We are continuing our study of the Tabernacle in Leviticus. Although this book was written over 3,000 years ago, a proper understanding of the Old Testament temple addresses significant contemporary errors. Much of the conflict in today’s political landscape stems from a misunderstanding of the true nature of God’s temple.
Behind many geopolitical developments lies a misguided theological framework: the false teaching of dispensationalism. Proponents of this view believe that Israel must occupy the land, demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and rebuild a physical third temple. They teach that once this temple is built, the Messiah will return to establish Israel as a global power and reign for a thousand years.
Their primary focus is the reconstruction of the Old Testament temple. However, a careful reading of Scripture reveals that this framework lacks biblical support. The Old Testament stone temple was a temporary shadow pointing forward to the true temple of the living God—the Church, comprised of both Jew and Gentile believers.
In Leviticus 24:1–5, we examined the Golden Lampstand in the Old Testament sanctuary. In Revelation 1:20, Scripture explicitly clarifies that the lampstand represents the Church. Throughout history, worldly powers, religious opposition, materialism, and spiritual deception—symbolized in Revelation 12 by the dragon spewing a flood of false doctrine—have attempted to extinguish the Church’s light. Yet, as our Lord promised in Matthew 16:18, the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church. By His heavenly high-priestly ministry, Christ continually preserves its flame.
The Table of Showbread (Leviticus 24:5–9)
Today, we turn to the second major piece of furniture in the Holy Place: the Table of Showbread (Leviticus 24:5–9). We will examine this text under three headings:
- The Physical Description of the Table and Bread
- Its Old Covenant Significance
- Its New Covenant Fulfillment
1. The Physical Description of the Table and Bread
The Fine Flour and Baking
Leviticus 24:5 states:
“And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake.”
The bread was made from high-quality, hand-picked wheat. Making fine flour was a rigorous process: the wheat was crushed, ground, and repeatedly sifted through multiple sieves (tradition holds up to eleven times) to remove every trace of bran, husk, or grit. The result was a flour of absolute purity.
Each loaf required two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour—roughly 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) per loaf. These were exceptionally large, heavy loaves. Twelve such loaves were baked, requiring approximately 30 kilograms of flour in total.
The Gold Table and Arrangement
According to Exodus 25, the table itself was small, measuring three feet long by one and a half feet wide, and was overlaid with pure gold.
Leviticus 24:6 specifies that these twelve massive loaves were arranged in an orderly manner directly before the Lord:
“You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord.”
These twelve loaves were called the Showbread—literally, the “Bread of the Presence” or “Bread of the Face”—because they rested continuously before the face of the Lord. Upon each pile of bread, pure frankincense was placed as a memorial portion (verse 7).
Location and Maintenance
This table stood inside the Holy Place, sharing the compartment with the Golden Lampstand, whose sevenfold light illuminated the bread. Just beyond the inner veil sat the Ark of the Covenant, representing the immediate presence and holiness of God. Thus, the bread remained continually before the face of the Lord.
Leviticus 24:8 mandates:
“Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.”
Every Sabbath, the High Priest replaced the twelve week-old loaves with twelve freshly baked loaves.
The Consumption of the Bread
What became of the older loaves after seven days? They were not discarded. Leviticus 24:9 records:
“And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”
The priests consumed the older loaves within the holy place. As they ate, the sweet aroma of the fresh, warm loaves just placed on the table filled the sanctuary.
Notice that the bread was consumed by men, not by God. These loaves constituted an everlasting covenant promise from God to the twelve tribes of Israel.
2. The Old Covenant Significance
To discern the spiritual meaning of the showbread, we must ask: For whom was this bread provided?
It was not provided to feed God. The Almighty does not require food from human hands; He gives to all life, breath, and all things (Acts 17:25). Pagan religions often treated their deities as physical beings dependent on human offerings. In ancient Babylon, elaborate meals were presented to the idol of Marduk. Apocryphal accounts (such as Bel and the Dragon) expose how priests secretly entered at night to consume the offerings, deceiving the populace into believing the idol had eaten.
