The Tabernacle
208 The Taberm,c/e mount; and even as the priests did, as they ministered be- fore the Lord in this sanctuary for Jehovah "in the midst" of His chosen people, Israel.
209 heart-hungry souls, and fills us with the joy of His never- failing Presence. "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" (I John 1:3). "Jesus said unto them.... My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.... I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6 :32-3 5). When our Lord died upon the cross and rose again, He who was "the Bread of God" became also the believer's "Bread of Life." Ever well pleasing "before Jehovah," His be- l iever-priests feed their souls upon Him; and thus the fellowship which was broken by sin has been restored be- tween Jehovah and His believing children. ow if we turn to the Holy Spirit's description of this shewbread, we shall find some striking and significant de- tails, which unmistakably remind us of our Lord. This holy bread was to be made of fine flour, without leaven. It was to be baked with fire. Then the loaves were to be placed in two parallel rows upon the table, within the en- circling crown of gold. Upon the twelve loaves powdered frankincense was sprinkled. And there the shewbread stood "before the Lord" for seven days. On each Sabbath Day the priests placed this sweet frankincense in one of the golden bowls, which belonged to the service of the table; and burned it as "an offering made by fire unto the Lord" (Lev. 24:7). These loaves were then food for the priests, fresh loaves being put in their place "before the Lord." Aaron and his sons were to eat this holy bread, but only within the Holy Place (Lev. 24:9). Seven is the number of perfection. God gave us seven days in the week. He placed seven colors in the rainbow.
The Shewbread-A Type of Christ, "The Bread of Life''
The word "shewbread," spelled "showbread" in the Revised Version, means, when literally translated from the Hebrew, "the bread of the face"; that is, "the bread of the presence." Therefore, it was also called "the pres- ence bread." We have seen that, by express command of Jehovah, it was "continually" before His Presence. He looked upon it with satisfaction because it foreshadowed His beloved Son who always did those things that pleased Him. Because all twelve of the tribes of Israel were repre- sented in the twelve loaves, "the presence bread" reminded Jehovah also of His people. There they were, symbolically face to face with God, in fellowship with Him on the basis of the atoning work of God's Son upon the cross. Had not Abraham, when returning from the deliverance of his nephew, Lot, met Melchizedek, who "brought forth bread and wine"? (See Gen. 14:18-20.) This "king of Salem" and "priest of the most high God" was a marvelous type of Christ, our King-Priest. And because Abraham had faith in the promised Redeemer, he could partake of the memorials of sacrifice, the bread and the wine, in fellow- ship with Melchizedek, unmistakable type of the Lord Himself. (See Psalm 110:4; Heb. 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:1-28.) Jehovah looked upon the shewbread, and was satisfied in His Son, of whom the loaves spoke. And He saw us, the bride of Christ, "accepted in the beloved" Son. For "the presence bread" foreshadowed our Lord Jesus, the True Bread, who sustains us in our new life, satisfies our
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