Eat Thy Bread, Drink Thy Wine

"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works."–Ecclesiastes 9:7

Carl Hagensick

Noting the finality of death, Solomon in this passage encourages the enjoyment of life while it is available. Yet his philosophy is distinctly different from that of the Epicurean: "Eat, drink, and be merry; for tomorrow we die." Rather he is recommending gaining the maximum from human experience while we are yet alive. His words are not that different from those of Jesus in John 9:4, 5, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

In Ecclesiastes 9:8-10 the writer advises wearing clothing of happiness, living joyfully with one’s mate, and being usefully employed with those tasks which come to hand. He is not describing the life of the lazy sloven but the proper productive life of a worthy individual.

Bread and Wine

Bread and wine are frequently joined in the Old Testament as symbols of a full and complete life. They are pictures of hospitality (Jud. 19:19). They were traditional offerings to God (1 Sam. 10:3). They were blessings bestowed by a king (2 Sam. 6:19). They formed the main sustenance of life (2 Sam. 16:1, 2). They were features of a promised land (2Kings 18:32). The psalmist well describes their worth in Psalm 104:15, "Wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart."

The New Testament adds an entirely new dimension to these two symbols. They become the symbol of Christ’s life and death. He himself introduces them in this new role at the last supper: "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26:26-28).

In this study we will examine the connection between the Old Testament use of these terms and the significance given them in the New Testament.

The Passover

The God-given symbols of the ancient Passover rites in Israel were not bread and wine but bread and lamb, with bitter herbs. Wine was undoubtedly a part of the meal, for a beverage was an essential part of the meal. It is thought this traditional cup of wine is referred to in Luke 22:17 where it is distinguished from "the cup after supper." However it is not mentioned in Exodus 12, in the giving of the Passover law, and hence cannot be viewed as an element of the typical picture. When Jesus introduced the elements of the Memorial of his death after the Passover meal, in effect he maintained the picture of unleavened bread but substituted the symbol of wine for the Pascal lamb.

Melchizedek

The first usage of this combination of bread and wine is found in Genesis 14:18-20 when Abraham returns victoriously from delivering Lot from his captors. On his return he is met near Jerusalem by Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Of this we read: "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all."

Bread and wine are introduced as the symbols of the Melchizedek priesthood. It was prophesied that the Messiah would be of this priesthood: "The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psa. 110:4). This theme is developed in the seventh chapter of Hebrews, where the author shows the superiority of this priesthood to that of Aaron. There he recounts the experience of Abraham and Melchizedek, showing that the great grandfather of Levi (and by implication, Levi also) considered Melchizedek the great high priest. He uses this argument to show that while Jesus could not, by lineage, lay claim to the priesthood of Aaron, he could claim an even higher priesthood, that of Melchizedek.

The fact that it is an "order" of priesthood shows that neither Melchizedek nor Jesus were destined to be the only ones of the order. While the "high priest" of this order is Jesus, his followers, his body, are also members of the same "order."

The superiority of this order to that of Aaron lies not only in the fact that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. It was to be an order where succession was not based on genealogy: "Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually" (Heb. 7:3). The expression "without father, without mother" is not to be taken in its most literal sense. Rather it is an idiom meaning that his parentage was not the cause of his succession. In an ancient list of Assyrian kings, a line is appended to one particular group of rulers: "all of these are without father and without mother."1 This is further borne out in the Greek word translated "without descent." Instead of meaning "childless," Thayer’s Lexicon defines the term: "of whose descent there is no record." The process of selecting this order is done, not by parentage, but by the selection of God himself.

The superiority of the Melchizedek order is also shown because neither the beginning nor end of his life is recorded. This leads to the conclusion that this priesthood is to be without end, "continually," forever, a permanent priesthood. The Melchizedek priesthood would not pass away as did the Aaronic when the Romans destroyed the genealogical records in the destruction of Jerusalem.

Joseph in Prison

The next time the Bible refers to the elements of bread and wine is in an Egyptian prison cell. In this instance we do not see the words "bread and wine," but two people who are directly related to these two products—a butler, or cupbearer, and a baker. The account is found in the fortieth chapter of Genesis, "And Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the [same] place where Joseph was imprisoned" (Gen. 40: 2, 3, NAS).

In this incident we find that Joseph had been made a warden in the prison. The two imprisoned men each dreamed one night and were troubled over their dreams. Joseph interpreted the dreams for them, predicting the future of the two men. He said to the cupbearer, "Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house" (vs. 13, 14 KJV). For the baker, the prediction was far less rosy, "Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants" (vs. 19, 20 KJV).

