Shifting Gears
Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11
Shifting Gears
Bread – You can’t see it in English, but in Greek the emphasis on this part of the model prayer is not on the verb. It is on the noun – bread. In Greek, emphasis is determined by position in the sentence since there is no punctuation. “The bread of us the daily give to us today,” is the literal rendering. The focus comes first, and in this case, it is about our sustenance. That isn’t so unusual. What is unusual is that this is the only place in the gospels where such a request is addressed to God. You would think otherwise. With all of our contemporary emphasis on God meeting our every need, don’t you find it a little strange that this is the only place in the gospels where we request God to give us daily sufficiency? Does that make you question, just a little, whether we have the right perspective toward our needs?
If we looked at the Old Testament, we would find this kind of request quite frequently. So obviously, Yeshua assumes that His disciples know this. That’s because the Old Testament perspective on all of our provisions and assets is very different than our contemporary view. Everything is a gift from God! Remember Job? “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Maybe we need to contemplate Job’s attitude before we utter this part of the prayer. Maybe we need some adjustment before we start asking (demanding?) that God take care of our every need. Do we see “take away” as a gift too?
There is something else quite unusual about this phrase. Lohmeyer suggests that the use of the personal pronoun “our” has special significance. It doesn’t mean “Give us what we want.” By comparing this phrase with Old Testament parallels, we discover that it probably means, “bread that we need because, without it, we will go hungry.” In other words, we are not praying for the fat of the land. We are praying for the necessities. We are praying as the poor pray. “Today I will not eat without Your provision, O Lord.” To turn this prayer into a request for goods and services that enhance life is to ignore its simplicity. This is prayer cut to the bone. Most of us don’t even qualify to mention this.
This simple necessity is underscored by the use of the word “daily.” In Jesus’ cultural setting, there were plenty of people who had no expectation of tomorrow’s provision. They lived day-to-day because that is all they could do. They were day-laborers and beggars and orphans and widows. This is really their prayer. It is a prayer to the God of compassion who has a special place in His heart for those who have nothing but Him to sustain them. This is an extension of “blessed are the poor in spirit.” These people know what it means to have emptiness. They know what it means to beg. Pride is not a word in their vocabulary. These people have cast their cares on Him. They have no other choice.
So, I wonder if our rote repetition of the Lord’s Prayer disqualifies us. There are very few among us who live so close to the edge. If Yeshua’s model prayer includes a plea for these people, what does it say about us? Actually, the Old Testament gives us the answer. Almost everywhere that the Hebrew Scriptures speak about bread, they speak about sharing what we have even when we do not have enough. Maybe that’s the thought we need to take away from this. I may not live close enough to the edge to qualify to speak this phrase, but I do qualify to give according to this phrase. If the man next to me can legitimately pray, “Give us this day,” and I have the ability to give to him this day, the very presence to this prayer confronts me with God’s will. If I do not respond to his need from God’s gift to me, I not only harm one of the least of these, I also insult the giving God.
Topical Index: bread, daily, gift, Matthew 6:11
Several years ago now, I came across a wonderful booklet on the Lord’s prayer put together by Haddon Robinson of RBC (Radio Bible Class) Ministries. I still have it and it is from the Discovery Series and titled “Jesus’ Blueprint for Prayer.” He outlined this template for prayer as: God’s Paternity (Our Father), God’s Person (Hallowed Be Your Name), God’s Program (Your Kingdom Come), God’s Purpose (Your Will Be Done), God’s Provision (Give Us Our Daily Bread), God’s Pardon (Forgive Us Our Sins), and God’s Protection (Lead Us Not Into Temptation). What I really appreciated was the emphasis on God (as the orientation and perspective) and less so on me….On the topic of prayer, Haddon Robinson mentioned that for years the word for “daily” was a puzzler to scholars until an archeologist dug up a papyrus fragment that contained a housewife’s grocery list. The word “daily” was scribbled next to the items listed. It probably meant “enough for the coming day.” Haddon Robinson interpreted this provisions request as meaning just enough for the needs in the hours ahead….Hard to understand this concept with our modern day pantrys, fridges stacked full with what we need for the week if not months and places like Sam’s Club where food stuffs are purchased in large quantities. But this request isn’t just about what we need (or think we need) but rather our need for ultimate dependence on the Father who is the Giver of all good gifts….and just enough for now….And if we have more than our “daily”need, then we are to think of others in community who do not have so that God’s will is fulfilled in and through us.
