What is on your table?
What is on your table?
Psalm 34:8-10, John 6:48-51
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
God delights to communicate with his saints through the faculties with which he has endowed us. It is God’s good pleasure to teach us through the senses he has given us. While God is infinitely beyond our understanding, he condescends to make himself known to us. As we fellowship in feasting, let us look at several ways that God has used feasting, and food, to reveal truth to his saints.
In Psalm 34 (and throughout the Psalms!) David exhorted those who gathered to him to “taste and see that the LORD is good”. Food has two primary functions for humans. Food gives us physical sustenance for the maintenance of our mortal frames. Without consuming food, our muscles, organs and brain decrease in function. Our body ceases to operate as it was created to – in reality the curse of sin is just accelerated when we do not eat food. The other function that food serves is to taste good. God ordained that the consumption of food not simply be a means of sustaining our flesh, but that it would be enjoyable – and that we could enjoy it together!
Eating is one of the common functions of our daily life that God uses to instruct his saints. David’s exhortation, then, seeks to teach God’s saints to reflect on what they know of food, and allow it to teach them about the LORD, and his character. In the same way that food is good, the LORD is good (only much, much better).
David’s exhortation foreshadowed Jesus coming in the flesh and the work that he came to accomplish. Jesus taught that he was the bread of life. He teaches this clearly in John Chapter 6. John 6:48-51 says “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” These verses are taken from the middle of Jesus’ exposition on his role as life giver, that which Moses and manna in the wilderness merely pointed toward. While food is necessary for sustaining physical life, no man has eternal life through food.
In Jesus, man has eternal life, if we eat of this bread. Eating is symbolic for believing. That is justification, that in Christ's body, his broken body, we have life. The symbol of eating allows us to see more, though. David exhorted the saints to taste and see that the LORD is good. This means that those who have already believed in the LORD for salvation should continue in tasting. It is by the Holy Spirit that we are drawn to the LORD, the bread of life, and so it is by the Holy Spirit that we continue to taste that Jesus is good. Eating in this way is not just for our justification in Christ, but it is the source of our sanctification, our growing like Christ.
Now, we have said that eating, or tasting, is symbolic. How does this nourishment, and enjoyment, really change our heart and affect our soul, leading to sanctification? It is the Holy Spirits work, primarily and most frequently through the means of grace. The means of grace are simply the practical and tangible activities that God has given his people to follow his commands. These include prayer, hearing the exposition of scripture, gathering with the saints, and meditating upon scripture. Utilizing the means of grace is tasting and eating. It is feasting. Feasting for the benefit and delight of our souls.
Let us now examine some additional realities that Jesus reveals in John chapter 6.
People feast, metaphorically, on something. In verse 26, Jesus points out that the people are seeking him because they ate their fill of the loaves. He goes on to show in 27 that the people are working for the food that perishes. They are eating that which does not give life. To carry out the metaphor, anything that is not Christ is food that does not give life. If we are not actively feasting on Christ, we are feast on something else. The souls of all people must be fed.
Perhaps we can define this in 3 categories. The first “food” is flagrant sin – pornography, or a love of money. Whether in secret or openly, these sins can be what we are filling our soul with, and we know that this is death. The second category of food is one of apathy or indifference. Endless phone scrolling or internet surfing, or a hobby that is really an obsession. These things give no more nourishment to our soul than flagrant sins. The third category of food is manna. Yes – manna. How can a gift from God fit with the first 2 categories? Jesus himself reminds the Jews in this text that their fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died. Manna was intended to point the Jews to dependence on God for life – manna itself was not intended to give life to their souls. Perhaps you are not feeding your soul with flagrant sin or indifference – but are you guilty of feeding your soul with something that is not Jesus? Even good things lead to death when they are handled as if they gave life in themselves. When we make an idol of family, our spouse, or God’s beautiful creation. Ask yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to examine you. What is on your table? What are you feeding to your soul instead of Jesus?
Let us state this positively. In Christ, we are given a feast for our souls that is all sufficient, and eternally sufficient. Upon your conversion to following Jesus, you at that time had full access to all the benefits that he promises and imputes to you, not least of which are the means of grace. When we are filled with Christ, our craving or desires for not Christ are diminished. When we pray “lead us not into temptation” what do we proceed with but “give us this day our daily bread”. Pray, meditate on the word, and gather with the saints, that your table may be set with the bread of life. Be filled with Christ, so you have no room for that which is death!
