The House of Bread

I have been working from John chapter 6 for a couple of weeks - thinking about Jesus as the figurative and spiritual “Bread of Life.” But there are several other types of figurative “bread” in the scriptures.   

House of Bread – The Hebrew word for bread is lehem.  Jesus’ birthplace- Bethlehem - is the “house of bread.”

There are bitter breads:

The Bread of Adversity – “… the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction…” Isaiah 30: 20

The Bread of Tears – “…you have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.”  Psalm 80:5

Bread of Ashes – “I eat ashes as my bread.” Psalm 102:9

There are sinful breads:

Bread of Idleness - “She…does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:27

Bread of Wickedness – “They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.” Proverbs 4:17

There are holy breads:

Bread of the Presence – “Put the bread of the Presence on the table to be before me at all times.” Exodus 25: 30

Daily Bread – “Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11(Though the "daily" in this bread isn't as clearly understood as repetition and tradition make it appear...)

There is cannibalistic bread:

Eating People Like Bread – “Will evildoers never learn – those who devour my people as men eat bread…” Psalm 14:4 

And, of course, there is Ezekiel’s Bread – made with only the finest ingredients…