THE SHEWBREAD
Exodus 25: 23-30
Numbers 4: 4-8
Leviticus 24: 5-9
CJB I feel a little apprehensive in looking into this subject because I think there is a lot to know about it, but coming into the experience of it is a wonderful thing, and I feel my own weakness in this. I think some of what is so impressive about looking into something like the shewbread, or the manna, the oblation, or the breaking of bread, is seeing what each represents, and then seeing how it is appropriated - that was on my mind. Each of these things would bring out some feature of divine things. I would seek the brethren’s help; I hope the younger persons will be our gauge of understanding. If they are not following, they should say something; that is what the Spirit of enquiry would help with. There is a lot we can go into, and what has been suggested in Leviticus 24 is probably a wonderful place to start. To summarise quickly: inside the first room of the tabernacle there is the candlestick, and then there is the table with the shewbread and the utensils on it. Later on we get the altar of incense, and those are presented in a helpful order in Exodus. The fine flour is maybe something to start with. It is found in the oblation, representing the perfection of Christ. But what is absolutely special about the shewbread, the way I understand it, and I want to come into the experience of it more, is that it represents God’s estimation of Christ, and the saints are included in that. I think that is a wonderful subject to open up. Perhaps we can start with that, enquire, and get help together.
MJK I appreciated what you have read in relation to the table. Mr Darby says that the shewbread is always mentioned with the table, Collected Writings, vol 19 p188. So there must be something very substantial about what is there. I am going to try and make a quick summary of what I have enjoyed in relation to this so that maybe the children can understand. There are several things to look at. We might start with the wood of which the table is made: the wood of the table is the acacia wood. Isaiah 53 says, “there is no beauty that we should desire him”. That kind of wood is not beautiful in itself but it is substantial, it is strong - that is what Christ is; we see the substantiality of Christ. Then it is overlaid with gold; now that is beautiful: so then there is divine righteousness. So that lays the foundation, and then there is a blue cloth put over it - that is the glory of heaven overlaying this table that is holding that which has been brought in in the saints - the bread. The whole of Israel is seen in those twelve loaves. That is one of the reasons I referred to Leviticus 24 because that is the only place where the twelve loaves are referred to, or “twelve cakes” as it says there. That suggests the saints. It is what there is of Christ, but what there is of Christ in the saints, that which is substantial. Then you see where it is - not in the holy of holies but it is in the holy place. And God’s light is being shed on that; the saints could be nothing without God’s light. So, God’s light is being shed there on that bread; and then, when you look at what the bread is, the fine flour - that speaks of what is of Christ in the saints; that is where it all starts. It is unleavened - there is nothing there to corrupt the saints in this area. Then, the bread is laid out before Jehovah. It is interesting that it is not ten loaves, and it is not two loaves; I say that because David reigned over only two tribes for quite some time. There were ten tribes separated from the two tribes for a long time. But in the shewbread you see every believer, do you not? So appropriation is touched on there: “it is most holy unto him”, and it is regarded as an offering by fire - that which has been tested by the judgment of God. It has met the judgment of God.
DlJK The word ’appropriation’ has been mentioned a couple of times, maybe you could help myself and the younger ones. What do we mean by ‘appropriation’?
CJB Yes, it is a big word and we may not really use that word any more in every day circumstances; essentially it is ‘eating’, but it goes a little beyond eating. I would welcome correction if I am wrong, but it seems to me that appropriation is not just the eating but the eating sustains you. You are taking it all in for health. We eat, and then our body functions; on a spiritual level it would be similar: we take something in, and it essentially feeds or keeps the spirit healthy.
DgJK I think what you have mentioned is good. It was fine flour, and that is able to be appropriated. That is appropriating Christ, is it not? I do not know how much I can say. Fine flour expresses the detail of what was seen in Christ for the satisfaction of God. Everything is perfectly in accord; it is fine flour. I hesitate to say this, but there is no inconsistency in fine flour. Then it is mingled with oil. So, everything in Christ is to the satisfaction of God; and so it is also to our satisfaction. So, applying the type, when we eat, we eat and are satisfied; ‘appropriation’ means there is something gained as a result.
