Category Archives: Scripture Memory

Working, Sleeping, and “Baking some Bread.”

In my early years as a Christian, I memorized this passage. Since then I’ve quoted it as inspiration to get out of bed – many times.

I thought I’d post it real quick, and paste some commentary on it from a couple of different sources. Enjoy, be blessed, and may the Lord grant you rest when it’s time to sleep, and energy when it’s time to work. Your labors will be rewards both Spiritually and physically.

(See also Proverbs 10:4; 20:4; 23:21)

Hebrew Bible Study App, “The expression “you shall be satisfied with bread” means you will have enough to eat; you will be sustained and your basic needs will be met. In the context of the verse, King Solomon is teaching us about the importance of diligence and effort:

• “Do not love sleep” — Don’t be lazy or spend all your time sleeping (or by extension, being idle).

• “Lest you come to poverty” — If you avoid work and effort, you may fall into poverty.

• “Open your eyes” — Be alert, active, and seek opportunities to be productive.

• “And you shall be satisfied with bread” — If you put in the effort and are diligent, you will have your needs provided for; you’ll have (at least) enough bread to satiate your hunger, meaning your sustenance is secured.

Deeper meaning: “Bread,” in Jewish tradition, symbolizes the basic necessities of life. The verse is not just about food, but a metaphor for being provided for in all ways—physical and perhaps even spiritual.

Perek Shirah—which is a collection of praises recited by natural creatures—references this verse in one of the calls of the rooster, according to some versions. The rooster calls upon people not to oversleep and miss Torah study or mitzvot.

In summary:
“…you shall be satisfied with bread” means: If you are alert and industrious, God will provide that you have your fundamental needs met.

Gill, “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; sleep is a very great natural blessing; it is a gift of God, what nature requires, and is desirable; it is to be loved, though not immoderately; it is sweet to a man, and what he should be thankful for; yet should not indulge himself in to the neglect of the proper business of life; nor to be used but at the proper time for it; for the eye is made for sight, and not for sleep only, as Aben Ezra observes, connecting the words with the preceding; and therefore should not be kept shut and inattentive to business, which must necessarily end in poverty and want; see Proverbs 6:9; and so spiritual sleep and slothfulness bring on a spiritual poverty in the souls of men, both as to the exercise of grace and the performance of duty;

Open thine eyes, and thou shall be satisfied with bread; that is, open thine eyes from sleep, awake and keep so, and be sedulous and industrious in the business of thy calling; so shalt thou have a sufficiency of food for thyself and family; see Proverbs 12:11. It may be applied to awaking out of sleep in a spiritual sense, and to a diligent attendance to duty and the use of means, whereby the souls of men come to be satisfied with the goodness of the Lord, and the fatness of his house; see Ephesians 5:14.”

HIGHLY Recommended Bible Memory App

One of the most rewarding practices in all of life is the memorization of Scripture. By God’s grace this is something I’ve been doing since my early years as a Christian, but lately the desire has grown even more. I like to choose one new Scripture per week and work hard at memorizing it (Discipline and Discipleship are closely related). I like to write the passage in a notebook, but I also use an app (pretty much every day), on my computer and phone that I’d like to recommend to you. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Click HERE or on the image below to get started. If you use the promo code “Memorize Scripture,” you will receive 20% off. Trust me, it’s worth every penny!