House of Bread in Hebrew and Ephrathah means fruitful.  Bethlehem was the town Jesus was born in, while Ephrathah was the surrounding region within Judah where Bethlehem was located.  Ephrathah was used to distinguish this Bethlehem from the other Bethlehem in Galilee.  The prophet was being very specific as to exactly where the Messiah would be born.

One of the signs of the Messiah is that He would be a Prophet like Moses.  These were Moses’ own words from Deuteronomy 18,

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you – from your fellow Israelites; you must listen to him.”

One of the greatest signs that Moses was remembered for was the miraculous feeding of the Israelites for 40 years while they wandered in the wilderness before entering the Land of Promise.  Every day God provided Manna (bread) enough for that day and on Friday, enough for two days so they wouldn’t need to gather it on the Sabbath.

When Jesus came 1400 years later, He produced two bread miracles: one where he fed the 5,000 and another where he fed the 4,000.  This gave many the confidence that Jesus was the great Prophet that was to come into the world.  But Jesus gave them a greater understanding of those bread miracles, and of the Manna in the wilderness under Moses.

The Gospel of John records these words of Jesus,

“So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?”Jesus replied,“This is the deed God requires– to believe in the one whom he sent.” So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’

Then Jesus told them, ‘I tell you the solemn truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ So they said to him, ‘Sir,give us this bread all the time!’

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.’” (John 6:28-35)

So, here Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life.”  So, the Bread of Life was born in the House of Bread (Bethlehem) – Amazing!

Fruitfulness can also refer to the produce of the land.  A natural thought for the Jew living in those times would be to think of the grapevine as the presence of vineyards and wine were indicative of prosperity.

These two symbols would be united again at the last supper where Jesus broke bread to symbolize the breaking of His body on the cross and drank the wine to symbolize the shedding of His blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Once again these symbols will be united when those of us who believe see Him again in His Kingdom at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

What a fabulous Christmas thought – the gift of His physical presence once again!

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A VERY BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!!!