The Right Meal Makes a Difference
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Remember that the Lord put the man in a garden - a place for food to be grown and enjoyed. We are made to eat and enjoy the blessing of God in our world. But sin has distorted that pleasure in our hearts and lives and made us turn to food for things it was never meant to provide - comfort, fulfillment and escape. Food is for nourishment and enjoyment in the presence of God.
Israel was given a meal that reminded them of this fact every year - the Passover. And Hezekiah leads the people back to this meal for the first time in decades in 2 Chronicles 30. Now in 2 Chronicles 31 we see the effects of that meal celebrated in the presence of God and in fellowship with one another as God's people:
Notice how chapter 31 opens:
2 Chronicles 31:1 (ESV) Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and broke down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned to their cities, every man to his possession.
On the heels of this meal, the people are turned back to God and destroy the idols of their territories. This is what coming to the table of the Lord does in our hearts, it settles our hearts on him so that we desire no wicked thing.
But there's more good news in the aftermath of this meal:
2 Chronicles 31:4–5 (ESV) And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the LORD. 5 As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.
The people turn into generous givers. They bring their tithes and first fruits. They have received and now they are ready to give. You can understand now why Paul cleans up the Lord's Table elements in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11 and then returns to the church in 2 Corinthians to appeal for donations. There's something positive about receiving the table God serves that causes us to serve beyond ourselves.
Further, the people's generosity creates storehouses of food:
2 Chronicles 31:9-10 (ESV) And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. 10 Azariah the chief priest, who was of the house of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the LORD, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount left.”
What you have here is a genuine revival. How did it begin? It began when a righteous king brought the people back to the Lord and sat them at his table, making a way for even sinners to participate (see last post).
In Christ Jesus, we have that king. He has made it possible for us to come to the table of the Lord and eat His flesh and drink His blood. It is His table that informs our Spirit that God gives and sustains and we need not fear anything. Jesus is our true Hezekiah... and if we are truly His people, we will be committed to Him and to sharing His graces beyond us.
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