Moving along in A Lenten Look at Bread, let’s slice into one of the most iconic bread-moments in Scripture, when the Lord clearly reveals where to find our sustenance:
that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV
Remember this declaration comes to God’s people after decades of living in the desert—barren and stark—a landscape of extreme contrast to a garden, where lush trees and shady shelter invite lingering rest and refreshment. Though deserts have their own beauty and intrigue, at a literary level at least, the concepts of comfort and nourishing abundance are not conveyed in the bleak, scarce surroundings of a desert.
And so, stripped of tasty trees, God’s wisdom through Moses whispers: My Word feeds you; My Word is the feast for you.
Bread or Fruit?
O. Palmer Robertson called this bread-moment “the lesson of the desert” in his book, Understanding the Land of the Bible,* but in the Garden of Eden, under colorful, fruit-laden, tree-canopy disguise, it was also the lesson.
The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to look at and desirable for imparting wisdom. She took some fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he also ate it. Genesis 3:6 NCB
The first couple turned away from God’s direction, which ushers His people to lasting, daily fulfillment, reaching instead for a single, juicy snack from the one and only off-limits tree. And so this well-known garden story underlies Moses’ desert declaration and intertwines with everyone’s story, destined to reiterate in each human life in some way. Moses spells out that our need for nourishment goes beyond bread—or fruit—and God provides the Words that truly fill us.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Psalm 81:10 RSV
And Then, There’s Breadfruit
Turns out, dear gardeners, there is a tree that brings together bread and fruit: The breadfruit tree. Both significant spiritual signposts together in one plant, what?! Let’s pause from the repentant stance of the season, and the intensity of falling short in clearly seeing our elemental need, with a whim of garden humor!
Breadfruit, Artocarpus altilis, is not a Biblical plant, but a tropical species native to Malaysia, though ironically, from the same family as fig, Moraceae. The breadfruit tree produces fruits that may be baked, yielding a fluffy, bread-like texture. In fact, for over half the year, the tree’s fruits sustained the native population where the species was discovered, as observed by Lord Anson, a British explorer in the 18th century.
This fruit the inhabitants enjoy for about seven months; during which they never eat any other kind of bread: but they obliged to bake it every day, for when it grows a little stale, it becomes harsh and husky.
extract from Lord Anson’s Voyage to the South Seas, quoted by John Ellis in A Description of the Mangostan and the Bread-fruit, 1775
The breadfruit must be baked each day, uncannily resonating with the daily bread rhythm set forth in God’s Word:
Give us each day our daily bread. Luke 11:3 NIV
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. Exodus 16:4 NIV
How amazing is the Lord’s creation that even breadfruit, growing oceans away from the Holy Land, resounds the ways of God and His Word!
Moments of Mutiny
Furthermore, in a thought-provoking alignment of Scripture stories and more recent history, breadfruit was the main cargo of the HMS Bounty, the British ship of “Mutiny on the Bounty” fame.
The British government intended to establish breadfruit orchards to provide ample food supply in its colonies. Yet the crew transporting the sapling cargo defied authority, disrupting the mission. They detained the ship in the tropical port to indulge in the seemingly free island life, following their own desires and shackling the whole venture to chaos and defeat. In the mayhem, the baby breadfruit trees were abandoned overboard.
Likewise, as mentioned above, Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden breeched God’s rule to refrain from eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:1-6). Similarly in the Sinai desert, the Israelites rebelled against Moses and the monotony of manna, the very bread of heaven (Numbers 11:4-15). Each of these stories has a mutiny, with fruit, bread, and breadfruit marking the moment: Perhaps not so funny after all; though as Jesus decrees, we’re learning lessons from the trees (Matthew 24:32)!
Jesus is The Word
Considering such incidents of people going away from God, how much more astounding are Jesus’ Words when he took the bread and broke it, the fruit of the vine and drank it, saying:
Do this in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 NIV
Jesus brings these elements together, redeeming the mutinous markers as a blessed Communion with the One who IS every Word from the mouth of the Lord:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth John 1:1,14 RSV
While there is much more theology, transubstantiation, and mystery in bread and wine communion than I could ever comprehend, still I marvel at the view of garden and desert object lessons coming together in the Holy Communion sacrament.
What Moses declares in the desert, Jesus fulfills by dwelling among us: Jesus is the Word and spent time on earth to show us the way of the living Word of God.
