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Banquets are never merely mealtimes or celebrations. It is wise to pay close attention to them in our Bible studies. Frequently, they contain a message about who is up and who is down in political or social status. Where a person sits and how much food and drink they receive indicates status. Notice Joseph's banquet for his brothers in Genesis 43:31-34. The magnificent banquet portrayed in Esther 1 sets the stage for everything else that unfolds in the riveting story of Esther's and Mordecai's faith, loyalty, and courage and Haman's scheming treachery. At this banquet Artaxerxes—a powerful Persian king who is aloof yet generous—in a moment of impatient irritation and drunkenness, establishes a law with far-reaching consequences to those it affects. Later in the story, during a banquet Esther prepares for the king and Haman, she springs the trap on Haman that seals his fate. Banquets are venues for political and social discourse and dealing. An invitation to attend one, especially from a person of prominence, is a distinct honor. Refusal to attend when invited or being refused entrance carries a strong, sobering message (Matthew 22:8-14). Banquets provide insights into Israelite cultural customs that teach us that in many ways we are not much different. In Genesis 21:8, Abraham calls a great feast when Isaac is weaned, and he is also involved when Melchizedek brings out bread and wine after Abraham's victory over the five kings (Genesis 14:18-19). In the much-beloved Psalm 23, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (verse 5) refers broadly to the security of God's provision and specifically to a victory banquet over David's enemies. Sometimes, though, the Bible shows that these normally happy cultural occasions are a venue for tragedy because evildoers use them to plan conspiracies. Judges 9:22-57 recounts a conspiracy that begins during the celebration of the grape harvest and does not end until many are dead, including nearly a thousand men in one portion of the uprising. In I Samuel 25, Nabal, during the annual sheep shearing, rejects David's appeal for food for his company in exchange for the protection they had provided. Though Nabal had prepared food to celebrate the end of the shearing, he will not share. He dies shortly thereafter.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Eating: How Good It Is! (Part One)
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