A Study of the Tabernacle—Part 12

The Table of Showbread (Part 2)—He Invites Us Into His Banquet Table

“I owe, I owe . . . so, off to work I go!”
What are you working for? What are you trying to accumulate? Money can buy you a house, but not a home; money can buy you an education, but not wisdom; money can buy you a bed, but not restful sleep; money can buy you influence, but not respect; it can buy you medicine, but not health.

Do you take time to reflect upon what you are chasing after and whether it is worth it? Are you caught up in the rat race for more things and don’t even have time to enjoy the things for which you still owe money? Jesus calls us to work not for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life (John 6:27). Are we thinking about this as we chase after the shiny things the world holds out in front of us? When it is all said and done, what will be said about you, and what will you have done?

The Table of Showbread was a reminder of God’s provision of the things we really need. Not just our physical needs, but something much more meaningful! This bread placed upon the Table of Showbread was called the “Bread of Presence”, or more literally, the “Bread of Face”—GOD’S FACE! The Table of Showbread represents eating in the presence of God—TABLE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE MAKER OF THE UNIVERSE! He invites us in to His banquet table and His banner over us is love! The point in the Tabernacle was the same as what Jesus later taught in John 6:27. Are you making your decisions based upon the things that bring you deeper into the presence of God, so you can sit down with Him and enjoy table fellowship? Or, are you chasing after things that distract you from this type of intimacy with God?

Jesus was very consistent in what He taught us about this. When the devil tempted Him to turn stones to bread after He had been fasting for 40 days, Jesus made it clear, “It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). The devil was trying to find a way to disrupt the intimacy and fellowship Jesus enjoyed with the Father, much like he did to Adam & Eve in the Garden. However, this time he was unsuccessful. Jesus also had this to say to His disciples when they tried to get Him to eat after His encounter with the woman at the well in Samaria, “I have food to eat that you do not know about. . . . My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work” (John 4:32-34). Jesus never let His physical appetite take precedence over His spiritual appetite. His decisions in the flesh were based upon what would help Him stay in the presence of God—feasting at His banquet table!

Have you considered what it is you are working for and why you feel these things are necessary? Are you striving after things that move you closer to the presence of God, or further away from Him? Let the Table of Showbread remind you that God will take care of the things you really need, and His “bread” is meant to draw you nearer to Him so you can have table fellowship. If this is not what you are experiencing, will you see what He is calling you to experience and make the changes necessary in your quest?

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-Scott