By Kathryn Mann
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.— Isaiah 25:6-9
I love a good dinner party. I love beautiful tablecloths, freshly polished silverware, and charming pieces of china. There is simply something spectacular about a thoughtful tablescape prepared for guests to gather and feel special. As the holidays approach, my Instagram and Pinterest feeds begin filling with different tablescape ideas. Whether you enjoy preparing a table or not, you most likely will be dining at tables with others in the next couple of months. In this preparation, I decided to think about God’s place. Where is He in our celebrations and feasts? How can we glorify Him in our planning and dining?
In my reading and processing, I realized that God truly is the best Host of all time. From beginning to end of the Bible, there are feasts. At creation, God gave Adam and Eve an abundance of food in the garden. In the wilderness, God rained manna every day to feed the Israelites (Exodus 16). When Jesus was on earth, He dined with others so frequently. In fact, I may say that Jesus was a total dinner party animal! Not only was He often dining, but He was very often the caterer of the party[1]. As thousands of people come to learn from Him, Jesus could not turn them away without food. Thus, with five loaves and two fish, he fed the thousands, and they were all satisfied (Luke 9:10-17). At a wedding that almost ran out of wine (which would have been a huge embarrassment for the families throwing the affair), Jesus saves the night and turns water into wine (John 2). In Revelation, we see the feast that is to come—one where no one will be turned away hungry or thirsty. All will sit at the table prepared for them and be satisfied (Revelation 7:15-17; 19:6-10).
The Lord is truly the best Host. Throughout His Word, we see that He reveals Himself as one who enjoys banquets and celebrations as a means of providing for His people, gathering community, and bringing glory to His name. God doesn’t invite the best of the best to His party either, for He invites the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind (Luke 14). He invites the spiritually poor, the spiritually crippled, the spiritually lame, the spiritually blind[1]. We are so unworthy to recline at a royal banquet table with the Creator and King, yet through Jesus, we each have a prepared seat. Because of Jesus’ blood, there is a beautiful seat with my name on it waiting for me in eternity—a seat where I can recline with Jesus and His people and enjoy and glorify Him forevermore. That’s what I want to remember this holiday season as I sit and feast with my loved ones. I want our feasts to reflect the ultimate feast to come. How can I praise God and thank Him for His provisions, how can I invite outsiders to the table, how can I exude joy and love for others the way He does to me? The dinner table is so beautiful and magnificent and can certainly be a place where the Lord reigns in our hearts and homes this season. Alright, Lord, let’s feast!
Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.— Isaiah 55:1-2
Reference: Time Chester, A Meal with Jesus, p. 57, 79
