Bread.1450
BREAD
Ref. 1450
BIBLE READING: John 6:1-58
INTRODUCTION:
Kinds of bread. Staff of life. Word of God. Body of Christ. Angels food. Hospitality.
1. BREAD KNOWN FROM STONE AGE
Archaeologists discovered querns at Jericho dated from 6000 B.C. (Stone hand mill).
At Sakkara Egypt - triangular wheat loaves 5000 years old were discovered.
2. MANY KINDS OF BREAD
a. OILED BREAD - LEV 8:26 And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:
b. BARLEY - JUDGES 7:13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
c. MIXED GRAIN BREAD - EZEKIEL 4:9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentil’s, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof".
3. HUSBAND-WIFE CEREAL (Aino Japan)
a. Millet grain distinguished - Male and Female
b. Cakes made, Prayed to, and eaten.
4. ARYAN INDIANS
Brahmans taught that rice cakes were human substitutes.
Rice Bread:
a. Meal - hair
b. Water added - skin
c. Kneaded - flesh
d. Baked - bone (Hard)
e. Sprinkled with butter - marrow
This is the completeness which they call the fivefold animal sacrifice.
5. JEWISH
Why do people refrain from speaking from the time of washing the hands until after reciting the Hamotzi blessing and eating the first bite of bread?
Despite the fact that the Netilat Yada yim prayer, which is recited when washing the hands, is totally separate from the Hamotzi blessing, which is recited over the bread to be eaten, the two prayers and the two actions over which they are pronounced are closely related. So as not to diminish one's concentration, the Rabbis urged that no words be uttered between the time one begins to say the hand-washing blessing and the time one finishes eating the first morsel of bread. This custom is generally followed by observant Jews today.
Why is bread the most important food in Jewish tradition?
In Jewish tradition, no food is more important than bread. Proof of this is usually adduced from the verse in the Bible (Deuteronomy 8:8) in which bread (or, to be more specific, wheat from which most bread is made) is mentioned before all other foods. It is for this reason that when the blessing over bread (Hamotzi) is recited at the beginning of a meal, it covers all foods to be eaten during the course of the meal. Individual blessings need not be recited over the foods eaten, unless the foods are not considered integral to the meal‑such as grapes, dates, and other fruit.
In many passages throughout the Bible, the significance of bread is indicated. Whenever a guest is invited for a meal, bread is served (Genesis 18:5). In fact, so highly regarded is bread in the Jewish tradition that the Talmud makes this statement: "Four things have been said in connection with bread:
1. Raw meat should not be placed on it (the meat might spoil the bread);
2. A full cup (of wine) should not be passed over it (some wine might spill on the bread);
3. It should not be thrown around; and
4. It should not be used as a prop for a dish."
Why, after the Hamotzi blessing is recited, do many observant heads of household "break" the bread and distribute it to those at the table?
With the destruction of the Second Temple and the discontinuance of the sacrificial system, the Rabbis of the Talmud began to think of the table in the home as representing the altar in the Temple: "As long as the Temple existed, the altar atoned for Israel, but now a man's table atones for him," says the Talmud.39 It was then that the bread served at meal-time began to take on new meaning a symbol of and a replacement for the sacrifice that was brought in Temple times‑a sacrifice consisting of a measure of fine flour, oil, and frankincense, often baked in loaves. The Priest burned up some of these loaves of bread on the altar to serve as a memorial to God, Lev. 23, and the remainder were for his personal use. (When bakers makes bread today, a portion of dough is removed prior to baking (this piece of dough is known as Challah) and is thrown in the oven and burned as a reminder of the dough given to the Priests in ancient times. This procedure is referred to as "(the) taking (of) Challah." Challah‑plural, challot‑is also the name by which the special loaf of bread eaten on the Sabbath is known.)
In post‑Temple times (after 70 C.E.), it became customary for the head of the household to break off pieces bread after the Hamotzi blessing was recited and to pass the bread to those at the table. The custom is described the Talmud: Rabbi Abbahu, a third‑century Palestinian scholar, made a dinner for Rabbi Zeira, the most distinguished rabbinic authority in Palestine. Abbahu said Zeira when they sat down to eat, "Will your honour please commence meaning `break bread', for use" Zeira replied "Doesn't your honour accept the ruling of Rabbi Yochana that the host should break bread?" So Rabbi Abbahu broke the bread for those assembled at the dinner.
In many homes today, particularly on the Sabbath, after cutting the loaf of bread part way through, the head of the household breaks off pieces of bread (Challah) with the hard crust and passes a piece to each family member. Ashkenazim often score the loaf top and bottom before breaking off pieces for distribution to family members.
6. THE BROKEN MATZAH
a. Passover - Middle piece of Matzah
b. Rabbi Cohn
7. COMMUNION
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ given for you, preserve your body and soul unto everlasting life, feed on Him in your heart by faith with thanksgiving.