Supper, Sup deipnon, deipneo Many years ago, when my wife and I traveled extensively in ministry, we stayed in many Christian homes and often ate meals in different homes every day. We quickly discovered that the meaning of the words dinner and supper depended upon local custom. So, to prevent miscommunication (and probable embarrassment), we came to use the terms noon meal and evening meal. Among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, however, supper (deipnon, 1173) referred to the main meal of the day, which was eaten at or toward evening and often extended into the night (e. g., Luke 14:16- 17; John 12:2- 4; etc.). An extremely significant occurrence of the verb deipneo (1172), to eat or have supper, appears in Revelation 3:20, where our Lord writes again to the Laodiceans, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. What has always struck me about this scene is that the Lord is here pictured as being outside of His own church, asking to come back in. How true it is today! Apostates have thrust the Lord out of that which belongs to Him. To those who will obey, however, He will come in and eat with them. Meals were an intimate affair in the ancient world. Especially significant were meals where a guest was present; a guest was always honored. As one authority recounts, By [NT] times the triclinium was beginning to come into use. This was an arrangement of three tables set around a square, with access to the middle gained through the open side of the square so that servants could come and go to bring in food and to take away the left- overs. Couches were arranged on the outside of the three tables, close to one another, so that the guest could recline to eat. The guest was given a cushion and lay on his left arm with his head towards the table, leaving his right arm free to take what he wished. This made it possible for servants to rinse the feet while the guests continued the banquet. Jesus was therefore probably using a couch at a triclinium when his feet were washed (Luke 7:46). 297 Let us each search our hearts and ask, Is the Lord being honored in my church or is He standing outside asking to come in? Scriptures for Study:Read about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb to which we all look forward (Rev. 19:1- 10). (WordForTheDay_Watson)
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 06:12:47 +0000
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