PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 172: LIFE TO THE FULL, Part 7
LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 172 – LIFE TO THE FULL, Part 7
FOOD TWINS. God associates many different things with food in the Bible. Come on in to discover them. We also find that God wants us to set an ordered table. And when we set an ordered table, our children will be more orderly at the table.
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, LIFE TO THE FULL with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.
Nancy Campbell: Hi, ladies! We’re on our last point of LIFE TO THE FULL, and we have found out that God also wants us and delights for us to be filled with His good food. That means physically and spiritually.
And now we are talking about a number of points about food, and all things that God associates food with in the Bible. It’s amazing how many. And we started off last week, talking about NO. 1; FOOD AND THE TABLE. We were talking about how God even wants us to sit at the table. He wants us to sit and relax as we enjoy our food together.
GOD WANTS US TO PREPARE A TABLE
Another thing we notice in the Bible about food and the table is even setting the table. Did you know that the Bible even speaks about this? I love the Word of God because it’s so practical.
We read Psalm 23:5: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” A table must be prepared before people can come and eat at that table. Well, I know so many times you can be so busy. Just throw a bit of food on the table. “Come and get it!” But that’s not exactly what the Bible is talking about. It's talking about a real preparing of the table.
Psalm 78:19: “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?”
Proverbs 9:2: “Wisdom hath builded her house . . . She hath also furnished her table.”
Now, that word, “to prepare, or furnish, or set the table” is the Hebrew word arak. It means “to set in a row, to set in order, to set in array.” It’s used 26 times in the Bible about setting the battle in array. So, when an army is going out to fight, all the soldiers are all set in their perfect order, ready to fight.
But it’s also used to set a table. So, we see, dear ladies, that this is a very important thing, too. It’s amazing, the more you prepare your table to make it look inviting and to draw your family to it, you’ll find that the more you will enjoy your meal.
Now last time I was telling you how tables originated in heaven. But where do read about them first in the Bible? The first table that we read about is the TABLE OF SHEWBREAD in the tabernacle. This table was also a type of the heavenly table.
Exodus 40:2-4: “On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle.” Then He told them that the first thing they were to bring into the tabernacle was the Art of the Covenant, and to put it in the Holy of Holies. Then, the next thing they had to do was to fill the Holy Place. The very first piece of furniture they were to bring into the Holy Place was the table of showbread. So, we read: “And thou shalt bring in the table and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it.”
OK. They had to bring in the table, and the Bible tells us that the table was to be placed on the north side of the tabernacle. I think that’s interesting too, because in the Bible, there are quite a number of Scriptures that tell us that God dwells in the north. Well, we don’t know where that is, but it’s somewhere in the north.
God wanted this table of showbread to be placed on the north side, looking towards God’s dwelling. God said that everything that was to be put on that table, there was the showbread. It was called the table of showbread because on this table they had to put 12 loaves of bread. They were called the showbread. In the Hebrew, it’s lechem ha paniym, meaning “bread of faces,” or “presence bread,” the bread that reveals the character and the presence of God.
But there was not only the showbread. They had to put other things on the table that are listed in the Bible. God said they all had to be put in order, just how He wanted it to be put. They weren’t to be put haphazardly on the table, just any old where. No, they were to be set in order.
So, we can learn from this, can’t we, ladies, how it’s even important to set a table, even to put a tablecloth on. Well, some of you may have little ones, and you think, “Oh, goodness me! I haven’t got time for washing tablecloths.” No, of course you haven’t.
But, you know, in that season of your life (because we have lots of seasons in our lives), it you’re in this season of little ones spilling everything on the table every time they come to the table, you can choose a beautiful tablecloth and you can put clear plastic over it. Or you can find some lovely plastic tablecloths with beautiful designs. You can just wipe it down after the meal.
But try and make your table look attractive. Set it nicely with each place setting. As your children get older, you can teach them how to set the table, and how to make it attractive. In fact, your children can have turns. Maybe one child is on for one week, one for the next week. You can encourage them to see how beautiful, and how attractive, and how creative they can make the table. It can be quite a competition between the children as they see how beautiful they can make the table and how they can set it orderly.
I have a little quote that I like to say:
“When you set an ordered table,
your children will be more orderly at the table.”
And this is so true, dear mothers. If we just, OK, here’s the food, just put it out in the table, not even a tablecloth, and everybody sits anywhere and gobbles up their food, they don’t put any importance on the table.
