Exodus 25:23-40 & 37:10-24 – Bread and Light
The next 2 items of furniture in the tabernacle were found in the Holy Place. This was the larger section of the tent of meeting, with the smaller inner section being the Holy of Holies. In the Holy Place only the Levites and Priests were free to enter.
Here on either side, left and right, were the lampstand and the table for bread. There was one other piece of furniture in the Holy Place, the altar of incense, which stood in front of the Holy of Holies.
The table for bread was made from gold but the table isn’t to be the focus, rather it is the bread. This bread of the Presence is pointing us to a greater reality.
Firstly, it is pointing us to the nearness of God. God says, “set the bread of the presence on the table before me.”
Leviticus 24 tells us the bread is 12 loaves set in two piles, six on each pile, before the LORD and it is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever. The bread represented the people before God – it is from the people of Israel. All of God’s people are before his face. This is the bread of presence. Every tribe has a place at the table of God. God is near us continually.
Secondly the bread points us to nourishment from God. It is bread, provided by God, that is to be eaten. The God who is near to his people, gives satisfaction to his people.
Leviticus 24:9 says the bread was to be for Aaron and his sons, and they were to eat it in the Holy Place. God was providing for the priests in his court. They shared fellowship with God. They ate the bread in the Holy Place. God was nourishing them before his face.
The lampstand, which stood opposite the table for bread was shaped like a tree, and it contains the various stages of life of a tree – budding, blossom and flower.
The purpose of the lampstand is to give light. This light was necessary for the priests to go about their service in the tabernacle. Without the light they would be in darkness.
Both the bread and light point us to Jesus Christ who said, “I AM the bread of life” and “I AM the light of the world.” In Jesus Christ we are in the presence of God, we are nourished, and we are given the light of life.
Questions
- In what ways is Jesus the reality of the bread of presence?
- What does it mean that Jesus is the Light?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks that Christ is the bread of life and light of the world.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.