Is the “take away” that Job refers to a removal of good or bad things? Or is it merely the cleansing/purging of old stuff so that fresh things have room in my life? I’ve been meditating on Isaiah 43:18,19a: “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, NOW it will spring forth;” I am ready to receive something NEW that I can share with others!
I’m no expert on this topic, but when I think of Job, the removal of “good things” comes to mind.
If everything is a gift from God, then in Job God is giving good people bad things (the “Devil”).
I think the message is: be loyal anyway, without God’s help we are doomed; we need to focus on Him and forget the bad things.
In the end, Job’s loyalty to God is rewarded with more children and livestock.
For me, Job is a powerful old message, but it doesn’t seem to indicate something new is coming.
In Isaiah, God seems to be more loving NOW and his “suffering servant” is to lead the way to a NEW and better world.
For me, the following statement is a shift to the “highest gear;” the most important point (.):
Everything is a gift from God! Remember Job? “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
The “Our Father” is the only prayer I ever use and I try to focus on the “gift” and His “will.”
Not an easy task, and my “tests” are nothing compared to most people in this world, and especially compared to Abraham, Job, or Yeshua.
LECHEM- Bread:
The term “daily bread” should draw out visions of manna. Manna was given to the Children of Israel in the desert to sustain them. It was given on a daily basis to provide that day’s needs (except on the 6th day they got two days worth so that they would not have to gather on the Sabbath- and could rest). They were to collect an omer of manna per person, thus an omer became synonymous with “a day’s bread” or “daily bread”. It is interesting to see how many times the “mincha- grain offering” which was given with so many sacrifices was an omer- we would give up our daily bread for Him!
Manna reminds us of covenant. The wording in Gen 16:16-20 describing the gathering of manna is just like the wording in Gen 12:4&10 describing the Passover lamb for each household. The connection of manna to Passover connects it to redemption (and thus Messiah as our Passover lamb) by the Holy One because of His covenant faithfulness to us.
Manna reminds us of Sabbath- and Sabbath is a sign of covenant. Gathering for six days yet being able to rest of the seventh because of His provision for His covenant people is another sign of covenant relationship. Therefore we should not worry about our provision- Matt 6:25-34, because through Messiah we too are brought into the Covenant with Israel.
Yehoshua reminds us that it is the covenantal relationship we have with the GOD of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob -through Him, that we have much more than daily sustainance (like manna), we have the promise of eternal sustainance! o/o/o/
We can call upon the Almighty for our daily needs because we have a covenantal relationship with Him that gives up that privelege! 🙂
Whoops… :-0
We can call upon the Almighty for our daily needs because we have a covenantal relationship with Him that gives US that privelege! 🙂
Jesus is the bread of life. He is the I AM that causes me to “be”. He is the gift, the true substance of life that was given to me, that I might freely receive and therefore, freely give. Although nothing I do is of any value within itself, it is the glory of God, through the empowerment of His Spirit, imputed to me by the blessed atonement, creating the opportunity and invitation to eat/partake of the Bread of Life. This pure Bread (no pun intended, but if it applies…) was broken for our healing and restoration, that we might have the power/strength/energy to enter into relationship with the Father as sons and daughters. This is and will be daily…eternally moment by moment without end! Hallelujah Now…if God caused the unthinkable/unimaginable to transpire, SURELY He can speak to the hearts of His people and move them knowing they are ready (prepared, healthy, nourished by the Bread) and willing (Spirit powered) to gladly submit to His command to love and give out the Bread.