meals are a significant theme. Meals were used to celebrate the new covenant and fellowship with other believers.

Many of the feasts and festivals found in the Old Testament take on a new, deeper meaning in the New Testament:

• Passover and the NT significance:

  • OT: In the Old Testament, it specifically focuses on the final plague when God delivered his people by passing over the Israelites by punishing the Egyptians. In the story, blood from a lamb is significant since it was painted on the top and sides of their doorposts.

  • NT: Passover takes on an interesting shift in the New Testament. Jesus took the Passover meal and repurposed it, providing a deeper meaning. The Passover lamb actually pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God who died for our sins. The bread signifies his body, broken for us, and the wine graphically symbolizes his blood, spilled for us (Matthew 26:26-28). As the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology states, "It was this feast that Jesus chose to transform into a new institution to mark his coming substitutionary death for the nation. Just as the Passover blood functioned as a shield against Yahweh's wrath, so in the new age ('the last days') Jesus' blood would serve the same purpose."[2] Paul reported: "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Cor. 5:7b). (It is also worth noting that community meals that included the Lord's Supper took on the name "love feasts" [or agape feasts] in the early church as can be seen in Jude 1:12. Similarly, Paul described these meals in 1 Corinthians 11:17–34.)

• The Feast of Firstfruits and Pentecost (and the NT significance):

  • OT: Another major feast in the Old Testament came fifty days after Passover, and it signified the end of the cereal grain harvest. The people came to the feast with tithes, gifts, and gratitude.

  • NT: Likewise, Pentecost in the New Testament was fifty days after the Passover and signified the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which was promised by Jesus.

• The Feast of Trumpets and the NT significance:

  • OT: The Feast of Trumpets in the Old Testament was celebrated at the Jewish New Year. Trumpets were blown to mark many significant events in the Old Testament. However, the particular emphasis of this feast appears to have been marking the end of the agricultural year, reflecting on the farm produce from the year, and considering the sins that had been committed in the past year.[4]

  • NT: Likewise, some scholars draw connections to the blasting of trumpets to mark the end of one age and the beginning of another at the second coming of Jesus (Matt. 24:31; Rev. 8-9; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16).[3]

• The Feast of Tabernacles and the NT significance:

  • OT: The Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament took place after the Day of Atonement and it was designed to help the Israelites restore their relationship with Yahweh. It also helped them remember God’s deliverance from Egypt. For seven days, they lived in "flimsy structures built out of palm fronds and branches from leafy trees."[5] On the last day of the feast, a priest would take water from the pool of Siloam and, after a procession, he would pour it out on the altar.

  • NT: Some scholars draw a connection in the New Testament to Jesus' comments in John 7:37-39 about water flowing from within and connect it to the Holy Spirit.[6]

  
  

However, there is one meal at the end of Scripture which is the most anticipated and most impressive feast of all. Of course, I'm referring to the feast that all believers will have with Christ, which is commonly referred to as the marriage supper of the Lamb. Here is John's description of this feast we will enjoy with Jesus:

"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure'-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God.'"

- Revelation 19:6-9

In sum, in the New Testament, meals were used to celebrate and remember the new covenant. Particularly, in the Lord's Supper, believers remember Christ's body and blood poured out. Meals were also used for building community and celebrating significant moments. Finally, all believers look forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb with great anticipation where a meal will be shared with Christ.

End Notes:

[1] T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D. A. Carson, and Graeme Goldsworthy, eds., New Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Exploring the Unity & Diversity of Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2000), 750.

[2] Ibid., 751.

[3] Ibid., 752.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., 753.

[6] Ibid.