we also find shared meals at the center of it. Why? Because one of the main reasons meals exist is to enrich relationships. A central theme in the Bible is that of a joyful feast in God’s presence. God’s first command to Adam was to eat from all of Eden’s trees (Gen. 2:17). In the Old Testament, people also typically ate together when making a covenant. After Israel’s exodus from Egypt, their leaders climbed Mount Sinai and “they beheld God, and ate and drank” (Ex. 24:11). Then God brought Israel into their land and commanded them to rejoice (commanded to rejoice!) over meals in his presence
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