Peace at the Table
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. -Matthew 14: 22-24 KJV
A passage from the book "Food at The Time of The Bible" says the following:
"To this day in the Middle East, the 'breaking of bread' with ones former enemy is an important symbol of the end of hostilities. This is one interpretation of the attached to the famous words of Psalm 23:5: 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies'... "
It also goes on to say:
"Once a meal was shared, it was a sign that peace had come between the diners. To this day among the desert dwelling Bedouin (many of who's customs can be traced to the Bible), the serving of a meal within one's tent is synonymous with the extending of protection."
When my wife read this to me, automatically my mind seemed to focus on one very important meal in which God's elect are called to be partakers - and that meal is what we call Communion or the Lord's Supper. While this ordinance is significant for many reasons, I never really thought about it in the terms I have quoted above...
"To this day in the Middle East, the 'breaking of bread' with ones former enemy is an important symbol of the end of hostilities. This is one interpretation of the attached to the famous words of Psalm 23:5: 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies'... "
It also goes on to say:
"Once a meal was shared, it was a sign that peace had come between the diners. To this day among the desert dwelling Bedouin (many of who's customs can be traced to the Bible), the serving of a meal within one's tent is synonymous with the extending of protection."
When my wife read this to me, automatically my mind seemed to focus on one very important meal in which God's elect are called to be partakers - and that meal is what we call Communion or the Lord's Supper. While this ordinance is significant for many reasons, I never really thought about it in the terms I have quoted above...
Think about it for a second! What an amazing thought:
We who were at one time mortal enemies with God -and deserved nothing but His just condemnation- have now been reconciled to Him through Christ Jesus and now invited to partake in the Lord's Table!
We who were at one time mortal enemies with God -and deserved nothing but His just condemnation- have now been reconciled to Him through Christ Jesus and now invited to partake in the Lord's Table!
God has made a covenant of peace and protection with his redeemed children through the blood of His only begotten Son. Though we were once His enemies, we have now become co-heirs with Christ -never to be estranged again! The fact that we are allowed to dine at the Lord's Table is a sign of peace having been made with Him! What an awesome, merciful, and loving God we serve!
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. -Ephesians 2:13-16 ESV To God alone be the Glory!
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. -Ephesians 2:13-16 ESV To God alone be the Glory!
No comments:
Post a Comment