The Bread of Life

Series on Exodus

VIII. The Covering of God’s People

C. Pattern of the Tabernacle

3. The Table, Text: 25:23-30, 37:10-16

Title: The Bread of Life

Introduction

We come now to the second piece of furniture in the holy place after the altar of incense which was located in front of the curtain which covered the holiest. This is the table of bread. The bread upon it is called the bread of presence. In the older English versions it was called shewbread or showbread. This table shall be seen in three different lights, its workmanship, its worship and its witness. But, first a little history of this piece of furniture, and a little is all there is. Almost all the scant references have to do with the priests and Levites in the service of the table, either the transportation of it or the preparation. References are found in Numbers, and in I Kings and I Chronicles regarding the tabernacle and the temple of Solomon. There is a reference in Nehemiah when the Levites assumed the responsibility for this table in the second temple after the return from the Babylonian captivity. but there is one other group of references which is interesting. Three of the gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke mention a story from the Old Testament about the table. The original story is in I Samuel 21:1-6 where we read about David’s entering the tabernacle and eating the consecrated bread. Jesus comments on this story, and we’ll look at the record in Mark 2:23-28, One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Mark’s is the briefest record and focuses on our story. Jesus gives several arguments about the sabbath on this occasion, five if you compare all the accounts, but this is the most prominent occurring first, and in all three gospels, and is significant to us for our study. The principle is that not only the man made laws of the Pharisees concerning threshing and reaping on the sabbath could be broken, but even God’s law could be broken, and it was by a singularly important individual whom the Pharisees honored. The principle of self-preservation is greater by far than even the God-given regulations about worship because self-preservation is also a God-given commandment. As we look at the worship of the tabernacle and its implications for our worship let us always be aware that God says to a disobedient Israel I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Hollow empty forms do not please God. His rules for worship were so important that they could involve the penalty of death for those who violated them, and yet in comparison to the laws of necessity and mercy they are inferior.

I Workmanship

The table is described in Exodus 25:23-30 and this is reiterated later in Exodus 37. Make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings. Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times. Upon it the bread was placed weekly. it was unleavened and uncontaminated with any other ingredients. When the bread was replaced by new, the bread became food for the priests. There were 12 loaves representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Of special interest are the utensils on the table. There were plates to carry the bread, there were cups for incense which was kept burning on the table, and there were pitchers and bowls for wine. The construction was portable with rings as with the other furniture except for the candlestick, and like the other furniture it was made of acacia wood and then overlaid with gold. Many of these features become important in the light of the meaning of the table. We consider that first as we look at the role of the table in worship.

II Worship

The first thing we should note is that all of the furniture in the holy place has the same purpose. It is a means of worship. We should never forget that while we look at the symbolism and typology this was a means of real worship for Israel. It is termed an offering in our text. Even though the bread was not a bloody sacrifice, all the materials used in the holy place were offerings. Specifically if you examine the three pieces, the altar of incense which we considered last, the table of the bread of presence and the lampstand you will see the three fundamental aspects of worship. Even in the synagogues of Christ’s time and in our churches these are the basic attributes of worship. All the elements bring praise to God, but as the altar of incense stands for prayer, the second furnishing, the table of bread stands for the sacraments. This is a poignant reminder of communion. The bread is before God, and that is why it is called the bread of presence or of the face. He looks upon it with pleasure. It represents the covenant obligations of His people being fulfilled as do our sacraments. The ordinance of the loaves is called in Scripture both a memorial and an everlasting covenant. It represents walking in newness of life. The candlestick typifies the light of truth and represents the preaching and teaching of the Word including its employment by the people who speak God’s words after him. The elements of worship are all here and they are here as the work of the redeemed people. We pray, we commit, we confess before the world.

III Witness

Like every aspect of the tabernacle this table is a witness to Christ. He is the bread of life for so he says in John chapter 6. What it very important is the fact that as there can be no prayer without Jesus, their can be no communion or covenant meal without Jesus, and there can be no light without Jesus who said I am the light of the world. Jesus says in John 14, No man comes unto the father except by me. Christ must be seen in all the furnishings and in this table particularly if we are to understand its meaning. It is precisely because Christ is the bread of life, the one who gave himself for the nourishment of sinful men the world over, who was broken for our sins, that the table has any validity for Israel. They come to the table by way of animal sacrifice because they cannot approach the tabernacle and its ordinances or furnishings apart from the shedding of blood. But those sacrifices were insufficient and had to be oft repeated and the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin, but Jesus is a better sacrifice. The incense which ascends up from the table to bring the offering into God’s presence-the offering up of the obedience of the people, is incapable of lifting that obedience to God except through Christ the mediator, and the table cannot be attended nor the bread consumed apart from Christ the mediator.

Conclusion

When you turn to John 6 you read about the feeding of the 5000. This is the only miracle recorded in all the gospels. Notice John 6:12, where we read that after the 5000 were fed, the pieces gathered up filled 12 baskets, there were 12 tribes in the old Israel. Jesus has formed the new Israel with 12 apostles. The 12 baskets are a direct link back to the table with 12 loaves in the holy place. It is another way of Jesus saying that this is the new Israel. I am the temple, and my sovereign power which sustained Israel and commanded their worship is here. I am the bread of life, and my disciples feed upon me and in that strength they serve God.