“And you shall set the
bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.”
Ex. 25:30
The table of the bread of Presence
or the show-bread was fairly diminutive in size measuring 3 feet in length, 1.5
feet in width, and standing 27 inches tall.
It was made of wood and overlaid with gold. Its purpose was to display 12 loaves of bread,
garnished with incense, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. These loaves of bread were an offering before
the Lord and as they were replaced, the old ones would be eaten by the
ministering priests of the tabernacle.
Unlike a food offering to the god of a pagan temple, the table of the
bread of presence really is a food offering from God to us. Jesus said “I am the bread of life; he who
comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst (Jn.
6:35).” The baked loaves on the table
look forward to the sacred offering Christ would make on the Cross that we
might eat of Him and receive real, eternal life. It is worth noting that as there was a loaf
for each tribe rather than one large common loaf. The Lord’s sacrifice on the cross was not a
general one but a personal one for you and me.
God brings us into one family but every family is composed of unique
individuals with their own story and their own need of redemption. Bread is also a specified form of
nourishment. God selected this
particular form over all others to represent His Son. In the same way, while there are endless
religious messages floating around the world today, the gospel of Jesus Christ
is the only one that reconciles a person to God. It is His appointed means of
nourishment. Finally, if the show-bread
represents Christ, the table of show-bread points us to our mission as a Church
and individual Christians. It is our job
to display Jesus Christ to a world that is literally dying of spiritual
hunger. Next time: The Lampstand
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