Enjoying a Meal with the Lord as His Friend
“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him…” (Psalm 25:14)
There is something very special about someone visiting your home and sharing a meal with you. During the global pandemic, we have known what it is to miss out on visiting others in their homes – and on having them visit us for special occasions like Thanksgiving or birthdays. This has reminded us how much these things mean to us. The centrepiece of Genesis 18 is a home visit paid by God to his servant Abraham, accompanied by two angels. It is surely the most remarkable home visit that has ever been made, and it has lessons for us even today—chief of which is that the Lord pursues fellowship and friendship with the righteous.
Picture the scene: Abraham is sitting by the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He is cooling himself in the shade. Lo and behold, the Lord himself appears to Abraham. We’re told that there are three men who come – two of them are apparently angels (Gen. 19:1), but the Lord is clearly there as well (Gen. 18:1). And Abraham seems to recognize that. He runs from the tent door and bows himself to the ground, calling his visitor “Lord” (Gen. 18:3). With a hospitality that goes beyond even the most polite middle eastern hospitality, Abraham entreats his visitors to come in and have a meal. They agree, and so Abraham rushes to Sarah and asks her to bake using “fine flour” (Gen. 18:6). He runs out to the herd and finds a calf “tender and good” to slaughter and serve along with curds and milk (Gen. 18:7).
Note that the picture of the Lord dining at Abraham’s table is a picture of restored relationship and barriers broken down. God was taking steps to restore what had been lost in the fall. Recall that the Lord used to walk in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8). This relationship was fractured by sin. Abraham, like all humans, was marred by sin. But God gave Abraham the gift of righteousness – not meaning that Abraham was unusually good or virtuous; rather, that God counted him righteous by faith (Gen. 15:6). Abraham was thus restored into fellowship with His Maker and even declared “a friend of God” (James 2:23). How remarkable that the living God would make of a flawed and fallen man a friend of His own. This is God’s heart for His people. As Jesus declared to His disciples, “No longer do I call you servants…I call you friends.” (John 15:15)
Astounding as it may seem, the Lord wants to come into your life – to be your friend – and sit at the table of your heart. Just as the Lord came to Abraham’s tent to linger over a meal, so too He sat with His disciples to eat a meal in the Upper Room—and calls us to join in that meal at the Lord’s Supper. For those who have not yet opened the door of your hearts to Jesus, will you welcome Him in today? As Jesus declares, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20) For believers who may have grown lukewarm towards the Lord, will you welcome Him afresh with the joy, generosity, and humility modelled by Abraham? Together, let us “host” the Lord at the table of our hearts with holy anticipation for the glorious “marriage supper of the Lamb” to come (Rev. 19:9).