The Divine Blueprint: Unpacking God's Wisdom in Bread, Wine, and Oil
Have you ever considered the meticulous precision of God's Word? It's far more than a collection of stories or laws; it's a divinely inspired blueprint, a living revelation. Nothing within its sacred pages is there merely to fill space or for an insignificant reason. Every single word and letter, every sentence and sequence, is purposefully placed in its appropriate and appointed spot to unveil Yah'shua (Jesus), our Christ, and to give Him glory. He is the Living Word. As Jesus Himself declared in John 5:39 (KJV), "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." And after His resurrection, He opened the understanding of His disciples: "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:27, KJV). HalleluYAH!
This divine precision extends even to the sequence of God's words when He speaks of blessings. Have you noticed it?
In the Old Covenant, when God refers to material abundance, particularly that which we consume (receive), it's almost always presented in a specific, consistent order:
First: Wheat (Bread, Barley, Corn, Grain) Secondly: Wine (Vineyard, Grapes, Vine) Thirdly: Oil (Dew, Olive Oil)
We see this pattern repeated throughout the Old Covenant (Gen 27:37, Deu 33:28, Hos 2:8, Joe 2:19, Neh 5:11, Jer 31:12, Hag 1:11, Neh 10:39, etc.). While sometimes the oil is mentioned first, there's always a reason for that, too, hinting at a deeper prophetic significance.
But why this specific sequence? And what profound truth does it reveal about our Christ and His finished work?
Melchizedek: The First Unveiling of the Covenant Provisions
The sequence is first introduced to us in a pivotal moment in Genesis 14:18 (KJV): "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God."
Here, it's Melchizedek, a mysterious figure, who brings bread and wine to Abram. Who is Melchizedek? His name, correctly translated, means "King of Righteousness." He is also King of Salem, which means "King of Peace." He appears without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, made like the Son of God (Hebrews 7:1-3, KJV). He is a profound type and foreshadowing of (and even is) Yah'shua (Jesus)!
Who is the King of Righteousness by Whose death we became the very righteousness of God? Jesus, of course! It is He, our eternal High Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:17, KJV: "For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."), who brings forth the ultimate Bread (His body) and Wine (His blood)!
Let's break down the significance of each element:
1. Bread: Nourishment, Strength, and Healing (Yah'shua's Body)
In Hebrew, "bread" can be lechem (lechem), meaning "food for man, to nurture and build," or dâgân (dagan), referring to "increase, become stronger." This beautifully references and prophesies the body of Yah'shua (Jesus).
His body was not only food for our spiritual sustenance but was crushed for our complete healing. Every stripe, every bruise, every wound He bore was for our wholeness – physical, emotional, and spiritual. As Isaiah 53:5 (KJV) powerfully declares, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." And 1 Peter 2:24 (KJV) confirms, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." Jesus is indeed the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35, KJV: "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger..."), providing all we need for healing, strength, nourishment, and total restoration.
2. Wine: Redemption, Sanctification, and the New Covenant (Yah'shua's Blood)
Wine should be afforded equal attention with a little more focus on its variations, since the Hebrew has several words for wine, each descriptive of another kind. Let's look at three of them, highlighting the specific "wine" of the New Testament:
yayin (yayin) - fermented or intoxicating wine. From an unused root meaning to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication intoxication: - banqueting, wine, wine [-bibber]. Gen 9:21 (KJV): "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent." This speaks of the fermented, corruptible nature.
shêkâr (shekar) - an intoxicant, that is, intensely alcoholic liquor: - strong drink, drunkard, strong wine usually mixed with other substances. Jdg 13:4 (KJV): "Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing." This denotes a potent, often mixed, drink indicative of total rejection and resentment.
tı̂yrôsh (tirosh) - in the sense of expulsion (squeezed); must or fresh grape juice (as just squeezed out); (new, sweet) wine. Gen 27:28 (KJV): "Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine."
The wine (tı̂yrôsh) refers prophetically to the freshly squeezed, uncorrupted blood of Yah'shua on the cross that was spilled for our redemption. This pure, vibrant blood is the very seal on the New Testament (Covenant) that proclaims our righteousness and eternally sanctifies us.
This is precisely why Yah'shua says in Mat 9:17 (KJV): "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles." The Gospel of Grace (new wine) cannot be placed or mixed with the old covenant (old bottles – the law, which Hebrews 8:13 (KJV) says, "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away"). The New Wine of Christ's pure, perfect blood and the Covenant it established and sealed up for us is so powerful, so transformative, that it simply cannot coexist or ferment within the brittle, rigid confines of the Old Covenant system of law and human effort. It would burst it, spoiling everything.
3. Oil: Anointing, Abundance, and the Holy Spirit (Our Blessing in Yah'shua)
Oil is yitshâr (yitshar) referring to oil: (as producing light); anointing; anointed, oil. Or shemen (shemen) richness: - anointing, fat, fruitfulness, oil, ointment, olive, to make shine. 2Ch 32:28 (KJV) says: "Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks."
Oil speaks powerfully of our blessings because of Yah'shua. It refers to a certain type of Yah'shua – the son-of-promise, Isaac (yitschâq). Notice the beautiful resemblance in the Hebrew with yitshâr (oil) and yitschâq (Isaac)! Isaac, the son of promise, was a miracle child, a foreshadowing of the blessing that comes not through human effort, but through divine promise and the Spirit.
