The Table of Shewbread

As we step into the Holy Place of the temple, we see to our right a beautiful table providing nourishment for our hungry and needy souls. The Bread on this table symbolizes Christ as the word of God to humanity. He said, "I am the bread of life. . . . If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. . . . The words that I speak to you they are spirit and they are life." (John 6:48, 51, 63). What physical food is to the body, the word of Christ is to man's spiritual nature. As a man cannot live physically without partaking of food for the nourishment of his body, neither can he live spiritually without partaking of spiritual food for the nourishment of his soul. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4).

The word of God reshapes man's thoughts and transforms his character. By claiming the promises of the Bible we are made "partakers of the divine nature," which is holiness and love. (2 Peter 1:4). That which is received into your mind will determine the quality of your character and the nature of your practical life. "For as a man thinks in his own heart so is he." (Proverbs 23:7). If you feed your mind with evil thoughts, evil deeds will find manifestation in your life. On the other hand, if you feed your mind with pure, noble thoughts, your life will reveal the character of God. The words of Christ are the audible expression of God's thoughts and feelings. As we receive these words, we are receiving the mind of Christ, the very life of God.

The Shewbread Table was placed on the right-hand side of the Holy Place, the North side, a little way from the gold-covered Boards. It was not very big: approximately 1 metre long, half a metre wide, three-quarters of a metre high. It was made from acacia wood overlaid with gold, similar to the Boards, speaking of the two-fold nature of Jesus Christ: He was born of Mary as a genuine human being, yet conceived by the Holy Spirit and called the Son of God (Luke 1:35), truly man overlaid with God.

This table had a crown made of gold, unlike the Burnt Offering Altar. Back there in the Outer Court, all was about washing, judgement and death at the bronze-coated Laver and Burnt Offering Altar. Here in the Holy Place, all is about life, food, light and fragrant incense. Therefore "we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, because of the suffering of death" in the Outer Court, but at the Shewbread Table (and at the Golden Incense Altar) in the Holy Place we see Jesus "crowned with glory and honour" (Hebrews 2:9).

On the table were placed twelve loaves of unleavened bread, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The loaves were replaced every week freshly on the Sabbath (Leviticus 24:5-9): fresh food in the house of God for the priests, Aaron and his sons. Peter tells us that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:8), who have tasted that the Lord is gracious (I Peter 2:3) are not only a spiritual house, but also a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (I Peter 2:5,9). As priests, we are ministering to the Lord through faith in Jesus' blood and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Our food, in addition to some of the offerings, is the fresh bread on the golden Shewbread Table: Jesus as the Bread of God who came down from heaven to give LIFE to the world (John 6:33), crowned with glory and honour.

The twelve loaves represent the whole people of God, in God's house (the church, I Timothy 3:15), in fellowship with one another (I John 1:7).

The loaves of unleavened bread remind us of the Lord Jesus saying "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger" (John 6:35). This unlimited supply of heavenly food, fresh every week, is to be the portion of the priests in the light from the Lampstand (Colossians 1:12). Every day we need to come to Him (John 6:37), see the Son and believe in Him (John 6:40); He is the living Bread, that came down from heaven to give us His life, life IN us (John 6:51,53). This life is brought to us firstly as the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63) and secondly, as the words of eternal life (John 6:68). Today, Jesus Christ can only give His life to us through His word and by His Spirit. The black-and-white word of the scriptures alone is not enough for life (John 5:39-40). We must come to Him in the word AND in the Spirit.

The Shewbread is also called the Bread of the Presence. To eat Christ as the Bread of Life, we (the priests) must be in the presence of God, who is Spirit (John 4:24). The Shewbread is for all the priests, in fellowship with one another in God's presence.

Based on the parable in Luke 11:5-8, we need the Bread of Life not just for ourselves (as in the daily bread in Luke 11:3), but also for our needy friends, who come to us on their journey. Jesus makes it clear: people in the world are hungry, but the flesh profits nothing (John 6:35,62). Jesus came that He might give life to the world, so that those who believe in Him may have eternal life (John 6:33,47). Therefore, we should ask, seek and knock in prayer (Luke 11:9), until He gives us as much Bread of life as we need for ourselves and for our friends (Luke 11:8). Our heavenly Father delights to do this! (Luke 11:13).