Let us now step back to Psalm 34. In verse 3, David says “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” The call here is participation in the LORD together. If you have been entrusted to shepherd a spouse, children, grandchildren, or brothers and sisters in Christ (you have), then our picture of the table does not just apply to our own sustenance. We can’t replace the work of the Holy Spirit, but we must be setting the bread of life before those whom we are called to love and shepherd. Far be it from me to set rotten food on the table that my wife and children eat from! Christ alone is sufficient for sustaining life in his saints.
David twice refers to “no lack” or “lack no good thing”. The saints of the LORD, those who follow the command to feast on Christ, have no lack. This reinforces that in Christ we have an all-sufficient feast. David says that the young lions suffer want and hunger. Young lions are often used in scripture to represent the wicked and lawless, those who do not fear the LORD and have not feasted on the goodness of Christ. There is also a caution for the saints here. By nature of this being an exhortation, we conclude that the exhortation is not always followed. This means that God’s saints are not always found to be feasting, or tasting, that the LORD is good. When we do not actively seek the LORD, we will quickly be lacking. We do not lack positionally, for we rest on God’s unchanging grace, but we lack in nourishment for our soul. This is akin to coming to a feast and grazing on dainties. The feast is prepared and set before you – taste and see that the LORD is good!
This neglect of seeking the LORD by his saints, the rebellion against always and continually feasting on Jesus, is a great offence to the great sacrificial act of love that he has wrought for us in his suffering, death and resurrection. But oh, praise him for his grace! Because this is the command AND the promise – taste and see that the LORD is good! The table is set for you, you saints of the LORD, and this food does not rot or spoil. Hear the command, and return, and feast on Christ.
Let us conclude simply. God has graciously called his people to eat the bread of life, and he calls us to continue to feast and sustain our souls from Christ. He speaks to us in the things we handle each day, our food. Every time you physically eat, ask the Spirit to reveal to you what is on the table that your soul is sitting at. Be reminded of the eternal and sustaining life you have in Christ. Enjoy. Taste and see that the LORD is good!
Sam Umlauf
Psalm 34:8-10, John 6:48-51
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
God delights to communicate with his saints through the faculties with which he has endowed us. It is God’s good pleasure to teach us through the senses he has given us. While God is infinitely beyond our understanding, he condescends to make himself known to us. As we fellowship in feasting, let us look at several ways that God has used feasting, and food, to reveal truth to his saints.
In Psalm 34 (and throughout the Psalms!) David exhorted those who gathered to him to “taste and see that the LORD is good”. Food has two primary functions for humans. Food gives us physical sustenance for the maintenance of our mortal frames. Without consuming food, our muscles, organs and brain decrease in function. Our body ceases to operate as it was created to – in reality the curse of sin is just accelerated when we do not eat food. The other function that food serves is to taste good. God ordained that the consumption of food not simply be a means of sustaining our flesh, but that it would be enjoyable – and that we could enjoy it together!
Eating is one of the common functions of our daily life that God uses to instruct his saints. David’s exhortation, then, seeks to teach God’s saints to reflect on what they know of food, and allow it to teach them about the LORD, and his character. In the same way that food is good, the LORD is good (only much, much better).
David’s exhortation foreshadowed Jesus coming in the flesh and the work that he came to accomplish. Jesus taught that he was the bread of life. He teaches this clearly in John Chapter 6. John 6:48-51 says “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” These verses are taken from the middle of Jesus’ exposition on his role as life giver, that which Moses and manna in the wilderness merely pointed toward. While food is necessary for sustaining physical life, no man has eternal life through food.
In Jesus, man has eternal life, if we eat of this bread. Eating is symbolic for believing. That is justification, that in Christ's body, his broken body, we have life. The symbol of eating allows us to see more, though. David exhorted the saints to taste and see that the LORD is good. This means that those who have already believed in the LORD for salvation should continue in tasting. It is by the Holy Spirit that we are drawn to the LORD, the bread of life, and so it is by the Holy Spirit that we continue to taste that Jesus is good. Eating in this way is not just for our justification in Christ, but it is the source of our sanctification, our growing like Christ.