Indeed, oil speaks about the Holy Spirit, the "Latter Rain." The precious Gift from heaven, poured out upon us as a direct result of Christ's finished work! The Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance all that the Former Rain (Yah'shua) has taught us (John 14:26, KJV: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.") and even shows us things to come (John 16:13, KJV: "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth... and he will shew you things to come."). It refers to a very Special Anointing, the Spirit of Power, the very Breath of God blown into us, empowering us to live a supernatural life (Acts 1:8, KJV: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you..."). The Spirit of Jesus. HalleluYAH!
What is all this talk about Rain? God's Unfailing Teachers
All along, we might have thought that this talk about "rain" was merely a weather report, speaking only to farmers. But our Abba is not a God who saves and then leaves you to your own devices, saying, "just hang on and wait for Me until one day I return again." That would be incredibly unfair for Someone who says that He would never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, KJV).
Father God, in His profound love and provision, says in Joel 2:23-24 (KJV): "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil."
This passage reveals a divine appointment and a continuous supply!
The Former and Latter Rain: God's Appointed Teachers
The Hebrew word used in Joel 2:23 for Former Rain is מוֹרֶה (môreh), which is the same word used for Teacher! And the Hebrew word used in Joel 2:23 for moderately is צְדָקָה (tsedâqâh), meaning righteousness!
But hang on! Jesus, our ultimate Teacher, is famously called "the Lord our Righteousness" in Jeremiah 23:6 (KJV). It is because of Him that we have been clothed with a cloak of Righteousness (Isa 61:10)!
Are we looking at a prophecy here? Absolutely! Once again, prophecies are fulfilled completely and perfectly in Christ.
Jesus is the Former Rain (Teacher)! He was born from above exactly as prophesied, entering humanity during the month of Tishri (September/October), which is the time of the former rain in Israel! He laid the foundation, sowed the seed, and initiated the New Covenant (Testament).
The Holy Spirit is the Latter Rain (Teacher)! Jesus, in John 14 and 16, promised He would not leave us as orphans (John 14:18, KJV). The Holy Spirit was poured out, born from above, during the month of Nisan (March/April), the time of the latter rain in Israel, which corresponds to Pentecost (Shavu'ot), exactly as promised by Jesus!
Even in the Symbols, a Prophetic Dance
The Former Rain (Jesus) is powerfully symbolized by the Wheat and the Wine! He is the bread of life and new covenant in His blood. The Latter Rain (Holy Spirit) is perfectly symbolized by the Oil! He is the anointing, the power, the Spirit of God poured out upon us.
Fullness and Overflow is available for you! No matter how you look at it, the scriptures are fulfilled, and the promise is ours accomplished in the finished work of Christ!
We Are Well Prepared: The Promise of the Comforter
Jesus prepared His disciples (and us!) to receive the Latter Rain when He said:
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (Joh 14:16-17, KJV)
When He explained about "Another Comforter," He was talking about Someone exactly like Him in all respects – His Spirit of Truth! This isn't a secondary or lesser gift, but a continuation of His presence.
Jesus didn't just come, heal some people, do a few miracles, cast out a few demons, announce the Good News, and then leave us to fend for ourselves. No!
He came to reconcile the whole world unto Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19, KJV: "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself..."), to announce the time of grace and truth, and to abide and live right inside whoever chooses for Him to do so!
"...the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (Joh 14:26, KJV)
He is the second (but same in nature) Teacher!
"...when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:" (Joh 15:26, KJV)
He is the Latter Rain! Indeed, Jesus Himself is both the Former Rain and the Latter Rain – the beginning and the continuation of God's perfect provision for us through His finished work!
Discerning the Body: The Fulness of Our Inheritance in Communion
Now, with this profound understanding of bread, wine, and oil, and the two Teachers (rains), let's contemplate again 1 Corinthians 11:23-30, a passage often misunderstood and used to bring fear and condemnation, rather than revelation and healing:
"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily [not distinguishing the body of Yah'shua from His blood], shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself [see that you are righteous], and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily [not distinguishing the body of Yah'shua from His blood], eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."
The key to understanding "eating and drinking unworthily" and "not discerning the Lord's body" lies in the Greek word for "discerning" or "distinguishing," which is διακρίνω (diakrinō). It doesn't mean judging your own moral worthiness or looking for sin. It means to separate, discriminate, or rightly judge the true meaning and purpose of Christ's body and blood. An unworthy manner would be to just take both without discerning what each is about.
When we partake of communion, we are to discern (διακρίνω) the profound truth that:
The bread represents Jesus' body, broken for our complete healing and wholeness. When we fail to distinguish this vital truth – believing that sickness is God's will or that healing is not for today – we partake "unworthily" by neglecting the full provision of His body.
The cup represents the New Covenant in His blood, which has made us righteous and holy. When we fail to distinguish this truth – believing we are still under condemnation or need to earn God's forgiveness and favor – we partake "unworthily" by not recognizing our perfect standing in Him.
Therefore, the self-examination Paul calls for ("But let a man examine himself") is not to seek out sin, but to "examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves." (2 Corinthians 13:5, KJV). It's to examine whether you truly believe and discern the finished work of Christ: that His body provided healing and His blood provided perfect righteousness.
When believers fail to discern (διακρίνω) the comprehensive provision of Christ's body – specifically for healing and health – then "for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (meaning premature physical death or lack of vibrant life (sickness), not spiritual damnation for believers). It's a consequence of unbelief, not unworthiness of self.
We are utterly blessed, made righteous, healed, and empowered by the finished work of Christ! As we partake of the bread and the cup, may our hearts be filled with discernment, believing and appropriating every glorious provision secured by our Savior, led by the continuous teaching of the Holy Spirit, our Latter Rain.
We are utterly blessed!
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