Have you ever noticed the amount of times bread is referenced in the Bible? Why is that?

The Hebrew word for bread is leḥem and it is used 298 times in the Old Testament. 

The Greek word for bread is artos and it is used 97 times in the New Testament.

That is a total of 395 times. Seems like bread was pretty important to the lives of the Jews in both the time before Jesus and during the time Jesus lived on the earth. 

Manna and Jesus

What did the Lord provide for the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? Manna. What is manna? That is a really good question, and actually “what is it” is exactly what the word manna means.
Even the people who saw, touched, baked, and ate manna didn’t really know what it was. Here is how the Israelites described manna:

“Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Exodus‬ ‭16‬:‭31‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Want to know a cool revelation I had this week regarding manna? Jesus is the manna. The manna is Jesus. The bread from heaven that the Father gave to the Israelites was not only a foreshadowing of Jesus, but it actually was the essence of Jesus. When the people ate the manna, they were partaking in the kingdom age, even before the kingdom age came in the form of Jesus in the flesh. 

Furthermore, they were partaking in who Jesus has always been – life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10) Jesus has always been the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). 

Jesus was the way to life in the form of manna for the Israelites while they were in the wilderness because of their rebellion. Even when they failed, Jesus never left them. He has always been the way to the promised land. He came as manna then and he comes now as the bread of life. 

There is an Infinite Supply

Jesus came as manna six days out of the week. He was the provision the Israelites needed in the form of manna for the entire time they were traveling in the wilderness. There was an endless supply in heaven of manna. It didn’t matter if the Israelites needed manna for a day, a week, or years, there was always enough manna in heaven to provide for their needs. As it turned out they were dependent on manna for 40 years. 

Just like then, Jesus gives us life, not just life but eternal life now and this eternal life will never run out. 

Jesus provides all we need to live the abundant life he promised because his presence is abundant life. 

• Do you talk to Jesus and have a relationship with him? 
• Do you feel his presence? 
• If so, you are experiencing the abundant life promised by Jesus in John 10. 

Not only did the Israelites depend on manna to sustain their physical hunger for 40 years, the Lord told Moses to gather some of the manna in a jar and keep it to remind them of the provision given to them when they were in the wilderness. 

Later this jar would be placed in the Ark of the Covenant. The very place where God would sit on the Day of Atonement. So, not only was the Father’s presence there, Jesus was there in the form of manna. 

The amazing thing is that the manna placed in the jar never went bad. If the people gathered too much manna one day, it would be rotten and filled with worms the next day. This would happen every day except on the Sabbath day. The Lord provided two days worth of manna the day before the Sabbath and the manna wouldn’t spoil until after the Sabbath day. 

What did Jesus Say

Like the manna given to the Israelites, Jesus is our manna and is given to us to sustain us forever. Let’s look at some things Jesus said hinting at this truth.

“Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave 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.”” John‬ ‭6‬:‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”” John‬ ‭6‬:‭48‬-‭51‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”” Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭19‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” John‬ ‭6‬:‭53‬-‭55‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

I have always instinctively known this last verse in John where Jesus says we need to eat his flesh had a much deeper meaning than just referring to the coming of communion. Yes, he was talking about communion, but he was also referring to the fact that he is the manna sent from heaven. 

Anyone who chooses to eat this manna will live forever because Jesus’ flesh is true food. 

When we take communion, we are remembering Jesus. We remember that Jesus is the bread of life. He is the manna sent from heaven to give us life abundantly. Jesus is the sustainer of life now and forever more. 

The Bread of Presence, and Jesus

In the tabernacle there was a table in the Holy Place. On this table was bread. This bread was called The Bread of Presence. Do you want to know something cool?! The word for presence here is the same word we learned when we talked about the 4 faces or presences of the cherubim. 

It’s the word panim. If you recall this is the same word used right after Adam and Eve sinned:

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”  Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

How does this relate to Jesus and the Bread of Presence? The Bread of Presence was meant to be eaten only by the priests. The priests were God’s representatives to the people. They were to show the people the character of God. Therefore, the priests needed to eat the bread of the presence because Jesus’ presence or panim was in that bread. It was just like all those years when they ate the manna. The bread of presence is the bread from heaven – Jesus. As the bread of life, his presence was in the bread of presence.

Jesus the High Priest

Hebrews 7 talks about how Jesus is the great high priest after the order of Melchizedek. In this chapter the writer explains how there was a change in the law when Jesus became the high priest for all time. Because Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, and not the tribe of Levi, there needed to be a change in the law because there was a change in the priesthood. 

“Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews‬ ‭7‬:‭11‬-‭19‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

In Romans 8 we are told that Jesus came to do what the law could not do. Likewise, Jesus came to be the priest that no Levite could ever be. Jesus is the perfect priest and as such fulfilled the law. Because there was a change in the tribe of the high priest, there also needed to be a change in the way things were done. No longer do we have to go to the temple to experience the presence of Jesus. We no longer have to rely on someone else to show us who Jesus is. We can experience the presence of Jesus because he is one with us. 

The bread of presence came in the flesh and dwelled among us, and now lives inside us. We can consume the bread of presence anytime we want. The good news is, we don’t have to be from a certain bloodline to enjoy the bread of presence, aka Jesus, the bread of life. The only requirement is to be in the bloodline of Jesus. This is done by his blood covering us when we surrender our lives to him. His blood changes our bloodline to be his bloodline and thus we can enjoy the bread of presence. 

How Does Time Explain This

This chapter in Hebrews says something interesting when talking about Abraham giving tithes to Melchizedek.

“One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.” Hebrews‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

This reminded me of when David came in and ate the bread of presence after being on the run from Saul. Jesus references this in Matthew 12:

“He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?” Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Why was David allowed to eat the bread of presence when only the priests were allowed to eat it? Remember only the Levites were allowed to eat the bread of presence. David was from the tribe of Judah. It was because of the same principle taught in Hebrews. Just as one might say that Levi himself paid tithes to Melchizedek because he was in the loins of Abraham, so Jesus was in the loins of David – his ancestor – and thus allowed to eat the bread of presence because in the spirit Jesus was already the high priest. 

Time

Something I have learned is that time is not linear, as we think of it. Rather it is more like a torus. You can think of a torus like a donut. It’s round with a hole in the middle. 

Several years ago the Lord showed me that time is like a donut, and he sits in the middle of it. This is why there is always a deeper and ever expanding understanding of God throughout the history of mankind. The view the people had of God 500 years ago is both different, and the same from the viewpoint we have of God today. It’s not that God has changed. It’s that we are on a different point in the cycle of time, and see a God from a different vantage point. 

This is also why time is described as seasons and cycles. 

So, Jesus, the bread of presence, was already the priest even when David was living on the earth. How can this be? It’s because time is circular and not linear. I know this is hard to wrap your brain around. I encourage you to ask the Lord about this and he will show you!

Things I’ve Learned About Wheat

Recently I have started buying wheat berries and milling my own flour. I know what you are thinking. It’s likely the same thing I imagined when I first heard about milling your own flour. We live in modern times and as such the mills are small and electric. The mill I bought fits in my cupboard and really doesn’t take that much space. When it’s time to mill my wheat, I just fill my mill up with what I need and let it do the work for me. The smell of freshly milled wheat is incredible, not to mention it tastes so much better than the store bought flour. 

Did you know that 40 of the 44 most essential nutrients your body needs is found in the wheat berry? Here’s the thing. Fresh milled flour doesn’t have a very long shelf life. It can only last for a few days before it goes bad. 

People discovered at the turn of the last century that they could take off parts of the wheat, they could manufacture flour for the masses and it wouldn’t go bad as quickly. The downside is that the parts they took out are the parts with the most nutrients inside. As a result, people started getting sick with things never seen before, and pregnancies suddenly took a turn for the worse. Doctors discovered that people were lacking in nutrients like folic acid, and such, and this is why the sudden decline in health. What did they do? They started putting in synthetic nutrients into the flour. Thus we now have “enriched” flour. 

The flour we buy at the store is not the flour God intended us to have in our diets. I believe that if we eat the way God intended us to eat, we wouldn’t see many of the diseases we see in society these days. So I decided to mill my own flour. As it turns out it isn’t as hard as I thought. I even found a quick bread recipe that makes bread making even easier. We have been eating fresh milled flour for about a month and already we never want to go back. It tastes so much better than store bought bread. Not to mention, I no longer feel guilty about eating bread. I now see it as a benefit to my body instead of a detriment. 

Time to Act

Jesus is the bread of life. He has everything we need for life and wellness. Just like the wheat berry that gives us most of the nutrients we need for our physical body, the bread of life gives us all we need for our spiritual bodies. Do you feel worn down spiritually? Eat some bread of life. Do you have constant spiritual warfare going on? Eat some bread of life. 

Take some time to pray and ask Jesus where in your spirit, soul, and/or body you need the bread of life to come in and make it whole. The bread of life that only comes from Jesus is used in the spiritual realm to heal, refresh, and renew that which was once broken and run down. By faith ask Jesus for bread of life, and eat it. Then see what transpires in your life. It will be great!