The Breads Of The Bible

Feature 4 – February 2014 — Grace & Truth Magazine

The BREADS Of The Bible

The Bread Of Deception
We are not surprised by the deception found in the world today. We live in the Biblical end times in which “evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13 NKJV ). With inspired foresight the apostle Paul taught Timothy that the antidote to being taken in by deceivers is to continue reading the Scriptures. Wisdom is always helpful too: “Walk in wisdom towards those who are outside” (Col. 4:5).

Our first parents were the targets of deception. Eve was taken in by a satanic creature, the serpent, who sowed doubts in her mind about the ultimate goodness of God and persuaded her to take some of the forbidden fruit from the tree in the center of the Garden of Eden. Eve was deceived, but Adam sinned with his eyes open. Through their disobedience all the sickness, sorrow and guilt that has ever plagued the whole human race was brought about. That one single act of deception had colossal consequences.

Another illustration showing the long-term effects of an act of deception is found in Joshua 9. It is a story involving moldy bread, the bread of deception indeed. The Israelites had moved into the Promised Land as directed by the LORD. News of their military successes against such cities as Jericho and Ai had caused widespread concern among the pagan kings of Canaan. Some of them formed a confederacy to do battle, but the Gibeonites took a more cunning route. They sent emissaries to Joshua disguised as weary travellers who had been on a long journey. These representatives displayed moldy bread, torn wineskins, old clothes and patched sandals. Joshua and his men, completely taken in by this deception, believed their story and agreed to a formal peace treaty with them. Joshua was not alert, and he failed to seek clear direction from God. Before long he discovered that the Gibeonites, for all their moldy bread, had not travelled a long distance but lived in three nearby cities. Embarrassed by what he had allowed to occur, Joshua rebuked them for their dishonesty and sentenced the people to slavery forever. They became the woodcutters and water carriers for the Israelites. The very freedom these idol-worshiping Gibeonites had tried to win, they lost.

Yet God in His amazing grace later allowed the tabernacle to be pitched at Gibeon (2 Chron. 1:3). After the exile of Judah to Babylon, some Gibeonites helped Nehemiah rebuild the walls of Jerusalem – their help being acceptable (Neh. 3:7). There is a great lesson here. Though sin has its inevitable consequences which must generally be left to run their course, the grace of God not only forgives, but it may also in some way overrule mistakes and bring blessings out of failures.

The Bread Of Complaint
Complaints. Such was the story of the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. The grumbles began as soon as the strains of Moses’ song of triumph, “Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea,” died away. “The whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. And the children of Israel said to them, ‘Oh that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full. For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger’” (Ex. 16:2-3).

Rose-tinted memories about the loaves of bread and pots of meat in Egypt readily came to the mind. What they conveniently didn’t remember was their terrible plight as slaves under forced labor conditions, having to make bricks without being given the needed raw material. The LORD listened to their pitiful complaints, which were really directed at Him rather than Moses and Aaron.

Early the next morning the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud; and on the ground there was something which they had never seen before. It was a mysterious substance, like tiny round seeds that could be ground and made into honey-flavored wafers. They called it “manna,” meaning “What is it?” In response to their desire for meat, the LORD also provided low-flying quail in the evening. A perfectly balanced diet delivered to their doorstep! The LORD heard their complaints and provided all they needed with the intent that “you shall know that I am the LORD your God” (Ex. 16:12). This is one of the great “I am” statements in the Scriptures – the mark of the self-existing and all-sufficient God, rightly claimed by the Lord Jesus Himself on many occasions.

A double allocation of manna was to be collected on the day before the Sabbath so that no gathering would need to be done on that special day. Except for this one day, the manna was not to be kept overnight; what was stored went bad. The people had to believe that the manna would be there for them every morning without fail. And it was! God is a faithful God. There is a lesson here for us: The regular daily reading of God’s Word morning by morning, before the heat of the day’s activities has taken its toll on our energies, is the best provision for all our wilderness needs. The living Word is brought to life through faith in the pages of the written Word.

This was not the last time the Israelites complained about food shortages, as we see in Kadesh-Barnea in Numbers 11. They had the manna all through their wanderings in the desert, but they had grown tired of God’s gracious provision for their need. Once again they thought longingly back to the ample food supply in Egypt, conveniently forgetting all the unpleasant things that went along with it. On the previous occasion, by grace, God generously and miraculously brought them bread and meat – all they needed. Now under the Law, following the giving of the Ten Commandments and their self-imposed commitment to them, there was judgment. The anger of the LORD was aroused, and even Moses complained to Him about the situation.

Yet again near the end of Moses’ life the complaints continued (Num. 21). The people not only spoke against Moses but now directly against God Himself. Even though they were so close to reaching the Promised Land – another whole generation of Israelites, the sons and daughters of those who left Egypt – were saying the same things in even more rebellious terms: “And the people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread’” (Num. 21:5). This is a clear illustration of children’s imitating their parents – showing even less appreciation of all God’s gracious provision. Worthless bread indeed! Young people and parents be warned!

The Bread Of Life
As with the Old Testament history of the Israelites, the passage on bread in John 6 is set in the context of Jewish unbelief and controversy. Jesus had just performed an amazing miracle in feeding five thousand men plus an undisclosed number of women and children. The source of the miracle was the five loaves and two small fish offered by a young boy who made his lunch available to the disciples. After the miracle there were twelve large baskets of leftovers. Surely God continues to provide in abundance just as He did in the wilderness.

The image of “bread” would be foremost in the minds of the Lord’s Jewish hearers. The people asked Jesus, “What sign will you perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?” (Jn. 6:30). What more did they want? Then the following interchange took place:

“‘Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’

Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe’” (Jn. 6:31-36).

Jesus made it perfectly clear that it was not Moses who gave them the manna, but God Himself whom He describes as His Father. Furthermore, the manna was a temporary provision of literal food given to meet a specific wilderness need. What Jesus offered was spiritual food, available to His hearers then and there. It was not confined to the Jewish nation, but available to give life to all nations of the world. That bread was Himself – the Bread of Life, able to eternally satisfy those who come to Him in faith.

The words “I am the bread of life” contain the second claim to deity made by the Lord. He had already quietly introduced such a claim when He described the One who gave them the manna as “My Father.” Now He reinforces that statement with the use of the words “I am,” clearly claiming equality with Jehovah. No mere man could say that. Nor could a mere man say, “He who comes to me will never hunger.” Yet unbelief dominated the minds of His Jewish hearers. Standing in front of them was the Perfect Man, the divine sign who had come down from heaven to do the Father’s will. If this sign was insufficient, what more would they need to be convinced?

More queries [questions asked with skepticism] arose relating to the earthly parents of Jesus, whom they claimed to know. The incarnation will always remain a mystery, appreciated only by faith. How Jesus was born a baby in Bethlehem’s manger and at the same time had an eternal relationship with His heavenly Father will always exceed our reason, just as it did those questioning Jesus here. But the presence of the Bread of Life to nourish and strengthen us in our daily Christian walk is a reality which needs no explanation.

We can do no more than echo the words of the apostle Paul: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33).

By Ian Livingstone