Our Bread is The Word
Let us dwell and dawdle in more from the mouth of the Lord to be nourished in our Savior and revere Jesus as the One dwelling among us. May God’s Word lead you to blessing and bounty.
When your words showed up, I ate them—swallowed them whole. What a feast! What delight I took in being yours, O God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies! Jeremiah 15:16 The Message
Before I was humbled I used to wander astray, but now I see the wisdom of your words. Psalm 119:67 TPT
For the word of Adonai is true, and all his work is trustworthy. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the grace of Adonai. Psalm 33:4-5 CJB
He was clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and he was known by the name The Word of God. Revelation 19:13 NCB
Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. Colossians 3:16 The Message
They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. Deuteronomy 32:47 NIV
See, the Word of God is alive! Hebrews 4:12 CJB
The Lord God has given Me the tongue of those who are instructed to know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me each morning; He awakens My ear to listen like those being instructed. Isaiah 50:4 HCSB
You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God 1 Peter 1:23 RSV
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what pleases Me, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 LSB
These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word. Isaiah 66:2 NIV
The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” Jeremiah 1:12 NIV
Worship with a Weekly Loaf
Banana Bread Recipe
Breadfruit is very distinct from bananas, yet banana bread may be the closest we can get to tasting breadfruit until a taking a tropical vacation! You can also find breadfruit flour sold with other gluten-free ingredients at specialty retailers. Let me know if you try it! My husband Topher’s precious mom gave us this family recipe, our favorite for redeeming too-ripe bananas.
Closing Prayer
O Jesus The Word, thank You for Your constant wonder to be found in the plants of Your creation! You delight my gardener’s heart, and speak into me life and sustenance. You lead me to Your Word, my lifeline. Thank you for showing me in Your Scripture stories that regardless of the landscape – lush garden or sparse desert – You are here with me, sustaining me. You dwell with Your people. You are all I need because You know what I need. I praise You for conquering all that stands between us through Your death on the cross and resurrection. You established bread and fruit-of-the-vine as Yours, taking back this place of communion from the departure points they once were. Grow a deeper conviction in me to treat Your Words as the feast that they are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
If you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God, your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God, your God: God’s blessing inside the city, God’s blessing in the country; God’s blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God’s blessing on your basket and bread bowl; God’s blessing in your coming in, God’s blessing in your going out. Deuteronomy 28:1-6 The Message
* quoted from O. Palmer Robertson, Understanding the Land of the Bible (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1996), page 26.
A Lenten Look at Bread is a 7-part series at the crossroads of bread and garden plants in God’s Word. Slicing into bread analogies draws us closer to Lord of the Sabbath, the Word, more life-sustaining than bread, and the Bread of heaven, for starters (yes, there will be sourdough!)—against a background of wheat, barley, coriander, and Israel’s best produce. Taste and see my goodness, the Lord beckons (Psalm 34:8), so we’ll be worshiping with a weekly loaf for hands-on help in grasping who Jesus is and what he has done for us, growing our hearts for a deep embrace of the ultimate metaphor, He is Risen!
Find the original bread-and-fruit devotion in God’s Word for Gardeners Bible, “Keeping God’s Word,” near Genesis 3, page 12.
Do you love connecting God’s Word to your gardening work and the trees and plants around you? You will love my new book, My Father is the Gardener, Devotions in Botany and Gardening of the Bible, order at this link.
Read more from the Devotions Blog on communion at Garden Communion
Breadfruit remains a brilliantly nourishing produce, mostly grown in tropical regions. Visit the Breadfruit Institute at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawai’i for more information, www.ntbg.org/breadfruit
Find a digital copy of A Description of the Mangostan and the Bread-fruit, by John Ellis (London: Ed. and Chas. Dilly, 1775) in the Biodiversity Heritage Library, www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Photo Credits: ©2005 Philip Tellis Breadfruit, A couple of breadfruits. From Flickr Creative Commons; sketch of bread-fruit from A Description of the Mangostan and the Bread-fruit by John Ellis, 1775; all others by Shelley S. Cramm
CJB notes Scripture quotations taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.
HCSB denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
LSB denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org
NCB denotes Scripture taken from the SAINT JOSEPH NEW CATHOLIC BIBLE® Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
NIV denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
NKJV denotes Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
RSV denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Message denotes Scripture quotations taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.
TLB denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.
TPT denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com