Scripture presents the exact opposite truth. The showbread rested in God’s house for a full week, absorbing the sanctity of His presence. It was then given by God to Israel’s representative priests as their portion. The twelve loaves symbolized the twelve tribes of Israel.
Through this symbolic act, God revealed Himself as the gracious Host of His people:
- Generous Provision: Each loaf was massive (two-tenths of an ephah—double the daily manna portion of one-tenth per person). God’s table is never scantily set; He provides exceeding abundantly (Ephesians 3:20). Every tribe had a loaf so large it could not easily be consumed by one person alone, testifying to His overflowing satisfaction.
- Sustenance and Upholding: In the ancient world, bread was called the “staff of life”—that which upholds a person from collapsing. The Lord depicted Himself as the faithful Host who sustains the life of His people and provides for all their physical needs. As Matthew Henry observed: “A loaf for every tribe, for in our Father’s house there is always bread enough. They were all provided for by the divine bounty, and were all welcome to divine grace.”
Dining Before the Face of God
While God in His common grace provides food for animals and unbelieving nations alike (Acts 14:17), the showbread carried a far deeper promise: Israel received their bread before His face.
They did not merely eat far off from His presence; they dined at the very table of the living God under His direct favor. Physical food satisfies physical hunger, but recognizing that daily sustenance comes directly from the loving hand of God imparts true spiritual satisfaction.
This reality is reflected in Exodus 24:11, when Moses, Aaron, and the seventy-two elders ascended Mount Sinai:
“They saw God, and they ate and drank.”
Though they were sinners who had transgressed His holiness, God did not lay His hand upon them in judgment. Instead, He hosted them in His presence.
We see this same hospitable heart of God throughout Scripture:
- He sustained Israel in the wilderness with manna from heaven.
- He nourished Elijah during a severe famine, sending an angel with food that sustained him for forty days and forty nights.
- Jesus manifested this same Fatherly care when He fed the multitudes in the wilderness, providing until all were filled, with twelve baskets remaining.
God continually replenishes His provisions for His people with fresh grace.
3. The New Covenant Fulfillment
Old Testament symbols find their ultimate fulfillment in the New Covenant. The shadow of the showbread leads directly to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Just as the Golden Lampstand pointed to Christ as the Light of the World, the Showbread points to Christ as the Bread of Life. In John 6, after feeding the 5,000, Jesus redirected the crowd from earthly food to spiritual reality:
“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.” (John 6:48–50)
Every aspect of the showbread finds its precise fulfillment in Christ:
- The Fine Flour: Represents the pristine, sinless humanity of Jesus. He was tested in all points (Hebrews 4:15), yet was entirely without sin—free from any grit of pride or husk of disobedience. Only the spotless, holy Son of God could serve as eternal sustenance for our souls.
- The Measurement (Double Portion): Represents the inexhaustible sufficiency of Christ. He provides more than enough grace for this life and eternity, showering us with the exceeding riches of His grace (Ephesians 2:7).
- The Twelve Loaves: Represents Christ’s complete provision for every child of God. No tribe was left out, and no citizen of heaven is forgotten by the Host. There is an allocated portion for every believer at His table.
- The Arrangement in Order: Reflects God’s orderly design in redemption. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection occurred at the exact appointed time in redemptive history. Believers are placed in Him with absolute spiritual security and order.
- The Pure Frankincense: Represents the sweet-smelling savor of Christ’s life and sacrificial death before God (Ephesians 5:2). His ongoing intercession in heaven remains a perpetual, pleasing aroma before the Father (Hebrews 7:25).
- The Weekly Renewal: Points to the continuous, fresh spiritual nourishment Christ provides to His Church, particularly as His word is proclaimed week after week.
The Ultimate Host
Jesus does not merely bring us before the face of God; He is the very face of God revealed to us (2 Corinthians 4:6).
