Bread needs good soil and nature or chemicals do not make it lasting or suitable. The command the Creator gave to Adam was, “Subdue the land or ground” (Gen. 1:28). Nature needs human hands and minds to prepare the soil before it can produce grain that can become bread. The soil, by itself, is only a tool in the hands of a master-farmer that knows and understands the content and ingredients required to keep the ground productive. Above all else, he respects the earth and treats it with dignity because it is the only source for his daily bread.

Bread depends on partnering with God. The Apostle Paul came to this conclusion, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So, neither the planter nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (I Cor. 3:6-9).

It was madness for the Preacher or Solomon to think that money and wealth would satisfy. When riches multiply so do the people that sponge off the rich. Greed for wealth and money will not allow workers to enjoy sweet sleep (Ecc. 5:10-12). “At a feast, people rejoice and wine makes them happy, but money makes it all possible” (Ecc. 10:19). The Preacher’s philosophy was on target and money helped him build what no other king in Israel could do. Suppose, there was no bread to be had for any amount of money, what would he have accomplished? I have lived through two such periods when money could not buy a slice of bread.

Nimrod was a builder, hunter and warrior (Gen. 10:8-12). Our interest in him, in this study, has to do with the way he provided food for his family and people. Who were the great hunters for bread, but did not raise their own. All the conquering nations were. To sustain their lifestyle, they hunted other human beings and enslaved them and forced them to make bread. Christianity tried to make slaves accept their roles, but that did not end well. The slaves, in America, are an example of what happened to the USA.

The Bible says that a good manager will distribute properly to the needy their portion of food. How fair and trustworthy can a government, an organization, or a system be without managers, who are impartial in the distribution of bread? What kind of a person should we trust with our livelihood? It is natural for us, to elect persons, who can feed us and double our income. We do lean toward a person, who has built or enlarged his barn. Jesus, however, called such a man a, “fool” (Lk. 12:13-21).

The Psalmist believed that, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it” (Ps. 24:1); but, God put it in the hands of man, “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28; 2:15). The first couple did not subdue the earth and the ground turned bad. “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread” (Gen. 3:17-19).