EATING WITH GOD
As we see this episode in Abraham and Sarah’s lives, we realise this is the first time in the unfolding biblical narrative that God is recorded as having a meal with a human being. There would be appearances to others later, before the coming of the Christ who spent much of His ministry in table-talk (usually with the ‘wrong’ people), but those meals always turned into sacrifices and moments of worship. Here, a feast is shared.
God didn’t just want to bless Abraham and Sarah with a son, a land, and an amazing place in history. He also wanted them to experience friendship with Him. Some balk at the idea of us being called ‘friends of God,’ but Scripture insists it was wonderfully true of Abraham – three times he is described as God’s friend (James 2:23; cf. 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8), and we are now not just servants of God, but friends too.
This pattern of a meal shared before a major act of God would be repeated later, before the Exodus, and also, of course, before the cross. The shared meal also came before a time of extreme difficulty. Abraham was about to face crisis with Lot’s family and the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah; 400 years later, the Israelites would face not only the deliverance but the terror and trauma of escaping Egypt in the Exodus; and Jesus and His friends would face the horrors of His trial and the cross. Sometimes God does something special to prepare us for a challenging time.
Let’s not just seek blessing, but the blesser Himself. A covenant meal has been organised for us too. Breaking bread – communion – is more than a formality. It’s a sign of intimacy, friendship, forgiveness and commitment. Let’s share a meal with God soon.