So, they act like that. But when they come to a lovely table, that’s set and prepared and furnished and ordered, wow! They rise to that. They will be more orderly.
YOU ARE PREPARING IN TE PRESENCE OF THE LORD
All right. Now let’s go down in this same chapter to verse 23. We see that Moses obeyed the Lord, and it says in Exodus 40:23: “And he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord.” Oh, I love those words. When we read in the King James Bible, “before the Lord,” it literally means, “in the presence of the Lord.”
You see, the bread on the table in the tabernacle was to sit in the presence of the Lord. It would stay there for a week before they would take that bread off. The priests would sit and fellowship and eat it together, and the new bread was put on the table. But it was in the presence of the Lord.
And, dear ladies, I’d love to take you to a higher plane. Don’t think, “Oh, well, just got to set the table,” or tell them, “Go and set the table.” But, no, realize that when you are setting a table, and preparing a table for your family, you are doing it in the presence of the Lord. When you think about that, it will change the way you do it. Remember, you’re setting your table in the presence of the Lord, because you’re going to come and sit at the table together, in the presence of the Lord. Oh, I want you to get a whole new and higher vision about your table. Amen? Yes.
OK. Now talking about the table, the Bible even gets down to every little nitty-gritty thing. It even tells us that we should have set times for eating at the table. Now we go over to Luke 12:42. This was a story that Jesus told, a parable. Luke 12:42: “And the Lord said, who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?”
Many translations will say, “at the proper time,” or “at the specified time.” This word “household” here actually is a Greek word that means “healing.” I love that. It’s another name for our home, a healing home. Our home is a healing home. The table is a place of healing, not only when we minister good, healthy, wholesome food to our children, but we also seek to bring the presence of the Lord to our tables.
It says here, this steward, he makes sure that everyone in this home had their meals at the right time. Now, I think it is good to have specific, specified times for our meals. They don’t have to be on the dot, but around that time, that’s when we will have our meals.
Of course, life is filled with surprises, and things that happen, or something is going to happen, and we want to go here or there. So, there will always be exceptions, but we always need an underlying foundation and order in our home. That lays the foundation for spontaneity to do special things. So, you won’t always be exactly at the same time, but you will have that order.
OK, we have breakfast at this time. We have lunch at this time. We have supper at this time. And it will be different in every home. In our home, I love everyone to have breakfast before our family devotions, which are at 8 o’clock. Lunch, we have roundabout 12, 12:30. And supper is usually roundabout 6:30 or so. But it’s never on the dot. It may be 6, it might be 7, it might be whatever, but it’s roundabout that time.
Because then, the family knows, OK, when we’re going to eat. This is even brought out in this Scripture. There is a Scripture for everything! I remember talking to a young person one time. They were in our home and she was sharing. “Oh, you know,” she said, “In our home, we don’t even know when we’re going to have our evening meal, because my mother gets onto projects. She’s busy on them, and we may think, oh, goodness me! We need to eat! About 8 o’clock, sometimes 9 o’clock, we’ll think about the meal.”
I said, “How on earth do you live that way? When you don’t even know when you’re going to eat?” There’s something so good about, OK, having set times. So, you do that as much as possible.
Now let’s go on to the next point.
NO. 2. FOOD AND ABUNDANCE
I have so many Scriptures here of how God wants to give food to us abundantly.
NO. 3. FOOD AND FULLNESS
Most of the Scriptures under this point use the word “satisfied.” God loves to satisfy us. That means “filled to satisfaction, to satiate.” Let’s look at just two or three Scriptures. I have so many listed here.
Let’s go to Nehemiah. It tells us here Nehemiah is giving the history of all the goodness of God to his people. Nehemiah 9:25: “And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled (that’s the word, filled to satisfaction) and became fat and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.”
Let’s go over to Job 36:16: “That which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.” The New Living Translation says: “He is setting your table with the best food.”
Let’s go to Psalm 37:19: “They shall not be ashamed in the evil times: and in the days of famine, they shall be satisfied.” Wow, that’s a wonderful promise, isn’t it? Not only in good times, but even in times of famine. “They shall be satisfied.”
NO. 4. FOOD AND LEFTOVERS
Once again, ladies, the Bible even talks about having leftovers! Did you know that? There’s not one thing the Bible misses out about. We can go to the story in 2 Kings 4:42-44. This is a story in the life of Elisha. Elisha performed so many miracles, even more than Elijah! Well, he was given a double portion, wasn’t he?
