Eating off Jewish Plates

The line at our church potluck parted like the Red Sea, half to the right of the food table and half to the left.

“Some of these plates are Jewish,” remarked the man across from me.

I gave him a puzzled look.

“We got them from the synagogue,” he explained as he examined the bottom of his plate to find out if he had one of the special plates.

I didn’t bother looking at the bottom of mine. I was more interested in the food. But it did make me think about how often we eat from Jewish plates at church. I’m not talking about literal plates anymore. Most churches aren’t blessed to have Jewish dinnerware in their cupboards, but we all have it in our Bibles. It’s called the Old Testament.

Too often we rush on to the food in the New Testament. That’s where we find things written directly to us. Besides, it’s not as boring as long descriptions about what to do if you find a leprous spot in your wall, how to sacrifice animals, and how many rings to put in the curtains of the tabernacle.

But we miss so much in the New Testament if we don’t understand the Old. In the Old Testament we learn of the holiness of God, and we get a picture of the filthiness of our sin. We learn why death is the punishment for sin and are assured someone can take that punishment for us. We marvel at the care God put into all the details of His dwelling place—the tabernacle. Without that, can we ever understand the wonder of the fact that our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Ghost?

Yes, we can get tasteful bites from the New Testament even if we haven’t read the Old. We can grab a couple chips or a carrot or even a cupcake. But we’ll never get a full meal until we pick up that Jewish plate.