Set upon the table shewbread.
The table of shewbread
I. The first lesson we learn here is taught us by the nature of the bread upon the table. This we know, on the very best authority, was a symbol of Christ. Jesus taught us this distinctly and clearly when He said, “I am the Bread of Life.” That bread upon the table points to Jesus. How apt a type, or emblem of Him, it was! The bread was a prepared substance. A compound substance. A necessary substance. As suitable as necessary.
II. Our second lesson is furnished by observing the way in which this bread was manifested. Two things were required to this end, viz., the light which shone from the golden candlestick, and the table to lift up, or elevate the bread so that it could be distinctly seen. If the candlestick were not lighted, and casting forth its illuminating beams, the bread might be upon the table, but darkness would envelope it. The officiating priest could never see it. And so it is only the light of revelation, the illuminating influence of the Holy Ghost, which can make manifest Christ, the true bread from heaven, to the souls of famishing sinners.
III. The third lesson it teaches us is suggested by the abundance of the supply placed upon it. The table bore twelve loaves. There was one for each of the tribes. No part of God’s family was overlooked, or neglected, in the symbolical provision thus made for their necessities. And what was true, in this respect, of the symbol, is equally true of the thing symbolized. Jesus, whom the bread upon the golden table represented, is an infinite Saviour. The resources of His sufficiency are exhaustless.
IV. We are taught a lesson by the time for the renewing of the bread upon it. By an ordinance of God this was always to be done upon the Sabbath. Thus God would put honour upon the Sabbath, and associate it, in the minds of His people, with the thought of obtaining the supply of their spiritual necessities.
V. We learn a lesson from the continual freshness of the bread set out upon it. Christ never grows old. His people are often weary of other things; they grow weary of themselves--weary of their sins and sorrows, and weary of the world and its vanities--but they never, never grow weary of Jesus. Having once eaten of the bread which He gives, which He constitutes, it is literally true that they “never hunger” for the husks the world can offer.
VI. We gather our sixth and last lesson from the covering of frankincense which we see spread out over the top of the bread. When we remember that these loaves were a figure of Christ, and that frankincense is a token of that which is pleasing, or grateful, we seem to have exhibited, in beautiful symbol before us, the acceptableness of Christ and His work to the Father. (R. Newton, D.D.)
The table in God’s house
“Table,” gives us the idea of fellowship, social intercourse, friendship, satisfaction; all which we find in the house of God. “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” What a sacred privilege it is to eat bread in the presence of God. And not only to eat in His presence, but to eat the “Presence Bread.” “He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy.” At God’s table there is social intercourse. The saints commune one with another and all commune with God. “We are all partakers of that one bread.” Sweet is the intercourse of God with His people at the table of His grace. It is a proof of friendship. “I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” Here we find sacred satisfaction. “I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with bread.” “They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house.” “The meek shall eat and be satisfied.” “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.” There is no stint where God is the host. In His house there is bread enough and to spare. He fills our cup to overflowing with consolation, and with joy. Those who dwell in God’s house will never come to an empty table, nor find God absent from His throne of mercy. “Surely goodness”--to supply my wants--“and mercy,”--to pardon my sins--“shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” (R. E. Sears.)
The tables of grace and glory
The incorruptible wood may be an emblem of grace, the gold an emblem of glory. God’s table on earth is the table of His grace. His table in the heavenly world is the table of His glory. If we are guests at the table of grace, we shall be entertained at the table of glory. Grace is glory began. Glory is grace perfected. Grace is the earnest of our inheritance. Glory is the possession of the estate. By grace we are prepared for glory. When the work of grace is completed, we shall hear the welcome, “Come up higher.” By faith we sit at the table of grace. At the table of glory faith will be changed to sight. Both tables are furnished with the same provision. Christ the true Bread of Life is the spiritual food of the believer on earth: and in heaven we shall eat the same Divine celestial Bread. “The Bread of God” is the nourishment of the spiritual life; and it is the joy of the eternal life. (R. E. Sears.)
The table of shewbread
Made of acacia wood, and plated with gold, it was three feet long, one foot and six inches wide, two feet and three inches high. Around its verge was an ornamental cincture of solid gold, similar to that which adorned the ark. Beneath this was a border of wood four inches and a half wide, plated, of course, with gold, and adorned with another crown of gold. The table was furnished with golden rings at the corners, and with staves which were put through these rings when the table was to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites, but removed when the tabernacle had been erected in a new encampment, and the bearers had deposited their burden in its appointed position. The rings were attached at the same height as the wooden border; but the specifications do not intimate how far above the ground this was affixed. (E. E. Atwater.)