Reading from the New American Standard Bible, let me read you this story. 2 Kings 4:42-44: “Now a man came from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God (that was Elisha the prophet) bread of the firstfruits, 20 loaves of barley, and fresh grain in his sack. And Elisha said to all the servants, give them to the people, that they may eat. But his attendant said, how am I to serve this to 100 men? Nevertheless, Elisha said, give them to the people that they may eat, for this is what the Lord says. They shall eat and have some left over. So, he served it to them, and they ate, and they had some left over in accordance with the word of the Lord.”
Isn’t that amazing? Even at a time of famine, God was looking after His prophets. There were 100 prophets in this particular place. This man was touched of the Lord to bring food to them. When God brought this food, He told Elisha that there would not only be enough for them all to eat, but there would be leftovers. God goes beyond the normal. God always does this. He loves leftovers.
Now the word here, the word “leftover” is yathar, and it means, “to jut over, to exceed, to excel, to remain and be left, cause to abound, too much, plenteous.” That’s a beautiful story of leftovers.
Then we go over to the New Testament. We read about the feeding of the 5,000. You all know this story, how Jesus fed all these men, and most probably there were women and children too. He not only fed them, but they took up 12 basketfuls of food left over! Isn’t that amazing? Yes.
In one of the gospels it says, “over and above what they wanted to eat.” That word, “over and above,” is that word I often talk to you about, perisseuo, which means “super-abounding, excess, exceed, more than is necessary, over and above.” The actual words “over and above” are used in the King James Bible about what was left over.
So, ladies, it’s a good idea, when you’re cooking, to cook plenty and have some left over. I like having leftovers for lunch the next day. You don’t then have to think of, “What are we going to cook for lunch?” It’s great to have leftovers. They always taste better the next day, don’t they?
I know a lot of you like to cook extra so you have your meal, and then you can just freeze a leftover, which is enough for another meal. So, always great to have more than enough. You never know when someone is coming, and you’ve got to get out an extra plate to feed someone who came to your home unexpectedly. Never be stingy in preparing and cooking your food. Always cook plenty, over and above.
If you’ve got more, you never, ever, ever waste. Oh, I hate waste, don’t you? I mean, God hates waste, too. That’s why he told them to go around and pick up all the food that was left over. It wasn’t to be thrown out. It was to be used for those others who would need food. There were so many poor in Israel. So, we cook more so we can have for leftovers for another meal, or even freeze for another meal. But we don’t waste.
We teach our children not to waste. In fact, if you put dishes on your table, sometimes, when the children are little, you just serve the food onto their plates. As they get older, often you’ll go to putting the dishes on the table and they can serve themselves. But we teach them to only take what they will eat. They’re so welcome to come back for seconds, but they must eat what is on their plates.
I hate to see people take food. Their eyes are bigger than their stomach. And then they leave it! I want to cry! That’s good, good food! I hate to see it wasted. I think we should teach our children not to waste. Only take what they know they’re going to eat. But, of course, they can come back for seconds.
So, we have that, on one hand, we don’t waste. But on the other hand, we cook plenty for leftovers. Amen? Because it’s all biblical! Isn’t that fun?
NO. 5. FOOD AND COOKING
Yes, so many stories of food and cooking in the Bible. Oh, wow! Even Jesus cooking! How about that, ladies? Even Jesus cooking? Did you know that? Yes, let’s look at that one, shall we? We won’t have time to look at them all, but let’s look at that one.
By the way, I have lots of Scriptures listed under all of these points. If you really want to truly look them all up in the Bible, you’re welcome to email me, and I will send them to you. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
After Jesus had risen from the dead, He wanted to feed His disciples. He went down to Galilee. He knew that’s where they’d be, out fishing. That’s where they were, out on the lake. They’d been toiling all night fishing. The Bible says that Jesus made a little fire of coals on the shore. He gathered the coals and the wood and made this little fire. Then He began to cook. He cooked some fish. He cooked some bread. He prepared breakfast for His disciples.
Ladies, are you getting this? This was Jesus cooking. The One who had just risen from the dead, conquered death and hell, and what is He doing? He’s cooking. And sometimes you think cooking is a bit, “Oh, what do I have to cook for? What’s the purpose of that? I’ve got better things to do!”
