Nine Miracles in The Bible About Food
Manna, meat, bread, fishes and loaves, wine and more
Lembas - a Miracle Food.
Frodo and Sam are making their way to Mount Doom in Mordor to destroy the One Ring.
They are hungry, tired, and wounded. And they have the evil Gollum in tow. Frodo, having come under the influence of the ring, has begun to trust the greedy imp above his loyal companion.
Gollum takes advantage of the situation and spreads "lembas" (bread) crumbs on Sam while he is sleeping, throwing the remaining elven bread (their only sustenance) down the mountain side so he could accuse Sam of greedy, glutinous theft. One bite of this special bread could sustain a soul for a whole day.
Dejected Sam heads down the mountain after a rebuke by his best friend, Frodo. And Gollum thinks he has the upper hand.
Sam however, finds the bread as he is climbing down the mountain. Realizing Gollum's wicked scheme, he regains his drive to help Frodo, who needs him more than ever.
"Lembas," the elven bread which was made for long journeys, would appear to our modern society as containing miraculous properties. In fact, if enough were made, it could solve the hunger problems of the world. (Although I think there are better solutions.)
Of course this story does not come from the Bible — it is from The Lord of the Rings. But the Bible does speaks of a bread with miraculous properties.
Manna - A Miracle Food.
This is the only bread in history that did not have it's origin from man. Rather, it rained down from heaven. This bread was called manna and it nourished the Israelites on their long journey through the wilderness. It was also a picture of a different bread that would come from heaven, namely Jesus, who would be the most loyal of companions by laying down His life for his friends. Read more about the Bread of Life here: One of the Great Metaphors: The Bread of Life.
But manna was not the only miracle in the Bible revolving around food and drink. Here is a list of 9 miracles concerning food in the Bible.
9 Miracles in the Bible About Food.
God rained down manna from heaven to feed the Israelites wandering in the desert (Exodus 16).
Moses struck the rock and drinking water came out (Exodus 17).
Elijah was fed bread and meat by the ravens in the wilderness (1 Kings 17).
Elijah commanded a widow to cook him her last loaf of bread. He promised her the bowl of flour and the jar of oil would not stop producing — and it did not (1 Kings 17).
Elisha threw salt into a poisonous spring and it became fresh water safe for drinking and watering the land (2 Kings 2).
Elisha commanded a needy widow to pour her nearly empty oil jar until she could fill up all the containers she could find (2 Kings 4).
On several occasions, Jesus multiplied fish and loaves to feed the hungry people (Matthew 14,15,16; Luke 9; Mark 6; John 6).
Jesus' first recorded miracle was turning water into wine (John 2).
After an entire night of unsuccessful fishing, the resurrected Christ told the disciples to cast their net once again. This time the net was filled with more fish than the net could handle. And they ate some of their catch with Jesus (John 21).
What do these miracles demonstrate?
God Cares.
God cares about food. And more importantly, He cares about His people. Proverbs 10:3 says, "The LORD will not allow the righteous to hunger, But He will reject the craving of the wicked."
Our God is a God who cares not only about the spiritual needs of His people. He is also very concerned about their physical needs. After all, He created us physical beings in a physical world. And He ordained from the beginning that food would be the key element to nourish our physical bodies.
This is the 5th in a series of 10 Ways Food Impacts History, Life, and the World in the Bible.
Next: The King's Food Rejected by Jewish Refugees
Return to: Biblical Health Study.