The ultimate expression of this sanctuary imagery took place in the Upper Room in A.D. 30. There, the true Bread of Life hosted twelve men—the apostles, representing the New Covenant people of God—at His table.
During that Last Supper, Jesus took bread, broke it, and gave it to them, saying:
“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24)
Earthly hosts may prepare lavish meals or offer their finest livestock to show hospitality, but no host in the universe offers His own body and blood to nourish His guests. Christ spared nothing to satisfy our deep spiritual hunger, submitting His own body to be broken so that we might not perish into eternal destruction.
As New Covenant believers traveling through the wilderness of this world, surrounded by trials and temptations, our spiritual energy is renewed solely through Jesus Christ. He is our true Bread of Life, sustaining us until we reach the heavenly Canaan.
Because God has quickened our souls, giving us a new nature, that inner life requires regular spiritual nourishment; otherwise, it becomes weak and languishes.
As illustrated in the Golden Lampstand, our light may at times burn dimly or flicker, but our heavenly High Priest continually trims the wick to make us burn brightly again. Similarly, in the Table of Showbread, Christ serves as our spiritual manna—feeding our souls with His Spirit and Word, satisfying our deepest spiritual hunger, and sustaining our inner life.
When believers come to public worship spiritually hungry and engage through faith—praying, reading, and hearing the Word proclaimed—they leave spiritually refreshed and nourished. In the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, believers experience profound spiritual satisfaction, peace, and joy that far surpass any worldly banquet. Christ Himself acts as the supreme Host.
Physical growth requires constant nourishment; a growing child becomes hungry shortly after a meal. In the same way, the renewed soul requires continual refilling. Our souls are often like leaky vessels—filled to the brim on the Lord’s Day, yet depleted throughout the week and in need of daily replenishment.
The Amazing Covenant Promise: Hosted Before the Face of God
Scripture presents both the gracious promise of God to provide bread and our duty to feed upon Christ. These two principles are fully harmonious: God’s sovereign supply encourages our active responsibility.
Consider the immense grace of being hosted by God: Human rulers do not grant favor to rebels; historically, kings executed those who opposed them. As depraved sinners, we deserved divine judgment—the sword of His wrath executing justice upon us. Yet, under the New Covenant, God welcomes former enemies into His presence. Instead of a sword of judgment, He spreads a table of grace, welcoming us into His presence and nourishing us.
This covenant pledge carries both present and eternal realities:
- In this life: Those who stand justified before God are hosted by the King. He does not execute us in His anger; instead, He bestows upon us the abundant riches of His grace and favor.
- In eternity: God promises to host His people at the eternal marriage supper of the Lamb. Heaven is described as an everlasting feast in the presence of God.
We will praise Him eternally, declaring with the Psalmist: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).
Why We Receive the Feast Instead of the Sword
We receive this eternal feast rather than divine condemnation because Jesus Christ bore the sword of God’s justice in our place on Golgotha. Exhausting the divine wrath due to our sins, He declared: “This is My body, which is broken for you.” Through union with Christ, believers are invited to His table, dining upon the spiritual blessings secured by His redemptive work on the cross.
The Argument from the Greater to the Lesser
Scripture frequently reasons from the greater to the lesser: If God has pledged to provide us with eternal life and spiritual sustenance, will He not also supply our daily physical and spiritual needs in this life?
God promises His New Covenant people that they will never be left spiritually destitute. As we navigate the wilderness of this world, He pledges:
- To provide daily manna for every trial, danger, and circumstance.
- To supply abundant mercy and timely grace whenever we approach Him in faith.
The table in our Father’s house is never bare. Commentating on the continuous arrangement of the showbread, Matthew Henry noted that the hands of the priests placing fresh bread upon the table worked in harmony with those removing the older loaves, ensuring that bread remained before the Lord continuously.
