Asher

“Bread from Asher shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties” (Genesis 49:20).

Margaret couldn’t bake a loaf of bread if her life depended on it. But the young Irish mother from New York City was determined to provide healthy bread for her son who struggled with severe allergies. His bland diet required something more, so with grit and determination Margaret used stone-ground wheat with the vitamins and nutrients still intact. Her first loaf, she recalls, “should have been sent to the Smithsonian Institution as a sample of Stone Age bread, for it was hard as a rock and about one inch high.”

Margaret Rudkin started over again and again until she made such good homemade bread that family and friends wanted it. That was the beginning of a business called Pepperidge Farm that exploded in growth. In 1939, Pepperidge Farm celebrated the production of its 500,000th loaf of bread. Just six months later it reached one million loaves. When asked what made her company successful, she always replied, Pepperidge Farm products are the best of their kind in the world.”

Jacob prophesied that his eighth son, Asher, would have the best bread in Palestine. When this tribe, whose name means “happy,” entered the Promised Land, they were given one of the most fertile parts of Canaan. The lowlands of Carmel on the Mediterranean were known for their abundance of wheat and oil. As Jacob predicted, Solomon provided King Hiram with an abundance of each.

Jesus described Himself as “the bread of life” and explained, “He who comes to Me shall never hunger” (John 6:35). After feeding more than 5,000 people, Christ drew spiritual parallels between the bread that multi- plied under His blessing and the gift of life that He offered to the people.

We also may partake of Christ and His words. The Bible reveals that the Saviour Himself is the royal bread of heaven, and as we read and study the Scriptures, the rich blessings contained within its pages will nourish our hearts. Are you ready to taste the best bread in the world?

Dear Jesus, You are the bread of heaven. May I feed on Your every word, that I may grow strong in You.

For Further Study: Genesis 30:12, 13; Deut. 8:3; Jeremiah 15:16