Food and Drink- Exodus29:31-46

Earlier, we saw the table of presence given as a reminder that God intended to eat and drink with His people. With the sacrifice of Christ, God would pull His own mercy seat up to the table because the veil would be torn. This eating and drinking imagery permeates all of the religious practices God instructs Israel to observe. Here, that which is sacrificed is given to consecrate and sustain the priests. After all, God did not need sacrifices in order to be sustained or pleased or appeased. These sacrifices were given for the benefit of people, not people for the benefit of the sacrifices. Through the physical sustenance provided by the sacrifices, food and drink, God painted a picture of His sustenance for His chosen people. This is why sacrifices were to be offered at the door of the tent of meeting, where God would speak to His people. God affirms His purpose for choosing Israel once again. God is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that He might dwell among them. God’s intention is to come to people. Throughout Scripture, His intention is always to come down to people. This necessarily means that His intention is not to try to make people come up to Him, for no one can ascend to God. We all fall short of His glory and righteousness. He does not need our worship. The opportunity to worship is given for our benefit, that we might know God more and have life that only He can sustain. Later, in John 6, when Jesus claims that people must eat His flesh and drink His blood, He alludes to this part of the Law. The bread and the wine foreshadow the sustaining work of Jesus Christ. We not only need Him for salvation from sins or a one-time conversion. He is quite literally our sustenance forever. He holds us together and causes us to breathe. He alone raptures His people to Heaven or sends them to Sheol. Our lives, here and forever, are in His trustworthy hands. He is the true High Priest. So, we eat and drink in His name at His table.