The Responsibility of Ministers to Provide Fresh Bread
Just as fresh bread was placed upon the table every Sabbath, Christ’s ministers are called to bring forth fresh spiritual nourishment for His house each Lord’s Day—the fruit of diligent, prayerful study of the Scriptures.
When a preacher declares the Word of God, he must strive to present biblical truth that is fresh, clear, and sweet to the soul—never stale or compromise-driven.
When churches serve stale, empty, or superficial teaching, the souls of the hearers grow weak and spiritually malnourished. Faithful ministers must not offer the empty candy of worldly entertainment, shallow anecdotes, short inspirational talks, or self-help psychology. Though such things may temporarily entertain, they cannot nourish the soul. The congregation of God must be fed with the substantial, unadulterated Word of God.
How to Daily Feed Upon Christ
Having received new life, feeding upon Christ must become our daily practice. Living spiritually on rare, sporadic nourishment leaves a believer weak and vulnerable. Rather than feeding on the empty husks of worldly entertainment, social media, and trivialities, believers must feed on the true Bread of Life through active faith.
Jesus declared: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
1. Chewing and Digesting the Word
When eating physical food, one does not merely taste it and spit it out; it is chewed, swallowed, and digested until it yields energy and strength.
Similarly, believers must not merely read a Bible passage or listen to a sermon and immediately forget it. We must meditate upon it—”chewing” on the truth. Take a passage (such as Romans 11:22) and consider: How does God’s goodness and severity instruct and sustain my life today? Avoid the distraction of Martha, who allowed daily anxieties to eclipse spiritual nourishment; imitate Mary, who sat at the feet of Christ to feed upon His truth.
2. Relying on the Abundance of His Grace
Feeding upon Christ means trusting in the complete sufficiency of His provision. When spiritual hunger, anxiety, or trial arises, remember the abundance of Christ’s grace rather than resorting to self-reliance or worldly solutions.
When facing provocation or temptation, do not fight in your own natural strength. Approach the Lord in faith, relying upon His patience, peace, and strength to mortify the flesh and reflect His life.
3. Combining the Word with Prayer (Showbread and Incense)
In Leviticus 24:7, pure frankincense was placed upon each row of showbread. In Scripture, incense represents prayer rising before God.
Properly feeding upon the Word naturally leads to prayer:
- Reading without prayer is like attempting to eat dry flour.
- Praying without the Word is like burning incense without substance.
The Word is the intake of truth; prayer is our active response to God. Prayer acts as spiritual digestion. As we pray over biblical truth, the Holy Spirit moves that truth from head knowledge into deep heart conviction, yielding spiritual peace, joy, and resilience.
4. Strengthening the Soul Against Temptation
Repeated falls into temptation often stem from spiritual malnutrition. A believer cannot fight spiritual battles on an empty stomach. Without regular feeding upon Christ, one lacks the spiritual strength to resist sin.
As David wrote: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). Our Lord Himself repelled the tempter in the wilderness by wielding the Scriptures He had internalized.
The Duty to Invite Sinners to the Table
Believers have a dual responsibility: to feast upon Christ, and to fetch others to His table.
While the world suffers under a spiritual famine, God has spread a lavish feast of grace. In the Parable of the Great Supper (Matthew 22), the Master instructs His servants: “Everything is ready. Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
As golden lampstands reflecting Christ’s light in a dark world, believers are commissioned to extend the King’s invitation to lost and starving sinners.
An Appeal to the Unsaved
If you are spiritually starving, know that all things are prepared in Jesus Christ. Do not offer empty excuses—whether earthly business, material pursuits, or personal relationships—that keep you from Him.
The worldly pleasures and self-reliant pursuits of this life are like the putrid pig slop of the prodigal son. They may offer temporary gratification, but they ultimately leave the soul in misery, conviction, and facing eternal judgment.
Abandon empty worldly pursuits and come to the table of Jesus Christ. Trust in His completed, saving work upon the cross. In Him, you will find true, soul-sustaining satisfaction for eternity.