Here, as in other places in the life of Joseph, we see parallels between that noble life and the life of Jesus. As Joseph stood between the server of wine and the maker of bread, so Jesus at the last supper is found with the symbols of wine and bread. As the final judgment of the Lord was to come in three days time, at his resurrection; so the judgment of these two prisoners would come from the mouth of Pharaoh in three days time. As Jesus was to be hung on a cross, so the baker was to be hung on a tree, the first prototype of such an execution given in the Bible.

There is perhaps also another distinction between these two symbols that is shown in this story. The cupbearer is to live, while the baker is to die. When Jesus introduced the symbols of his Memorial to the disciples he used these words: "And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God" (Mark 14:22-25).

The bread was his body. This he was soon to give for the life of the world. But the cup, which was his blood, he would drink with them "new in the kingdom of God." As the baker in the story of Joseph was to die, so the bread element in the symbols of Jesus was to be completed on the cross. As the cupbearer was to live, so the wine element of Jesus was to have renewed fruitage in the kingdom of God. There are remarkable parallels between the two events.

Wisdom Cries in the Streets

The eighth chapter of Proverbs is an ode to wisdom. But it is more than that. The wisdom mentioned here is personified in the person of the Logos, the Son of God. Of him it says, "The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth" (Prov. 8:22, 23 RSV; Cf. Rev. 3:14). Then, in poetic prose, the text proceeds to show the sheer delight of the Father and his Son in the creation of the earth.

This theme carries forward into the ninth chapter where wisdom interacts with the beings he has created. He appeals to them to forsake the paths of foolishness and vanity and follow him. His message to them is given in verses four to six, "Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding" (Prov. 9:4-6).

It is worth noting that the two words translated "understanding" in these texts come from two different Hebrew words. While the latter one is correctly translated, the first is from the Hebrew leeb, usually translated "heart." The writer of Proverbs is not addressing his remarks to people devoid of comprehension, but to the same class Jesus refers to in the first of his beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). One of the definitions that the Lexicon of Brown, Driver, and Riggs gives for the word translated "simple" is "open minded." Thus, we suggest that Proverbs 9:4, 5 could well be translated, "Whoever is open minded [or naive, NAS], let him turn in here. To those who are poor in spirit she issues the invitation, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled."

With this preface, we can see once again the parallel between the symbols bread and wine in the Old Testament and the significance Jesus gives to them at the last supper.

Shortly before that event Jesus had been petitioned by the wife of Zebedee to permit her two sons, James and John, to sit at his side in the kingdom. He addressed them with a similar petition to that given in the Proverbs text, "But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father" (Matt. 20:22, 23).

This is the invitation he holds forth to his footstep followers in the Gospel age. He still says to those who are of a simple and open mind and who are poor in spirit, "Drink of my cup; eat of my bread; be baptized with my baptism; share in my sufferings that you may share in my glory." What a beautiful invitation! Dare any turn it down?

Eat and Drink with Joy

With such prospects how can we help but eat and drink with joy. As our theme text says, "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works" (Eccl. 9:7). What a privilege it is to live in the time when such meager works that we do can be counted in with his great sacrifice. As the Apostle Paul expressed it, "At an acceptable time I hearkened unto thee, and in a day of salvation did I succor thee: behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2 ASV).

Returning to the wise man, we read in Ecclesiastes 9:8, "Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment." Although he is using the figures of white garments and an anointed head to express the joyfulness of the preceding verse, they are also apt figures to complete the concepts of partaking of the bread and the wine.

Along with the Christian’s acceptance in his partaking of the bread and the wine, he is given the white garment of justification. This gift bears with it the responsibility of maintaining its whiteness, its purity. This he does by seeking to live a life in harmony with God’s principles and being quick to seek forgiveness when he notes that he has fallen short of this ideal.

At the same time he receives an anointing, an authorization to preach God’s word of peace and reconciliation to all men (Isa. 61:1-3). This anointing is not so much one he receives individually, but rather he comes under the anointing of his head, Christ Jesus. This is beautifully shown in the anointing of Aaron as high priest of Israel. It is to this picture that Psalms 133:1-3 refers: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."

May the symbols of the Lord’s body and his blood be an ever dearer memorial of the commitments we have made to follow in his footsteps, to drink of his cup, to eat of his bread, to maintain our justification, and to come under his anointing.

1. Arno Toebel, "An Assyrian King List at Khorsabad," Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 1 (1942), pp. 247-306; 460-442; Vol. 2 (1941) pp. 56-93.