LECHEM - BREAD

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:35 (NIV)

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INTRODUCTION

In the wilderness, Israel shed their old identity for the new. But it took them a long journey and quite a few bumps. Their initial elation and faith in the God above all Gods was put to the test when lack of water and food they faced.

They groaned collectively, and mercifully God met their need. He was faithful all throughout their 40-year-long journey. Every day, except on Shabbats, they gathered manna, the bread given to man to eat until they die.

But there is one other bread, lechem in Hebrew, that God provided for His people - the bread of life. Jesus is that bread. He is the bread that feeds our spirit.

MANNA - HEAVEN’S BREAD

The escape from Egypt was a grand gesture of God’s power, protection, and provision. Israel managed to escape into the wilderness. You would think after 400 years of slavery, the trip would be quick and painless; that soo they would enter the promised land. But what was to be a short test was prolonged into a 40-year-long journey.

You see, the old identity they had to shed, like a snake sheds her skin. People say that it isn’t the clothes, but rather it is the confidence of the person wearing them. That is why some just look like they belong, and others look like they put on someone elses skin.

Israel needed to shift in mindset. They were no longer slaves but free. The new attire was meant to fit them perfectly. But even new clothes sometimes can feel uncomfortable and need to be broken in.

Their initial elation over God parting the Red Sea quickly waned when faced with the lack of food and water. Their hungry bellies started to complain. A collective groan was released - the Israelites moaned to Moses and Aaron. They demanded food.

God answered them quickly. Patient, He was. He sent manna to rain. Each day, they would gather these small, white seeds the size of coriander and create bread to feed the hungry. .

All throughout the 40 years, God faithfully provided them with lechem - bread by which man would live until he died.

LECHEM - THE HEBREW WORD FOR BREAD

The Hebrew word for bread is lechem. In the context of Biblical Hebrew, it also denotes solid food. (2) Bread was, after all, considered a staple food in the life of everyone. (2, 4)

Lechem is a cognate of the word lochem, a warrior. Quite surprising, right? What exactly do bread and food have to do with warring?

In Judaism, the spiritual battlefield is not limited to overtly “spiritual” moments. It extends beyond the prescribed bounds of ritual and worship. It also includes the “mundane” aspects of human existence and experience. (3)

The real battle is not to withdraw from the material realm in order to avoid the obstacles it presents to spiritual devotion, but to engage and uncover the spiritual purpose within one’s everyday activities. (3)

THE LECHEM OF LIFE

Jesus was tested similarly. He went through a wilderness season of His own. Fasted He for 40 days and nights, and when hungry satan tempted Him.

The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Matthew 4: 3 (NIV)

Jesus’s identity was put to question, but He chose not to engage, but rather to put trust in the Word of God.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4: 4 (NIV)

Per Jesus, Yeshua, man shall live by bread and by the Word of God. The Word of God happens to be none other than Jesus Himself. He is the lechem of life. (4)

GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD!

As physical bread nurtures our physical bodies, the Word of God nurtures our spirits. There is a need for balance. What we feed more of will overcome the other.

To become better imagers of God, we need to remain in the Word. That is why we pray, give us our daily bread of life - in other words, our daily dose of Jesus and His Amazing grace.

CONCLUSION

In the wilderness, God provided Israel with manna, bread. The Hebrew word for bread is lechem. It nurtured the man and woman. Provided their bodies with sustenance.

Jesus came to remind us that men were designed to live not only on the physical bread, but also on the Word of God. He is the bread of life that sustains our spirits.

Application

Let's pray. Father, throughout this week, I pray that you would give me my daily bread and the ability to seize it. AMEN!

SOURCES

1. Image created via canva.com.

2. Iowa - Bible & Archeology. RTL Words: LEHEM (לחם). Available at https://bam.sites.uiowa.edu/RTL/lehem

3. Mendel Kalmenson, Zalman Abraham. Bread: Lechem (לֶחֶם). Available at https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5785390/jewish/Bread-Lechem.htm

4. Dustin Herron. Lechem: The Hebrew Word for Bread and Its Biblical Meaning. September 27th 2016. Available at https://firmisrael.org/learn/lechem-hebrew-word-bread-biblical-meaning/.