All right, let’s get started. In an earlier post, I talked about the importance of meals in the worship of the Old Testament. In fact, I don’t think that it’s an exaggeration to say that Old Testament worship was structured around meals, particularly the annual feasts which the Israelites celebrated.
Here’s a brief summary of what we see in the Old Testament:
- Covenants were confirmed with sacrifices, followed by meals
- Genesis 26:28-31; 31:22-55
- Exodus 24:3-11 (Here’s a post talking about this passage’s relationship with the Lord’s Supper)
- “Peace offerings” or “fellowship offerings” involved community meals
- Leviticus 3:1-17 and 7:11-38
- Deuteronomy 12:6-7; 27:7
- The psalms speak often of these events
- Psalm 50:14,23; 56:13; 107:22; 116:13-19
- These community sacrifices were held at important times in the nation’s history:
- Covenant renewal at Mt. Ebal (Deuteronomy 27:1-8; Joshua 8:30-35)
- Coronation of Saul (1 Samuel 11:15)
- Movement of the Ark to David’s tent (1 Chronicles 16:1-3),
- Dedication of the altar (2 Sam. 24:25; 1 Chronicles 21:27-22:1)
- Dedication of Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 7:1-10)
- Covenant renewal under Asa (2 Chronicles 15:8-15)
- Purification of Hezekiah’s temple (2 Chronicles 29:27-36)
- Hezekiah’s Passover (2 Chronicles 30:22-27)
- Dedication of Mannaseh’s altar (2 Chronicles 33:16)
- Consecration of the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12:35-43)
- Paul relates the Lord’s Supper to these sacrificial meals
- 1 Corinthians 10:16-21
Throughout the history of God’s people, their relationship with Him and their relationship with one another has been shaped by shared meals. It shouldn’t surprise us to find that these times of sharing would continue under the New Covenant. Note, though, that the emphasis is on community. These are not individualistic, sit-in-the-corner-and-close-your-eyes moments. These are community celebrations. We’ll see that the New Testament repeats that emphasis.