The Table of Showbread

 •  4 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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Passing from the “holy of holies” into the “holy place,” the first thing one would meet would be the golden altar of incense, but no mention is made of it here. As it was a vessel of approach unto God, the account of it is not given until after the priesthood is established. The ark, the mercy seat and other pieces of furniture yet to be considered, manifest God’s character, and because of this have been called by some, “vessels of manifestation.” Other pieces, instead of specially showing forth His holiness and righteousness, speak of how He may be approached, and these have been called “vessels of approach.”
Before God manifested Himself in Christ, and Christ became the way of approach, the people had to approach Him through the mediation of the priesthood. We can thus understand the choosing and consecration of the priests being described before the vessels of approach are taken up. This is not confusion; the perfect order that governs God in all His ways may be seen in it.
The Table of Showbread
The table of showbread is now described (Ex. 25:23-3023Thou 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. 24And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. 25And 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. 26And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. 27Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table. 28And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. 29And 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. 30And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway. (Exodus 25:23‑30)). Its materials being the same as those of the ark, we have Christ in type brought before us again. Christ in His varied perfections and glories may be seen at every point when God’s dwelling place with man is viewed in connection with the tabernacle; this it is that makes its beauty and its blessedness. The “border of a handbreadth” crowned with gold (Ex. 25:2525And 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. (Exodus 25:25)) was doubtless, in its natural use, to hold the loaves of bread in their position on the table.
Does not this speak of the One who is holding His own secure, and out of whose hand no power can pluck them? “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:2828And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)). Eternally secure! That hand of power, actuated by that heart of love, holding His ransomed ones until He has them safe home with Himself, beyond the reach of every foe.
The Loaves
The loaves which were placed upon the table may be viewed in two ways: first, as a type of Christ who is food for His people (John 6:32-3532Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:32‑35)), as the loaves were food for the priests in the sanctuary — next, as a type of God’s people accepted in Christ in all His perfection before God. Thus the loaves represented God’s earthly people, Israel, who in turn were a type of Christians, God’s heavenly people.
Leaven, always a type of evil in Scripture, was excluded from all the offerings “made by fire” (Lev. 2:1111No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire. (Leviticus 2:11)). The fittingness of no leaven in the loaves can readily be seen, for thought of evil cannot be connected with Christ who is “the bread of life,” and who is the food for His people.
The priests were to eat the bread in the sanctuary; now the believer feeds upon Christ in the sanctuary of God’s presence. He cannot enjoy both Christ and the world. If Christ is the object of his heart, he has lost his relish for the world with its unsatisfying pleasures and vanities (Col. 3:1-31If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1‑3)). If he seeks enjoyment in the world, the sanctuary is not his place; Christ in whom he professes to believe does not satisfy the heart.
The loaves were twelve in number, placed in two rows of six each. In this connection we can see how they were used as a type of Israel. The twelve tribes were represented in the twelve loaves, and being held, and that securely, by the table which was a type of Christ, their acceptance before God stands out to our admiring gaze; and this is seen again in the “pure frankincense” which was to be poured on each row, for this speaks of the sweet fragrance of Christ to God. How blessed it all is! “Accepted in the beloved” — loved as He is loved! Dear reader, Do you know what it is to have the “pure frankincense” poured upon you, and can you rejoice in that word, “As He is, so are we in this world”? (1 John 4:1717Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17)).