Now, we have said that eating, or tasting, is symbolic. How does this nourishment, and enjoyment, really change our heart and affect our soul, leading to sanctification? It is the Holy Spirits work, primarily and most frequently through the means of grace. The means of grace are simply the practical and tangible activities that God has given his people to follow his commands. These include prayer, hearing the exposition of scripture, gathering with the saints, and meditating upon scripture. Utilizing the means of grace is tasting and eating. It is feasting. Feasting for the benefit and delight of our souls.
Let us now examine some additional realities that Jesus reveals in John chapter 6.
People feast, metaphorically, on something. In verse 26, Jesus points out that the people are seeking him because they ate their fill of the loaves. He goes on to show in 27 that the people are working for the food that perishes. They are eating that which does not give life. To carry out the metaphor, anything that is not Christ is food that does not give life. If we are not actively feasting on Christ, we are feast on something else. The souls of all people must be fed.
Perhaps we can define this in 3 categories. The first “food” is flagrant sin – pornography, or a love of money. Whether in secret or openly, these sins can be what we are filling our soul with, and we know that this is death. The second category of food is one of apathy or indifference. Endless phone scrolling or internet surfing, or a hobby that is really an obsession. These things give no more nourishment to our soul than flagrant sins. The third category of food is manna. Yes – manna. How can a gift from God fit with the first 2 categories? Jesus himself reminds the Jews in this text that their fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died. Manna was intended to point the Jews to dependence on God for life – manna itself was not intended to give life to their souls. Perhaps you are not feeding your soul with flagrant sin or indifference – but are you guilty of feeding your soul with something that is not Jesus? Even good things lead to death when they are handled as if they gave life in themselves. When we make an idol of family, our spouse, or God’s beautiful creation. Ask yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to examine you. What is on your table? What are you feeding to your soul instead of Jesus?
Let us state this positively. In Christ, we are given a feast for our souls that is all sufficient, and eternally sufficient. Upon your conversion to following Jesus, you at that time had full access to all the benefits that he promises and imputes to you, not least of which are the means of grace. When we are filled with Christ, our craving or desires for not Christ are diminished. When we pray “lead us not into temptation” what do we proceed with but “give us this day our daily bread”. Pray, meditate on the word, and gather with the saints, that your table may be set with the bread of life. Be filled with Christ, so you have no room for that which is death!
Let us now step back to Psalm 34. In verse 3, David says “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” The call here is participation in the LORD together. If you have been entrusted to shepherd a spouse, children, grandchildren, or brothers and sisters in Christ (you have), then our picture of the table does not just apply to our own sustenance. We can’t replace the work of the Holy Spirit, but we must be setting the bread of life before those whom we are called to love and shepherd. Far be it from me to set rotten food on the table that my wife and children eat from! Christ alone is sufficient for sustaining life in his saints.
David twice refers to “no lack” or “lack no good thing”. The saints of the LORD, those who follow the command to feast on Christ, have no lack. This reinforces that in Christ we have an all-sufficient feast. David says that the young lions suffer want and hunger. Young lions are often used in scripture to represent the wicked and lawless, those who do not fear the LORD and have not feasted on the goodness of Christ. There is also a caution for the saints here. By nature of this being an exhortation, we conclude that the exhortation is not always followed. This means that God’s saints are not always found to be feasting, or tasting, that the LORD is good. When we do not actively seek the LORD, we will quickly be lacking. We do not lack positionally, for we rest on God’s unchanging grace, but we lack in nourishment for our soul. This is akin to coming to a feast and grazing on dainties. The feast is prepared and set before you – taste and see that the LORD is good!
This neglect of seeking the LORD by his saints, the rebellion against always and continually feasting on Jesus, is a great offence to the great sacrificial act of love that he has wrought for us in his suffering, death and resurrection. But oh, praise him for his grace! Because this is the command AND the promise – taste and see that the LORD is good! The table is set for you, you saints of the LORD, and this food does not rot or spoil. Hear the command, and return, and feast on Christ.
Let us conclude simply. God has graciously called his people to eat the bread of life, and he calls us to continue to feast and sustain our souls from Christ. He speaks to us in the things we handle each day, our food. Every time you physically eat, ask the Spirit to reveal to you what is on the table that your soul is sitting at. Be reminded of the eternal and sustaining life you have in Christ. Enjoy. Taste and see that the LORD is good!
Sam Umlauf
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