GOD WANTS YOU TO EAT || BIC Abeiku Okai
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TOPIC: God Wants You to Eat.
TEXT: Gen. 1:29; 2:16
INTRO
Eating is a very important element in the Bible that has been taken for granted and even misjudged because we assume spirituality is best when we fast instead of eating. But if we know what eating really is and means then we will never assume eating is unspiritual.
SOME ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT EATING IN THE BIBLE.
1. After creating man God said,
"And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food." (Gen. 1:29).
God did not only give man authority but food to eat right from the beginning.
2. The first command God gave man was not to only eat but more importantly to eat FREELY;
"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat." (Gen. 2:16)
And I dare to say he never commanded man to fast. Fasting was never ordained from the beginning but eating was.
3. Man fell by eating and this cannot be for nothing. I hope I can freely say just as man fell by eating man also rises by eating (This is metaphorical so follow keenly).
"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." (Gen. 3:6)
4. Isaac transferred his blessing to Jacob after he ate. Thus it took eating for the first transfer of blessing to happen.
"He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank." (Gen. 27:25)
5. The search for food to eat and to survive sent Israel to Egypt.
"When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.” (Gen. 42:1-2)
6. Interpreting dreams relating to eating brought Joseph out of prison and he became a prime minister.
"And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke...Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh." (Genesis 41:4;14)
7. Moses performed nine powerful miracles in Egypt but none could change the heart of Pharaoh to let Israel go until the tenth, which involved eating. The very night Israel ate, the house of Pharaoh faced the worse, and Israel had to be released.
"Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it... And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover." (Exodus 12:8,14)
8. God gave Israel manna to eat in the Wilderness. He gave them double to eat on the Sabbath day.
"So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat." (Exodus 16:15)
9. Saul ate with the prophet Samuel before he was anointed.
"So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. (1st Sam. 9:24)
10. Nehemiah commanded the people to not mourn and weep (fast) but to go and eat and drink, and also send some to others because the day was a holy day.
"Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
11. One of David's most important phrases of victory over his enemy has to do with eating;
"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over." (Psalm 23:5)
I love the sequence. The table, which symbolises eating, comes before the anointing of the head with oil. Does it sound like eating precludes anointing?
12. Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Can you imagine that the Messiah's babyscot was a utensil for eating?
"And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger." (Luke 2:16)
13. The first miracle of Jesus was at a wedding. It involved turning water into wine. Where there is enough and better drink to drink, there is good food to eat as well. Interestingly, their food didn't finish but the wine. John 2
14. Jesus fasted for forty days but afterward, we never heard of him fasting. Jesus himself agreed that he spent a good deal of time eating and drinking, such that his critics used it against him;
"The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’" (Luke 7:34)
15. Jesus fed multitudes with bread and fishes, remember the five thousand men... John 6
16. Jesus told his disciples to eat when they go for evangelism.
"Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you." (Luke 10:8)
It was after he commanded them on eating that he commanded them to heal the sick and announce the Kingdom. Read verse 9.
17. Jesus said a lot of his parables regarding the Kingdom in relation to food: the farmer, seed, wheat, party, etc.
18. When the prodigal son returned home his father made food to be prepared for him, killing the fattest calf.
"And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry." (Luke 15:23)
Are you aware one of the consequences of the prodigal's son's error was that he was cut from the source of eating and he began to starve? He even remembered the food in his father's house, not fasting or starving.
19. Before Jesus was betrayed he did not only eat with the disciples but also instituted the communion and instructed that he must be remembered by eating. Thus, anytime we eat the communion we remember the Lord.
20. After Jesus rose from the dead he ate with the disciples.
"Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish." (John 21:12-13)
21. When the church was born and began to grow, men had to be chosen to serve food. And the criteria for people to serve food in the church included the following:
"Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." (Acts 6:3).
Can you imagine? Food distribution requirements were: full of the Holy Spirit and also full of Wisdom.
22. The early church spent a lot of time eating and drinking and there is nowhere Bible says it was wrong.
"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the BREAKING OF BREAD, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42)
23. Heaven is an invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb. We are going to heaven to eat. And Bible says you are blessed if you are invited to the biggest party of all time - from eternity to eternity.
"Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” (Rev. 19:9)
MYSTERY BEHIND THE PROMINENCE OF FOOD AND EATING IN THE BIBLE.
After reading all these [and there are many more I couldn't list down] you would agree with me that we have taken for granted the place of eating in the Body of Christ. For the Bible has much more to say about eating than fasting.
While I am not downplaying the place of fasting and its significance, I wish to state that fasting was a result of the fall of man and it conotates misery, hopelessness, pain and suffering. That is why Jesus almost always with his disciples than he fasted.
"Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, d but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them,
“Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast." (Matthew 9:14-15)
Jesus used fasting and mourning interchangeably. And said the disciples would mourn during his crucifixion because that was the moment he was taken away from them. But after His resurrection was with them and has since been with us all.
Have you noticed in the epistles so much is said of prayer and very little is said of fasting? Maybe we have over bloated the place of fasting in the church. Again, I am not saying fasting is not necessary but it is not the peak of spiritual exercises as we have been made to believe over the years.
Now, why is food and eating so important in the Bible? It is simply because food represents Jesus Christ and eating and drinking explain the importance of faith in Christ. Jesus said to the people,
"And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst... I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, h and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. (John 6:35, 48-59).
This clearly reveals that food and eating in the Bible is a revelation of Jesus Christ through the scriptures. Therefore, this message has everything to do with faith in Christ than mere eating of natural food. Listen to Jesus again:
"Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” (John 6:27)
CONCLUSION
God wants you to eat Jesus Christ. Feed on Him and you will be truly nourished in the spirit.
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