Bread of Life/Bread from Heaven:
Bread, a word used for food in general (“give us this day our daily bread”), is symbolic of both physical and spiritual sustenance. Since the Savior created the world, then sacrificed himself for the sins of that world, He is the father of all physical life, as well as the father of our eternal life. As Amulek explained to the people of Ammonihah, “…He is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in them are; He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last; and he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name…” (Alma 11:39)
The Savior’s connection with bread occurred in the Garden of Eden, with the children of Israel, during his own ministry, as well as after his death and resurrection. Consider the following points:
ADAM AND EVE DAILY BREAD: In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve walked and talked with God. They received spiritual nourishment in this personal communion with God. The garden, planted especially for them, provided for all their physical food. After the Fall, Adam had to produce his own food. He was told, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground…” (Gen 3:19) The word used is le-KHEM, the word for ‘bread’ in Hebrew. Adam and Eve were also told that a Savior would be provided for them, and commandments and the law of sacrifice. (Moses 5) In the same way, we labor for our physical nourishment, and must work out our own salvation. The only way to find spiritual life is to find and follow the Bread of Life, feasting upon His word (2 Ne 32:3), and partaking of the gift of repentance.
UNLEAVENED BREAD: In the book of Exodus, we read the account of the Israelites’ bondage to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. As they prepared to escape, they were commanded to make bread without leaven, for their flight would be in haste, leaving no time for the dough to rise. The flight of Israel is a metaphor of how we must quickly flee the bondage of sin and mastery by Satan. To escape spiritual bondage, one must gain spiritual strength and the ability to repent from Christ’s atoning sacrifice. The “eating” of His body as explained in John 6:51, is not just the sacrament. It is also the daily feasting upon His word, and striving to be like Him. We fast and give the money we would have spent on our daily bread as offerings. We seek out our dead and take their names to the temple. We share the spiritual bread of the gospel in word and deed. Thus we become a spiritual and physical source of bread to our fellow man, and become saviors on Mount Zion, taking the image and name of Christ upon us.
Leaven, omitted from the Passover bread, has several symbolic meanings: Paul related it to pride, malice and wickedness in 1 Cor. 5:6-8. Luke 12:1 describes it as hypocrisy. Leaven was a highly fermented old piece of dough, thus it symbolized corruption. Christ was the pure Bread who was devoid of any corruption. Retaining any old sinful habits corrupts the “new man” we are trying to become. (See Matt 16:6) In observance of the Passover, all leaven was removed from the house, and those who did not observe this were “cut off” from Israel, just as those who refuse to give up their corrupt ways are cut off from God.
We usually think of the sacrifice of a lamb as the symbol of Christ, but unleavened bread was part of the burnt sacrifices under the Mosaic Law as well. (Lev 2:11; 7:12; Num 6:15) As pointed out by Thomas R. Valletta in a Mar. 1999 Ensign article titled, The True Bread of Life, the burning of the leftover sacrificial bread was done because it was holy, and was not allowed to be lost to decay, or carelessly discarded. (See Exo. 29:34) This was a symbol of Christ’s power; He would lose none of those given to him. John 6:39 states, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. See also John 17:12; 18:9.
MANNA- BREAD FROM HEAVEN: Manna, which “fell from heaven” (John 6:31), showed the power and constant watchful care of the pre-mortal Christ, and is a symbol of the need for constant reliance on Him. It was also a foreshadowing that He, the Bread of Life, would come personally from heaven one day.
The experience of the manna was to be a reminder to the children of Israel of the one true God, and how they should spiritually feast on His word. In his parting address to the Israelites, Moses stated, “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.” [Deut. 8:3]
There were 60,000 men, plus uncounted women and children who left Egypt. Soon, their food supplies were exhausted and “the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness…[saying] would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh posts, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill [us].” (Exo 16:2-3] We may secretly criticize the children of Israel for being weak and sinful, but after camping in a tent in the deserts of the Middle East, I can appreciate the Israelites’ preference of slavery in Egypt to death by starvation and exposure in this incredibly harsh landscape. Temperatures during a summer day climb to more than 120 degrees, then fall into the 60s at night. The wind often blows mercilessly, depositing sand and dust on, and in everything. There is virtually no vegetation in many areas. Deuteronomy 4:20 says, “But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt…” Leaving the iron furnace of bondage, they now entered the refiner’s fire of Sinai. (See pictures at the end of this blog.)
Only a miracle could sustain this huge mobile community under such conditions, and so the Lord provided for His people. Moses told the people that the Lord would “rain bread from heaven” [Exo 16:4]. Imagine arising from your tent at the break of day and finding a small, round, white substance on the ground around you. Now imagine being told to gather it, for this was your breakfast, lunch and dinner! The people naturally turned to one another asking what it was. Hence the name manna, or “man hu” which literally means, “What is he?” (Hebrew has no neuter gender.) This bread-like substance sustained the Israelites for forty years. (Ex 16:4, 35)
CHRIST AS BREAD: The manna, and other events of the Exodus became the spiritual legacy of the Israelites. What other nation had had such signs and sustenance from God? They were fed, healed, taught, and led by Jehovah. And when He came down and walked among His people as a mortal, He taught, led, healed and fed them still. It seems no coincidence that Bethlehem, where Christ was born, is לֶחֶם בֵּית or ‘beit lekhem’, which means “house of bread”.
In a miracle that has echoes of the manna in the desert, Matt. 14:15 tells how Jesus multiplied a few loaves and fishes to feed more than 5,000 (and later the 4,000) in a “desert place”. Seeing the miracle, the people would have taken Him by force and proclaimed Him their earthly king. Most were only interested political power, or in His ability to provide free food. (John 6:15, 26) They saw only the physical benefits of discipleship. Most rejected Christ’s claim as the Bread of Life. The unbelieving Jews questioned His identity, just as they had questioned the manna. These spiritually malnourished and corrupt men, whose carnal appetites had been forged in the wilderness of pride, refused to be spiritually filled. They sought even more signs and miracles, “That we may see, and believe thee.” They proclaimed, “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” (John 6:30) Jesus replied, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”
Such sign seeking is a symptom of spiritual starvation, and is described in James 4:3, which says that the wicked ask and receive not because they desire to “consume it upon their lusts.” The Greek word for consume, δαπανάω, prounounced dah-pah-NAH-o, does not mean ‘to eat’, but ‘to waste, destroy, or squander’. These Jews refused the spiritual feast that the Bread of Life offered, striving instead to destroy Him.
During the last Passover of His life, Jesus took the unleavened bread that was the very symbol of the night of escape from bondage in Egypt, and made it a symbol of the escape from the bondage of sin. Matt 26:26 relates that Jesus took the Passover bread, broke it and told His apostles to take and eat it as a symbol of His body.
For us too, the sacrament bread is a reminder of the body of Christ. In taking the bread, we renew our covenants to “always remember him, and keep his commandments… that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us].” After His death and resurrection, Christ miraculously provided sacrament bread and wine for the Nephites. (3 Ne. 20:3-7) As mentioned, in order to better serve Him and know His will, 2 Ne 32:3 tells us to “feast upon the words of Christ, for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” As we come to the Bread of Life through this feasting, we will never hunger, having gained eternal life and peace in this world.
 |
| Sinai Desert scenes | <><>
