“And you shall put the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me continually.” (Ex 25:30, LITV)
The twelve showbreads in the Holy Place in the tabernacle were made from fine flour without yeast (Lev 24:5). The name “show”-bread (or shewbread) emphasises the fact that the bread shows something or indicates something specific. In our consideration of the tabernacle thus far we have seen that the tabernacle points to the fullness of Christ’s habitation in the believer: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). The showbread specifically has a double reference to this. Not only is it a clear manifestation of Jesus as the Bread of life (John 6:35), it is also an explicit sign of the reality of Christ’s Presence in us.
If everything existed through Him (John 1:3), and all things are maintained in Him (Col 1:17), and if He upholds all things through the word of His power (Heb 1:3), and everything exists by His will (Rev 4:11), then He IS the reality. The Good News Bible states it clearly: “the reality is Christ” (Col 2:17). To those who are born again Christ becomes the reality in which we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)! Christ is thus not only in you, you are also in Him! In Christ all things are reconciled to Himself (Col 1:20) – it is the primary task of believers who must let the Kingdom of God come to: “usher in the fullness of the times and to gather up all things in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10, ISV).
It is of this reality in Christ that the Bread of His Presence testifies. It will be there continually, at all times. It is a perpetual Presence. The root meaning of the word “show” in the original Hebrew is: “to behold the Face of God”.
The Gemara (the written commentary of the rabbis through the centuries) also states that there was a supernatural aspect to the showbread. Even though the bread was replaced weekly, they stayed fresh the whole week through and even continuously emitted steam!
Can you declare with Job 29:20a (ASV): “My glory is fresh in me”? Do you truly display the face of God in the world? And how much steam of His reality do the people around you see coming from you?
- Sela: Think and pray about Ex 24:18 in the light of this teaching.
- Read: Ex 24; Ps 74; Rom 16.
- Memorise: Ex 24:10-11
- Going deeper: Study the classical text of Brother Lawrence: Practicing the presence of God.
