EVERY SEAT FILLED

“Ánd he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass,
and took the five loves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven,
he blessed, and he broke, and gave the loaves to his disciples,
and the disciples to the multitude”
(Matthew 14:19)

1 Samuel 20 tells the story of David trying to save his life from King Saul who wanted to kill him. David and Jonathan had to work out their plan together.

David was currently living in the palace and expected to sit with the royal family for mealtimes. David said to Jonathan: “Tomorrow is the new moon and I SHOULD NOT FAIL TO SIT with the king at meat” (v. 5). In the Hebrew the infinite absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis! It means “I am CERTAINLY EXPECTED to sit with the king to eat.” It was mandatory.

So, they devised a plan. David would stay away from the evening meal until the third night, and they would wait to see the reaction of the king.

Jonathan said to David: “Tomorrow is the new moon and YOU WILL BE MISSED FOR YOUR SEAT WILL BE EMPTY” (v. 18).

We notice from this story that it was the expected and normal thing for every member in the household to be seated at the table for the evening meal. It is a sad thing to see an empty seat. That means someone in the family or extended household is missing. And it is always disappointing when someone is missing.

Later that night the King sat down for the evening meal. The Bible is so explicit that it even tells us where everyone sat. “The king sat down to eat. He sat at his usual place against the wall, with Jonathan sitting opposite him and Abner beside him. But David’s place WAS EMPTY” (verses 24, 25 NLT).

This shows us that it is important to have order in our home and at the table. Each person has their assigned seating rather than everyone trying to compete for their own seat. At our table, Colin always sits at the head of the table as he is the head of the home and I sit beside him. Each person then has their particular seat.

On the second night again verse 27 tells us that “David’s place was EMPTY.” This was when King Saul got really mad and they knew that David would have to flee from the palace.

When our children grew older and were out at work with their own jobs, I still expected them to be home every evening for the family meal. They had to call me in good time to let me know if something very important cropped up. Otherwise, they were expected to fill their seat. This is normality, and yet it is passing away from families today. Do you make it a priority for all the seats around your table to be filled each night?

I also remember how that when Jesus fed the five thousand plus people and later the four thousand, that He did not distribute any food to them until they were all sitting down. In fact, in the account of every gospel it tells us that Jesus “commanded” or “made” His disciples to make the people sit down.

Mark 6:39:  ”And he (Jesus) COMMANDED them to MAKE ALL SIT DOWN  by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.”

Do you have to do some commanding in your home sometimes to keep children seated at the table? Well, you are being biblical. And you are following the steps of Jesus.

I believe God intends us to sit for our meals. We are not meant to eat standing up or walking around. We are meant to SIT and eat and fellowship together. We don’t receive the same goodness and value from our food when we walk around eating. We need to sit to receive. That means physically and spiritually. We cannot even receive from the Lord when we try to get something from Him in a rush. We must sit to receive, just as Mary “SAT AT JESUS’ FEET and heard his word” (Luke 10:39).

Blessings to you today, Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Thank you, dear Father, for showing me in Your Word, that You love order at the table. You love everyone to sit down for their meals as You know this is the best way for us to enjoy our food. Please give me wisdom and help me in establishing this principle in my home. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

We are learning to sit together as a family to enjoy our meals.

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