Foodie

No irreverence intended, but I think God might be a foodie. It is clear from reading the detailed instructions on how he wanted the food offerings prepared that he took great delight in them. He especially loved the aroma of a well-prepared feast. Speaking of which, throughout the Old Testament, it is also clear that he was the God of the feast. On many different occasions throughout their year, the Israelites were called to enjoy festive feasts in his presence. And those feast were holy to the Lord. God loves a good meal—especially when we include him in it.

The Journey// Focus: Leviticus 2:4, 9, 13

If your offering is a grain offering baked in an oven, it must be made of choice flour, but without any yeast. It may be presented in the form of thin cakes mixed with olive oil or wafers spread with olive oil. … The priest will take a representative portion of the grain offering and burn it on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. …Season all your grain offerings with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings.

No irreverence intended, but I think God might be a foodie. It is clear from reading the detailed instructions on how he wanted the food offerings prepared that he took great delight in them. He especially loved the aroma of a well-prepared feast. Speaking of which, throughout the Old Testament, it is also clear that he was the God of the feast. On many different occasions throughout their year, the Israelites were called to enjoy festive feasts in his presence. And those feast were holy to the Lord.

God loves a good meal. That is probably where we get it. Humans do too. Just look at the growing number of cooking shows on TV, the proliferation of cookbooks and cooking classes, the large number of people that are now considered foodies—and that’s just in my family. People love a well-cooked meal, and they come by it naturally, because their Creator is a foodie, too!

Of course, our infatuation with food has gotten out of control. Food has become an idol—which is what we drift into when the sinful self sets devotion to God aside. That is why so many have eating disorders—too much eating, not enough eating, addiction to unhealthy kinds of eating, etc. But even then, our misuse of mealtime is an indication of a far deeper desire that can only be explained by the fact that our Creator hardwired into our DNA a desire for the right use of food.

The point of all of this is that in our modern context, we ought to redeem our enjoyment of food as a way to worship the God who, like us, enjoys a good meal, and receives it as worship when we include him in it. That is why in Leviticus 2:13 he commanded that salt always be used in the meal offering. Why? Salt was a sign of his eternal covenant with his people. It was a memorial offering—that which was to remind the worshipper of something of great importance: that God had initiated an everlasting covenant with his people, binding his immutable character to their ruthless obedience.

So how can we recapture the holiness of a good meal, or any meal for that matter, as a part of our worship before a good and gracious Creator? One simple but profound way is to pray before we eat—to offering thanks. What better way to make the meal a memorial offering? What better way to salt the food—to remember and restate the everlasting covenant that God has made with you?

Even Jesus stopped to give thanks before meals. (John 6:11) Think about that for a moment: Why would Jesus do that? In a sense, wasn’t he really saying grace to himself? What purpose did this serve?

To begin with, I think Jesus was truly grateful to his Father for the food he was about to eat. I think the Second Person of the eternal Trinity was a fundamentally grateful being. It was just who Jesus was; the overflow of his Divine nature.

But not only that, Jesus was modeling for us the appropriateness and power of gratitude. He was reminding us by his actions that it doesn’t hurt to stop and express thanksgiving to God, and one of the simplest and recurring ways to enter into gratitude is to say a simple “thank you” before each meal.

We don’t know exactly what Jesus said in his prayers, but it was likely short and sweet. On several occasions we were simply told that he “gave thanks.” He acknowledged God in that moment, drawing attention to the Heavenly Provider and reminding both himself and those who were within earshot of his dependence on and gratitude to a Creator who was also our providing Father.

And that is something you and I can do too, each time we sit down (or drive through) for a meal. We can give thanks. As redundant and useless and perfunctory as it may seem, there is power in this simple act. It is an offering pleasing to God, an aroma that is worship to him.