Bread House
"But you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
Micah 5:2
The end of the 20th century was marked by, among other things, the revival of the "bread house". Many stores began selling primarily, and sometimes exclusively, bread. The bread, however, was of near infinite genre and ilk. Multiple varieties of wheat breads were joined by ryes, oats, soy, even flaxes and more, more, more! Spinach breads were shelved alongside with potato, pumpernickel and even cheese breads. There seemed to be no end to the culinary concoctions of ingenious bread-men in their bread houses.
In the Hebrew language, Bethlehem means "house of bread". The fertile fields around the city certainly produced their share of this dietary staple. The richest significance to this name, however, is found in the prophecy of Micah. He so much as says that from this "bread house", Bethlehem will come Israel's messianic ruler. The religious leaders in Jerusalem were familiar with this passage of Scripture and so directed the magi from the east to Bethlehem in their quest to find the new king. Jesus would later assert, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry." (John 6:35) Will you come to Him? He is the "bread of life", from the "house of bread". Have a bite!