No! One of the first things Jesus did after rising from the dead was to cook a meal! And when His disciples came in, He called them, and He said, “Come! Come and dine!” He called them to breakfast and He had it ready for them. You see, Jesus had some things to say to His disciples. He had very important things to share with them. He had a very important word for Peter that He wanted to share with him. You can read all about it in John 21. But He prepared a meal for them first.
You see, God loves to speak into our hearts, but often He has to fill our physical bodies first. That’s why it’s wonderful to have family devotions at the table. Because we fill the physical body and many people don’t feel so agitated. No, they feel relaxed. When we eat, we release oxytocin, and we feel calmed and relaxed. We’re ready to hear from God. So that’s why Jesus cooked a meal for His disciples.
We read over in 1 Timothy 5:10, how cooking is part of mothering. Oh, yes!
NO. 6. FOOD AND HEALING
We read in Matthew 24:45 how God calls the household a healing home.
NO. 7. FOOD AND COMFORT
NO. 8. FOOD AND CELEBRATION
Whoo, I’ve got loads of celebrations listed here. You’ll be able to look them all up if you get hold of these Scriptures if you email me.
NO. 9. FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP
Yes, that’s what food is all about. We’re not meant to eat food on our own. I think that’s why God says He sets the solitary in families, not only because every person is meant to live in a family, never isolated, never on their own. No, we’re meant to live as families. God intends us to live with social interaction together.
Also, eating together, fellowshipping together, because when we eat, we gather round the table, and we are face to face. Yes, eating is actually FACE TO FACE TABLE FELLOWSHIP. Dear ladies, can I encourage you? Don’t get into the habit of, you’re out, you’ve been out somewhere. Try and get home at the appropriate time to prepare a meal for your family.
Many times, you get out, you’ve maybe taken your children to sports or something like that. It’s getting late. “Oh, how will we have time to cook the meal?” So, you grab some fast food, and the children just eat it in the car, and they’re looking at the neck or the head of someone in front of them. That is not how we are meant to eat! We are meant to eat face to face! Looking at one another, talking to one another.
Yes, in 2 John, the apostle John is writing to the elect lady. 2 John 1:12: “I trust to come unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.” Oh, there’s such joy in fellowshipping face to face.
And then in 3 John, the apostle John was writing to Gaius. John 3 1:14: “I want to come to you to speak face to face.” That means they would gather to eat. That is the greatest way to communicate with people, around food, sitting around a table, fellowshipping. That is very, very much part of eating and of food.
NO. 10. FOOD AND GLADNESS AND JOY AND REJOICING
Yes, when we eat, we’re meant to eat our food with gladness and singleness of heart. It tells us in Act 2:46 to have joy and rejoicing. I’ve got lots of Scriptures about that for you to look up.
NO. 11. FOOD AND GOOD CHEER
NO. 12. FOOD AND GOOD THINGS
NO. 13. FOOD AND LAUGHTER
Ecclesiastes 10:19: “A feast is made for laughter.”
NO. 14. FOOD AND LEISURE
Oh, let me take you to this one. Jesus had been with His disciples, feeding the 5,000, and healing people. Mark 6:31: “Jesus said unto them, come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.”
Now, isn’t that interesting? They didn’t even have any place where they could sit down and relax for a little bit and take time to eat. So, Jesus said, “Come on, disciples. Come on. We’re going to get away out here, away from everybody, where we can sit and eat together.”
You see, Jesus understood that you don’t eat on the run. You don’t, “OK, let’s just grab a bit of bread and we’ll keep going to the next place. Keep on, come, on, just eat as we go!” No, Jesus says, “Let’s get away from the coming and going. Let’s have a little bit of leisure as we eat.”
Did you know that’s meant to be part of eating? You don’t keep working as you eat. Oh, I know, I’m tempted all the time. We can be so tempted! Oh, yes, there’s so much to do! And so, we just keep eating, keep working. No, we’re meant to STOP. Stop your busyness, even for just a little bit. Sit down, have a little leisure, and eat. OK? That’s what you’re meant to do. Jesus shows us the way.
NO. 15. FOOD AND MERRIMENT
NO. 16. FOOD AND STRENGTH
NO. 17. FOOD AND RAISING CHILDREN
You’ll have to get all these Scriptures, because I'm going to try and finish them all in this session.
NO. 18. FOOD AND TEACHING
Jesus used the supper table for most of His teaching. He loved to talk and teach at the meal table.
