Proof Text

There is something in Biblical studies called Hermeneutics. It is a very formal word which parses how we come to an understanding of what the Bible says. It breaks down ways of interpretation, etymology and the changing use of language to communicate ideas about God over time. There are a lot of people out there who sample bits and pieces of Scripture, often out of context, and use that as proof for their own particular bailiwick. It is called in hermeneutics “proof texting” and technically, it means cheating. It means that you should go back and read the entire chapter, or chapters and get down to where that verse comes from in context to the whole story. Often what you claim the verse means, looks very different in context. 

Which brings me to bread. Bread from God as it were. What could be better?

My wife has a real thing about bread. She thinks it is positively evil. “I’ll have that, but without the bread...” she says pointedly. Or she will look at me across the table and say, “Oh, wow. You are going to eat bread with your dinner? Doesn’t it make you feel positively bloated? I mean it has gluten in it. Didn’t you hear?” She has a righteous gleam in her eye. 

Obviously she didn’t hear about God’s bread. 

That’s right - it says right on the label. Two kinds, both recipes drawn straight out of sacred Scripture. The Bible tells me so. 

The first kind is Genesis 1:29 bread. “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

There you go. God’s own rich meat substitute, loaded with omega 3 fatty acids and other good things.

The other brand is the Ezekiel bread, for those who want to eat bread that will make you sit up at the table and prophesy. Ezekiel saw some strange visions, like the famous spiritual, “Ezekiel saw the wheel, way up in the middle of the air, a wheel within a wheel...”

This bread is a little more prosaic. But it’s recipe comes straight from revelation, from God’s lips to your ear. “Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils and millet, and spelt and put them in one vessel…” Ezekiel 4:9

People go out of their way to buy bread whose recipe was cooked up by God. Manna from Heaven, as it were. I mean, that would be healthy stuff, right?

I eat the bread. It is kept in the freezer in the health food store. That is because, like Manna in the desert, it doesn’t keep. That’s what happens when it is not infused with BPA, sodium benzoate or other preservatives. Bread of life, as it were. A bit of a nutty taste and I mean that in a good way. 

But apart from just liking it, the bread is also sprouted, which means you get the benefit of all parts of the seed, just like they advise in all those health journals. 

I would back this bread any day. Except that somebody one day looked up the Scripture verse and kept on reading. They found out where the recipe came from in context to the story. 

It seems that God was chiding the nation of Israel regarding their constant backsliding. They just loved worshipping those idols, contrary to the first commandment. God was sending the Babylonians to chastise Israel and take it into bondage. Some fasting was in order, if you might be thinking of a way to get God to change his mind. That’s really where the bread recipe came from. It meant don’t eat meat because you are sad and sorry. Moreover, the fine print of this deal, was that God told Ezekiel to cook the bread over the fires of human excrement. That’s right. It meant that not only were you repentant, but the bread would be cooked in a manner which would break every kosher law out there to show just how bad your sins were. 

That same person wrote into the company and asked them somewhat innocently if Ezekiel bread is cooked over the fires of human excrement just like the Bible says. The brand founder and patriarch, Max Torres responded. 

“The people of Food for Life have always had a passion for natural foods. As bakers and believers in scripture, we felt it necessary to produce the nutritious bread described in Ezekiel 4:9, as well as many other products, such as 7-grain and other whole grain breads and granolas.” You might be surprised to know that the bread isn’t made for religious reasons: “Ezekiel 4:9 bread has never been produced to fill a religious purpose, rather, it’s a nutritionally superior bread produced by divine inspiration.”

Getting down to the fine print might never be a good idea if you already like something. You may come away disappointed. It’s the same reason that some people ask to look in the kitchen of a restaurant before they will eat there. You don’t know sometimes where that food comes from. 

Well, this one comes from God. Apparently. That’s enough for me. Anyway, it sure tastes good. 

For more on the story of Ezekiel Bread, made by Food For Life, read here.