Dining with God: (5.) The Bread of Presence in the Wilderness

Dining with God: (5.) The Bread of Presence in the Wilderness.

“You shall make a Table of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold… And you shall set the Bread of the Presence on the Table before Me regularly… You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it. And you shall set them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the Table of pure gold before Lord Yahweh. And you shall put pure frankincense on each stack of bread, that it may go with the Bread as a memorial portion as a food offering to Yahweh. Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange it before Yahweh regularly; it is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever…” (Exodus 25:23-30 and Leviticus 24:5-9).

The Lord’s Table in the Tabernacle. There were specific instructions given to Moses regarding a special Table in the sanctuary. Often called the Shewbread Table, it was the first holy object one would see upon entering the Holy Place. On the Table were placed twelve loaves of unleavened bread representing the twelve tribes of Israel, and several golden goblets of wine. The bread represented Israel with its twelve tribes, and the wine would represent the blood of the Covenant between Yahweh and His Chosen People. The bread and wine were to be consumed by the priests (who represented the people), and celebrated as an important time of communion between the priests and Yahweh. The shewbread, or showbread, was also known as the Bread of Presence, or more literally the “Bread of the Face.” Other names for this sacred Bread were… “The Loaves of Permanent Offering” and the “Inner Bread” because it was to be eaten by the priests in a special room inside the Tabernacle. Yahweh referred to his special bread as the “Bread of His God” in Leviticus 21. The purest of frankincense was sprinkled over the Bread to accompany the food offering and provide a sweet aroma as a memorial to Yahweh.

Could David be referring back to the Tabernacle Table in the Wilderness? “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in need… You prepare for me a table in the presence of my enemies; You spread out a feast for me even as my tormentors watch; You arrange a banquet for me in full view of those who trouble me.”

The Table was an ongoing sacred act of fellowship with the Lord, a time of thanksgiving when the bread and wine reminded the people of their dependence on God for their very survival. This Table was a fellowship table, a piece of holy furniture that was a confirmation that the eternal Lord God and His Chosen People were at peace, since only those parties who were at peace could eat at the same table. The Table was a reminder of the eternal covenant, the perpetual promise of mutual acceptance, a communion Table of the divine presence. The Table reminded Israel that God yearned to maintain a vital, daily relationship with them.

Fun Facts about the Tabernacle Table. 

1. It was made of very strong acacia wood and then overlaid with pure gold, constructed to withstand lots of rugged wear and tear as they carried it on golden poles through the wilderness of desert and rocky hillsides. The wood was said to represent humanity and the gold represented divinity.
2. The Table was placed in the Holy Place, the first room a priest would enter inside the Tabernacle. Rabbis would say that the table is “outside the heart” of the Tabernacle (the Holy of Holies), but “inside the body” (the Holy Place). It was directly across from the holy Lampstand that was perpetually lighted and casting light around the Holy Place. The Table is seen then as being constantly blessed in the eternal presence of the light of God.
3. The Lord’s instructions in Exodus 25 included the first mention of a “table” in the Bible. So this Table was either highly unusual or was something so common it wasn’t mentioned in earlier Scriptures. The Hebrew word for table is “sulchan,” and means to “spread a meal.”
4. The dimensions of the Table were three feet long, almost two feet wide, and two feet high. The four legs each had a golden ring through which the golden traveling poles could be inserted for travel.
5. The Table was the setting place for many golden cups, bowls, dishes and pitchers. The plates held the Bread, the bowls held the frankincense, and the pitchers held the sacred wine that was poured into the gold cups.
6. This holy Table was set before God’s presence and in his sight. The literal Hebrew word for “presence” is “face.” So the table was maintained at all times in the face of God.
7. The Lord was very particular in His instructions regarding His Bread… Only a specially assigned group of priests would qualify as the bakers and managers of the whole Bread process. The flour was to be produced by crushing whole kernels of the best wheat into fine powder and then sifted many times to produce only the finest flour. Exactly four quarts of flour were used in each flat loaf of bread, and the loaves had to remain whole and unbroken during the whole process, from beginning to end. All twelve loaves had to be made each week from the same original batch of dough. The baker-priests baked a new batch of loaves every week, replacing the twelve stacks of loaves every Sabbath. When the fresh bread replaced the older bread each Sabbath, the priests were to enjoy eating the Bread along with drinking the ceremonial wine. The rabbis considered it miraculous that the Bread of Presence never grew moldy or stale during the week-long exposure to the air.
8. The Bread of Presence on the sacred Table in the Holy Place was considered by the Lord to be the “most holy” of all the offerings presented in the Tabernacle (Leviticus 24:9).

A Foreshadowing of Jesus. Similar to Melchizedek and Abraham in Genesis 14, bread and wine are the centerpiece for a fellowship meal. The Lord’s Table in the Tabernacle seems to anticipate Christ as the Bread of Life and the sacred Wine of the New Covenant thousands of years later in salvation history. Jesus completes the Law of Moses with bread and wine, by remaining Emmanuel, God-with-us, the Bread of Presence for the world and the wine of true communion. The disciples would not have been at all shocked to see the central use of bread and wine in their New Passover meal.