The shewbread, etc
.:--The table was furnished with two dishes for bread, two for frankincense, and probably two for wine. Twelve flat loaves of bread in two piles, constantly stood on it, fresh loaves being brought every Sabbath, and the loaves which were removed being eaten by the priests only. The number of the loaves doubtless indicates that the whole covenant people, the twelve tribes of Israel, were to participate in this offering to their covenant God. On the top of each pile was a dish of frankincense, and near by were cups of wine, as seems probable from the description of the dishes as suitable to pour with (Exodus 25:29 margin). The Septuagint calls them bowls and cups; and the Jewish tradition is, that they contained wine for a libation or drink-offering, such as accompanied every food-offering at the altar in the court. The table of shewbread was in some sense an altar, being the appointed place where certain offerings to Jehovah were to be placed before Him. The materials of these sacrifices were the same as those of the food-offerings and drink-offerings in the court. Corn and wine, or bread and wine, being the product of the life-work of the Hebrews, represented, in the symbolism of the Tabernacle, the fruit of work in the higher sphere where one labours not for perishable food, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life. This is the true bread from heaven of which wheat, manna, and other kinds of food, are figures; it is not only the life-product of those who have been born again, but their chief enjoyment, the sufficient reward of all their labour. Knowing, however, that God has even more desire for the sanctification of His people than they themselves have, they wish Him to enjoy with them the fruits of this spiritual husbandry. It is this fellowship of God with His people in the enjoyment of their sanctification which the shewbread represents. (E. E. Atwater.)
Significance of the golden table
May not the golden table point to the abundant supply of good things prepared in the heavenly temple, for all those whom Christ will make kings and priests unto God for ever? There a table is spread before His face, that is continually furnished with new wine and heavenly manna, with which the ransomed of the Lord will be refreshed, and made glad: “In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (W. Brown.)
The shewbread
The bread was made of fine flour (Leviticus 24:5-9), and was unleavened. Twelve cakes, in piles of six each, always stood on the table; hence it was called the perpetual bread. It was also named the bread arranged in order, the meaning of which is obvious. Its more significant name we will notice presently. On the top of each pile was placed frankincense, probably in the cups we have spoken of. It is thought by some that this frankincense was burned once a week, when the bread was being renewed; and by others that it was ever burning, which does not appear very likely, as the quantity consumed would be very great; but there may have been some means by which it was very slowly consumed, and kept always burning; in that case the holy place would be ever fragrant. The bread was called the “shewbread” (Hebrew, “bread of faces,” or “presence bread”) because it was before the symbol of God’s presence--the veil only intervening. The bread was renewed every Sabbath by fresh loaves; those which were removed belonged to the priests, and could be eaten only by them, and in the holy place and nowhere else. All thank-offerings were holy--this one was peculiarly so: “It is most holy unto Him of the offerings made by fire”. (Leviticus 24:9). Only the shewbread and the incense offerings were presented in the holy place; all the other offerings were brought to the brazen altar in the court. The ceremonies connected with all the sacrifices were soon over, except in the case of the shewbread, which was a ceaseless offering. The bread was ever on the table before the Lord. (W. Brown.)
The shewbread
This bread was made of fine flour. Fine flour is bread-corn which has been bruised until it is smooth and even. Christ is the bread-corn bruised, and in Him there is no roughhess or unevenness. In us there is much unevenness; we are soft and smooth one day, and changed and rough the next. But it was not so with Christ. The circumstances in which He was placed were ever changing, yet He remained always the same--unchanged and unchangeable. Leaven is the emblem of evil: it is a corrupt and a corrupting thing (Matthew 16:6-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:9). Christ was before God during the whole of His life, as the bread was before God in the Tabernacle seven days. The number seven is the symbol of perfection; it is a complete period. And as God discovered no leaven in the bread during the time it was before Him on the table, so He found no evil in Jesus during His life on earth; and as the bread was taken from the table and given to the priests, so Christ is given to the saints, the spiritual priests, that they may live on Him. He is our food, our daily bread. And as we must have bread every day on our tables, whatever else of sweet or savoury food we may have beside, so we must have Christ to feed upon every day. We may have many other things and many other friends, but we cannot do without Christ. No one can be healthy and strong who does not get good food; and no soul can be truly healthy that does not feed on Jesus Christ. To eat a book is to consider it well, and to eat the flesh and to drink the blood of Christ is to consider Him with faith and love; it is to receive Him into the heart. This is the soul-refreshing, soul-satisfying, and imperishable food of the Father’s house. Feeding on this blessed food will keep us from longing after the husks that swine feed on. In Christ God has provided a feast for fainting and famishing souls; and hungry souls thankfully receive Him, but others turn away. None but priests could feed on this bread (Matthew 12:4; Mark 2:26). And a man must now be a priest before he can enter into the true Tabernacle and eat the food of the Father’s house. Not even the priests could eat the shewbread outside of the Tabernacle: they must eat it in the holy place (Leviticus 24:9). So a man must be holy to find full enjoyment in Christ. Happiness and holiness are twin sisters, and they travel side by side: they are never separated, so you cannot have one without the other. The more we feast on this heavenly bread, the holier and happier we must become. Eating and drinking are acts which one cannot perform for another. The food may be very good, but it does not minister strength and nourishment to my body till I eat it; by this act I make it my own. So we must receive Christ by faith, receive Him for ourselves. (G. Rodgers.)