I don’t know what would make a good meal in your book, but I know what makes a good meal in the Bible. I’ve been thinking about three specific meals and what ties them all together. These are three meals of substance from the Bible.

Two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions.

A triple-patty bacon cheeseburger.

Cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos.

A bowl of fried okra and ketchup.

One pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread.

Three fajitas.

A meat lovers pizza.

One pint of ice cream.

A slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts.

And three root beers.

Enough food to feed a small army. But this was a single meal for a single person—a real-life “last meal” request from an inmate sitting on Death Row. And it was a request that was granted. Whatever your thoughts might be on giving convicted criminals a good meal before executing them, that is a substantial meal. What would you choose for your last meal if you had to craft a menu for such an event? Mine would be sushi and buffalo wings all the way. And maybe some ribs.

I don’t know what would make a good meal in your book, but I know what makes a good meal in the Bible. I’ve been thinking about three specific meals and what ties them all together. These are three meals of substance from the Bible.

Meal #1: Exodus 24:9–11

I had the best third-grade teacher. She planned this “Bible times’ meal. (It was a Christian school.) And we had pomegranates and dates and all kinds of other stuff I can’t remember. It was a good meal. But in Exodus 24, we read about a meal like no other. Moses and the elders of Israel sealed the Old Covenant with God by partaking of a meal. They entered into an agreement with God. By sacrificing animals and splattering blood, they put themselves under the responsibility to keep the law. God in turn would make them his “treasured possession among all peoples” (Exod. 19:5). Not a bad deal. And this was a landmark meal to seal said deal. They ate in the presence of God.

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