Eat

Eating is a normal human function. Adam and Eve ate food in the Garden of Eden, and it is what some people will be doing at the moment Jesus returns (Gen. 1:29; Matt. 24:38–39). Full satisfaction in life cannot be achieved without it (Deut. 6:11–12), a fact elegantly summarized in Ecclesiastes 2:24–25: “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” Obviously, people in Bible times ate much more often than is formally mentioned in the Bible; here we will focus on the special circumstances that surround the mention of eating in the Bible.

There are examples in the Bible of people who demonstrated their trust in the Lord through what they ate. Shortly after Adam and Eve were placed in the garden and hunger pangs pushed them toward the fruit trees, God placed a restriction on what they could eat, and they could demonstrate their trust in him by adhering to his instructions. Every plant and tree was approved with the exception of the fruit growing on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16–17). Their faith failed when the serpent invited them to trust him rather than God (Gen. 3:1–11), and their inappropriate eating was followed by penalties, for both the serpent and the humans, that also involved eating (Gen. 3:14, 17–19, 22).

The types of food sold in the markets of the Old City in Jerusalem may look strange to us, but they provide families with the basics every person needs to eat.

But this is not the last time the Lord linked eating with faith. The miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness was an invitation to know “that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deut. 8:3; but see Num. 11:13). He further called for the Israelites to demonstrate their faith by following the restrictions of the kosher food laws (Lev. 11; 17:10–14; Deut. 14:3–21). And when the kosher food restrictions were relaxed, believers were invited to honor God by recognizing that change (Acts 10:11–15; Col. 2:16). Jesus honored the fundamental necessity of eating at the same time he wrapped it into the topic of trust. He placed the reality of hunger pangs next to the reality of divine provision—even miraculous provision should it be deemed necessary. His conclusion was that worry over eating was something that pagans had to do. But if we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first, then we can escape the vortex of worry about having food to eat (Matt. 6:31–33). Eating as a demonstration of faith translates very easily into the figure of speech in which eating becomes a metaphor for believing what God has said. The invitation of wisdom in Proverbs 9:1–6 and the invitation of Jesus in John 6:50–58 are examples of the use of this metaphor (see also 1 Cor. 3:1–2; Heb. 5:11–14).

Eating was not just a sign of faith in God; it also became a way of enacting a social connection that implied acceptance.[75] This is why the meals Jesus ate with social outcasts met with such criticism from his opponents (Matt. 9:11), and it is why eating at the king’s table was considered such an honor (2 Sam. 9:7; 1 Kings 2:7). Within the culture of Bible times, this premise was applied in various ways. Those who were making agreements with one another might eat a meal together to commemorate the consummation of the agreement (Gen. 26:30; see also Exod. 24:8–11). This connotation of acceptance also cast its shadow over the ritual meals, from the celebration of Passover to the eating of the Lord’s Supper (Exod. 12:4–11; Matt. 26:26). But this connotation of unity also had a more sinister side when ritual eating was used to show affiliation with pagan deities. In the mind-set of the ancient world, food sacrifices were offered to provide food for the pagan deities, who had to eat to sustain themselves (Deut. 32:37–38; Ps. 50:12–13). Humans who participated in eating some of the sacrifice were showing their acceptance of and association with the deity, which is why the Lord vigorously warned against eating such a meal (Exod. 34:15; Ezek. 18:6, 10–11, 15; 1 Cor. 8:4, 7–10, 13).

There are many figures of speech associated with eating. It was a necessary and wholesome activity for which both positive and negative connotations are mentioned in the Bible. For example, when a person was forced to eat something disgusting, it became a symbol of a deeply troubled time. When ancient cities were under a siege, their residents could be pressed into eating unthinkable things: their own excrement, their neighbors, even their children (2 Kings 18:27; Isa. 49:26; Lam. 2:20). Not even Jerusalem would escape such horrific times. “I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them” (Jer. 19:9). Difficult times were also in view when people ate “ashes” or when they chose an ungodly path that led to eating “the fruit of their ways” (Ps. 102:9; Prov. 1:31). The otherwise positive connotations of eating are also reversed when it is the people who are eaten rather than doing the eating. The wicked are pictured as consuming God’s people in the same way that people eat bread (Ps. 14:4). In a vivid metaphor that uses images of food preparation, Micah pictures the harm misguided leaders bring to God’s people with the vivid image that they “eat my people’s flesh” (Mic. 3:3).

As the Bible begins with the notion of eating, so it comes to a glorious close with people eating as well. Jesus promised his disciples that they would participate in a grand eschatological feast at the close of all time (Luke 22:30). The book of Revelation whets our appetite for this feast: “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Rev. 19:9; see also 3:20).

When the Israelites were in the Wilderness of Zin, the Lord solicited the trust of his people, promising to provide miraculous food called manna.