024. Table of Showbread: The Tabernacle - Part X

Exodus 25:23-30

 23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
 24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
 25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
 26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
 27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.
 28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
 29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
 30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.

Leviticus 24:5-9

 5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. 6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. 7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9 And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute.

The table stood on the north end of the Holy Place. This piece of furniture was an emblem of friendship, fellowship, and companionship. When we share a meal with someone, we are connecting with them in a deeper way than just having a conversation. Our Savior desires fellowship with the redeemed ones; more than just a casual acquaintance. He wants to know us. The word "communion" means "fellowship". We are invited to the table to fellowship with Him, to sup with Him. To truly become His friend. A drink offering always accompanied the meal offering of the bread in the Tabernacle. This was wine. Some of the drink offerings were poured out at the bronze laver and some in the Holy Place. In our faith, we partake of the emblems of the sacrifice of Christ every Sunday, the sacrament of bread and wine (water), which are blessed upon an altar by priests of the Aaronic order. 

Many of the objects of the tabernacle that have been described thus far were just vehicles for something Holy. For example, it was not the bronze altar, but the sacrifices that were made upon it that atoned; it was not the laver, but the water that was in it which cleansed; it was not the lampstand, but the oil and its light that illuminated the Holy Place. The table described in this post, held bread upon it, which the priests ate. Bread represents life, true life, which is the Word of God, who is Christ. The bread was made of the finest flour, which was purified and ground down into a perfect form. Such was Christ's life. He was pure, refined, ground down. The bread was baked. So to was Christ tested in the furnace of affliction. He became the true Bread of Life, that whoso would partake of Him would never hunger; He would satisfy those who trust in Him. The bread on the table was perpetually replenished so that the priests would never go without. Similarly, in Christ's atonement, there is no end, there is always enough to satisfy, it is eternal! The bread was just bread, but it represented life through Christ our great friend and Savior.