Today is one of those ultra-rare Saturdays where my entire family is home. I don’t know exactly what the day will hold but I can tell you for sure, we’ll be eating together at least twice. The family table is a core value that Rob and I hold dear. I was reading along in Exodus this morning when I discovered that God feels similarly about family meals

“And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!” (Exodus‬ ‭24:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

I didn’t expect to find this type of communion in the Old Testament, did you? Eating seems to be important to God. He has been communing with humanity for thousands of years. I even wonder if His long walks with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day weren’t actually after supper? As we explore this thought, we realize that meals with God mark our way through both testaments.

Abraham ate with Melchizedek. The Israelites held the first Passover and then were sustained in the desert by manna and quail. God personally fed the exhausted prophet Elijah after his ugly brush with Jezebel. Moses and Aaron and seventy-two elders met God for a mountaintop picnic. Jesus spent His earthly ministry dining with prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners and most famously, His last supper with twelve doubting disciples. He told us to remember Him every time we eat and drink, while He promised to abstain from wine until we all sit at the table together again. Then the mysterious book of Revelation promises it; the greatest meal that may very well go on forever, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

So much of our faith is about sitting at the table together; with God and with each other. There is something holy and binding that happens as we break bread together. Tables are a place of connection, brokenness and blessing.

Today we will each come to a table or two. May we remember just how sacred that space is, and how precious the souls are that gather there with us. May we remember Christ’s sacrifice that holds our space at a still grander table. And may we honor God and man as we partake together.

“They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity —” (Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭2:46‬ ‭NLT‬‬)