Milk & Honey vs Barley Bread & Fish

 

Milk & Honey vs Barley Bread & Fish

Exodus 3:8"I have come down to deliver them... to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey" - God's redemptive purpose

Deuteronomy 8:8"A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey" - Riches of the good land

John 12:24"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" - Producing life (signification of honey)

John 1:29"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" - Redeeming life (signification of milk)

 

Analysis Item	Milk and Honey	Barley Bread and Fish
Basic Definition	The rich supply of the land flowing with milk and honey, specialties of the good land	The food for feeding the five thousand, supply in the wilderness
Symbolic Scope	The complete riches of the all-inclusive Christ, God's ultimate promised enjoyment	The concrete feeding of Christ's life, daily supply on the following path
Nature of Promise	God's promised land to the Israelites, future-oriented riches	God's actual supply in the wilderness, immediate feeding
Animal Life Signification	Milk: From grass-eating cattle • Signifies Christ's redeeming life • Christ as God's Lamb taking away the sin of the world • For judicial redemption	Fish: Living in the sea (Satan's corrupted world) • Symbolizes the redeeming aspect of Christ's life • Sinless in the sinful world • Like fish in salt water yet not salty
Plant Life Signification	Honey: From bees gathering flower nectar • Signifies Christ's producing life • Christ as a grain of wheat bearing many grains • For organic salvation	Barley Bread: Growing on land (God's created earth) • Symbolizes the producing aspect of Christ's life • For regeneration and multiplication of life • Resurrection life overcoming death
Blending Significance	Perfect blending of animal and plant life, combination of redemption and production aspects, riches of the all-inclusive Christ	Concrete feeding of redeeming and producing life, feeding people with life that overcomes death
Temporal Quality	Promised riches, eternal enjoyment, mature life experience	Present feeding, immediate supply, foundational life building
Geographical Background	Specialties of the good land of Canaan, enjoyment in the rest land	Wilderness by the Sea of Galilee, supply in following
Symbolic Depth	Signification of complete salvation, realization of God's ultimate intention	Signification of concrete feeding, supply for life growth
Way of Enjoyment	Restful enjoyment in the good land, complete satisfaction	Feeding in following, progressive growth
Application at the Lord's Table	• The good land becomes a table, a feast • Enjoying Christ in the bread-breaking meeting • Both God and man satisfied • Signifying both redemptive and productive aspects of Christ	• Christ as the bread of life being dispensed • Concrete feeding and supply • Life transmission and building • Daily spiritual food supply
Christian Life Application	• Rich enjoyment in Christ • Experience of the all-inclusive Christ • Realization of complete salvation • Union and rest with Christ	• Daily supply of Christ as the bread of life • Being fed on the path of following the Lord • Life growth and building • Practical shepherding and feeding
Related Scriptures	Deuteronomy 26:9"And He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey" - Realization of promise Matthew 26:26-28"Jesus took bread... This is My body... This is My blood of the new covenant" - Signification at the Lord's table 1 Corinthians 1:9"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son" - Fellowship with Christ 1 Corinthians 10:17"For we, though many, are one bread and one body" - Reality of blending Revelation 2:7"To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life" - Enjoyment of life Romans 5:10"For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more... we shall be saved through His life" - Organic salvation Ephesians 3:8"To preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" - All-inclusive riches Colossians 2:9"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" - Christ's fullness	John 6:9"There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish" - Materials for Christ's feeding John 6:11"Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them" - Christ's dispensing John 6:35"Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life" - Christ as the bread of life John 6:51"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever" - Supply of eternal life John 6:56"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him" - Union of life John 21:15-17"Do you love Me?... Feed My lambs... Shepherd My sheep" - Commission of feeding John 10:10"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" - Abundant life Hebrews 4:15"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" - Sinless Redeemer
Summary Characteristics	Completeness: Complete riches of the all-inclusive Christ Promise: Realization of God's ultimate intention Enjoyment: Rich enjoyment in rest Maturity: Experience of complete salvation	Concreteness: Practical daily feeding of life Immediacy: Timely supply on the following path Growth: Progressive process of life building Practicality: Operable way of feeding
Core Message	Milk and honey symbolize the complete riches of the all-inclusive Christ, God's ultimate promised enjoyment, especially realized at the Lord's table, representing the perfect blending of animal and plant life.	Barley bread and fish symbolize the concrete feeding of Christ's life, daily supply on the path of following the Lord, enabling believers to receive life growth and building, feeding people with life that overcomes death.

  

Summary: 

l   Milk and honey represent the complete riches of the all-inclusive Christ, God's ultimate promise and full enjoyment, especially realized at the Lord's table.

l   Barley loaves and fish represent the concrete nourishment of Christ's life, serving as daily supplies for believers in following the Lord, enabling their growth and building up.

l   Both represent aspects of Christ's redemptive and productive life, but milk and honey emphasizes complete enjoyment, while barley loaves and fish emphasize practical nourishment.

  

*Please refer to the June 2025 Semi-Annual Summer Training, General Theme: Experiencing, Enjoying, and Manifesting Christ (Part 3), Part 2: Knowing Christ as Our Model and Taking Him as Our Model