NO. 19. FOOD AND HOSPITALITY
Oh, once again, so many Scriptures here! Dear precious ladies, did you know that hospitality is not an option? No. Hospitality is the LIFESTYLE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
It was the LIFESTYLE OF THE EARLY CHURCJH. They met together, not once a month, or not once a week. No, they met together daily in their homes, to break bread and fellowship together. They opened their homes to one another. And as they met daily and fellowshipped, the Bible says the Lord added daily to the church such as should be saved (Acts 2:47).
Hospitality is a doctrine of the Word of God that starts in Genesis and weaves its way right through to Revelation. OK. Maybe we’ve got time for just one Scripture.
Romans 12:13: here it tells us to be “given to hospitality.”
Now, that word in the Greek is dioko. It means “to pursue, to run after, to follow after.” It even means “to persecute.” Dioko is translated 32 times “to persecute.” We even must be so going after hospitality that we just about persecute people with our love, and kindness, and wanting to have them in our homes, sitting them around our tables.
The Passion Translation says: “Eagerly welcome people into your home.” Oh, hospitality is such a glorious thing. I think it’s been one of the greatest blessings of our lives, to have people sit around our table, to fellowship with them, to enjoy their company, and to bless them, and to minister to them. Oh, my, it’s a powerful, powerful ministry.
It’s not thinking "Oh well, you know, those people, they’ve got a real ministry of hospitality. But that’s not my thing” No. God’s mandate for hospitality is to all the same. We are all to follow after hospitality. We are all to open up our homes, because that’s the lifestyle of the kingdom of God.
NO. 20. FOOD AND WORK
We all know the Scriptures that give us the mandate that “If a man will not work, neither shall he eat.” (1 Thessalonians 3:10) We work hard to grow our food, and prepare our food, and cook our food so we can eat. So, food and work are also twins.
NO. 21. FOOD AND PROVISION
God will always provide for His people. What did David say? “I have been young, and now I am old, but I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25)
NO. 22. FOOD AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD
I’ve got to just tell you this one. Let me to Exodus 18:12: “And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.” Now those words, “before God” mean “in the presence of God.” They came together to eat in the presence of God.
We go over to Exodus 24. This time, it’s when Moses and Aaron and Nahab and Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel went up the mount, not to the top of the mount where Moses went. But they went a certain way.
Exodus 24:10: “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.”
They saw God, but they didn’t see the face of God, for the Bible also says that if anyone sees the face of God, they cannot even live. But they saw something of God. We notice here it says: “And as it were.” It was like sapphire stone. It was like the body of heaven in its clearness. It was under His feet. They only just saw His feet, but, oh, the power of His presence! They knew they were in the presence of God.
And it goes on: “And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not His hand: they saw God and did eat and drink.” I think that is one of the most incredible Scriptures in the whole of the Bible. They saw God. They felt, and experienced, and glimpsed the presence of God. And they did eat and drink.
God wants us to eat and drink at our tables in the presence of God.
He loves to come and be with us and bring His presence at our meal tables.
NO. 23. FOOD AND PAYER AND PRAISE
Because the disciples loved to meet, and pray, and praise God at their tables.
NO. 24. FOOD AND PROPHECY
1 Kings 13:19-20: “As they sat at the table, the Word of the Lord came.” There’s something about sitting at the table, where healing happens, prophecy happens, teaching happens, blessing happens, fellowship happens. Oh, all these glorious things happen at the table! Amen? Let’s pray.
“Lord God, we are so blessed by Your Word, filled with the way You want us to live, talking to us about all the little nitty-gritties of life. The hows, and the whys, and the wherefores, and how You want us to do it.
Lord, You’ve shown us everything in Your Word. Help us to take notice of it all, and to walk in the experience of it. Lord, I pray for each precious person listening today, that You will bring them to a higher plane, that You will help them to see the table as You see it.
Lord, You love the table. You designed the table, the gathering of people around it, around food, to fellowship together, to encourage one another, and bless one another, and pray for one another, and delight in You, and all the good things You give to us. Lord God, help us to elevate our tables to the place where You want them in our homes. We ask it in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”
Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.aboverubies.org
Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you would like to look up all the Scriptures to meditate upon them from each of the 24 points, here is the link:
No. 21. FOOD AND PROVISION.
If you would like to read more Scriptures of how God provides for us, here is the link:
http://tinyurl.com/CanGodProvideforBaby