Exodus 25:30
And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Exodus 25:23-30 and Mark 2:23-27
Working our way backwards through the temple of the tabernacle, God instructed Moses to build the Table of Showbread. This was located on the north side of the Holy Place. The Holy Place was between the Holy of Holies and the Outer Veil. The priests would enter the Holy Place once every week on the Sabbath.
The Table of Showbread is made of the same materials as the Ark of the Covenant – acacia wood and pure gold. So again we see the representation of both Christ’s humanity in the acacia wood and Christ’s divinity in the pure gold. The dimensions of the table are again very specific being two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half tall. The height of the table is the exact same height as the ark. The other two dimensions are slightly smaller.
Frankincense is a white resin or gum that is highly fragrant. It is harvested primarily from a Boswellia tree by making incisions in the bark and allowing the gum to flow out. Frankincense was a valuable resource and at one point rivaled gold in value. Frankincense is a symbol of holiness and righteousness. Frankincense was one of the three gifts given to Jesus by the Wise Men as a child. It was symbolic of His willingness to become a sacrifice – giving Himself up like a burnt offering.
The loaves of bread were considered holy, an offering before the presence of God, and could be eaten only by the priests. The priests would place twelve loaves of bread made from fine flour on the table on the pure gold plates. Also called “bread of the presence,” the loaves were arranged in two rows or piles of six, with frankincense sprinkled on each row. The twelve loaves represent the twelve tribes of Israel and also the twelve apostles.
Each week on the Sabbath, the priests would eat the old bread and replace it with fresh loaves and frankincense supplied by the people. Thus the bread would always be on the table as an offering of bread to God. The priest would eat at the table before God symbolizing a dining with God. The height of the table where God provides and communes with us is also at the same height of the Ark where God’s presence lives. God wants to be on our level with us and Jesus fulfilled that when he “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).
Interestingly enough, when David was on the run from King Saul, he asked the priest Ahimelech for food. The priest gave David the bread of the Presence, since it was the only bread available (1 Samuel 21). David was not a priest, so it was technically unlawful for him to eat the showbread. Jesus later refers to this event, using it as proof that the Law was designed for man’s benefit, and that Christ is Lord of the Sabbath.
So we see with the Table of Showbread we have a picture of Christ (Lord of the Sabbath) being both fully human and God, representing the Bread of Life who is willing to become a sacrifice to commune with us for all of eternity. And when Jesus died for us, the veil was torn allowing us all to enter God’s presence and commune with Him at His table forever.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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