BF&Q pp 121-182
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EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
Facts 4 Paul stated that deacons should “not indulge in much wine” (1 Timothy 3:8). P a u l u r g e d Timothy to drink a little wine because of his frequent illnesses. It seems that Timothy suffered from some kind of stomach ailment (1 Ti m o t h y 5:23). Sheep were bred by the Jews for their meat and milk. The fat in a sheep’s tail was also prized. The Jews did not usually cut bread with a knife. They broke or tore a piece of bread from the loaf. Acts 20:7 describes the Lord’s Supper as a time when they came “together to break bread.” In the Old Testament meat was a luxury food. King Solomon’s wealth was described in terms of how much meat was provided daily, “Solomon’s daily provision were… ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl” (1 Kings 4:23). It is not surprising that John the Baptist found enough honey for his daily diet of locusts and honey in the desert since swarms of bees settled not only in hollow trees (1 Samuel 14:25-27), but also in holes in rocks (Psalm 81:16; Deuteronomy 32:13). To the Jews, the calf was considered a delicacy reserved for their special festivals. Hence the detail in Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son in which the father had the “fatted calf” killed (Luke 15:23 KJV). Wine was stored in goatskins, but they had to be new ones, because wine gives off gas as it ferments and only a new skin was supple and strong enough to expand. Jesus referred to this in his saying recorded in Matthew 9:17. The Hebrews usually ate only twice a day. The light morning meal, between 9 a.m. and noon, and the main meal of the day in the evening, in the cool of the day. The Psalmist says that the sweetness of milk and honey is surpassed by that of the words of the Law (Psalm 19:10).
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There are four accounts of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament (Matthew 26:2628; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-22; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). Each account includes the words “This is my body”, emphasizing that the bread represents the body of Jesus which was given for his followers.
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