CJB The appropriation of the shewbread is a little different from the manna. I think it was set out on the Sabbath and it was to remain there on the table all week. So it was not really to be appropriated by the priests until the end of the week. It is a wonderful thing to think about! I like what was brought in about the shewbread flour representing Christ, but the twelve cakes represent the people of God and that is displayed and is fragrant because the frankincense is put on it. So there is something that is for God that is there all week. God is completely satisfied. You might think about flour and accept that it represents the Lord, but Mr Coates goes deeper in relating the thought to the oblation, vol 3 (Outline of Leviticus) p18): ‘the "fine flour" of the oblation speaks of what has sprung up here and come to maturity, in the Person of Jesus, for the delight of God. It is viewed in this type as apprehended in the minute detail of its perfection and evenness. If we think of ourselves growing up as wheat and being sifted, we could imagine there would be many inconsistencies to be found, but this fine flour represents a humanity in which there is no flaw at all - a wonderful thing; and then to be mingled with oil is a tremendous thought.
Ques It seems like everything here has some sort of correlation to what is fine and perfect, but this cloth of blue - does it have a special meaning?
MJK If you look up into the heavens what colour do you see? The colour blue is a heavenly colour. The thoughts of God, and the heavenly character, mark all of those things that are on the table. The loaves are a representation of believers, and so God sees them in a heavenly character.
PBK You were talking about the fine flour and we spoke of it being sifted: when you sift flour it takes out all the impurities, anything that would cause a lump. Of course, the works of Christ are perfect; there was nothing that did not go through; only the perfection of Christ had come through in the loaves.
BSK There were twelve loaves of bread; why did they make twelve?
MJK It represents every single tribe in Israel; one loaf for each tribe. Today it would represent every believer, every person who has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and has the Holy Spirit is represented in these loaves. As we go on to the breaking of bread, a similar thought is represented in the loaf itself - in the body of Christ.
CJB You might wonder why we have the Old Testament; what you are asking about shows why. The number twelve or the colour blue are things that now we can look back on in the Old Testament with the help of the Spirit to see features of Christ. It is helpful to consider types. “Every scripture is divinely inspired, and profitable for teaching …”, 2 Tim. 3: 16
AJC I am contemplating ‘appropriating’ still. We often speak about making something our own; does that connect with this thought of appropriating?
CJB What is testing about this scripture is that it was appropriated by a priest. In a certain sense we are all kings and priests, but one thing the ministry has mentioned is that it is a mature thought, C A Coates vol 4 (Outline of Numbers) p23. It is not something that we would take lightly. To think about the sufferings of Christ as an example requires tremendous maturity. That does not mean age; I am not talking about age: I am talking about the seriousness of what Christ endured, the fine flour, the cakes being baked. Think about the pressure and the sufferings of the Lord; it requires a priestly person to appropriate them.
AJC That is helpful, and we need the Holy Spirit to understand these things. If we are really to make these things our own, and get the benefit of eating the bread, we need the Holy Spirit because without the Holy Spirit we would not have that maturity or the understanding of what we are partaking in.
CJB Exactly; it is something to have that bread on the table all week, as distinct from something we would maybe read daily or impressions we might have daily; we might have something that is before us all week, that we would appropriate fully at the end of the week. Perhaps the thought goes beyond appropriation; to think about what God sees in the shew bread; it is to be consumed in the light of God’s apprehension of the wonder of Christ and His people - a marvellous subject.
AML I do think it is significant that, before the shewbread comes in, there is a reference to the mercy-seat. “And there will I meet with thee, and will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, everything that I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel”, v 22. Would that put us on a platform where we are able to appropriate what the shewbread means, as well as these measurements and the details, even the thought of the half measures which would bring in what is inscrutable as to what has come out in Christ? First we have the two cubits the length thereof, and then the cubit the breadth thereof and a cubit and a half the height thereof. The half measure brings out what is inscrutable and the greatness of God. That has already come out in the mercy-seat, and having a view of the mercy-seat we would be able to understand the greatness of the shewbread and the table and all the details - which are significant.
CJB I am very thankful you brought attention to that because I think that the order in Exodus 25 is very significant. First of all, there are all the materials that are brought, and then there is the ark; that is the first thing. God lays all of this out in chapter 25 and it was assembled or built from chapter 35 on. Are you suggesting that we cannot understand anything about the table unless first we have an appreciation and understanding and reverence of the most holy place and the ark that was placed in it - the ark first?
AML I think that is a kernel; we have to begin there; and then through divine grace we have access to divine Persons because it says, “there will I meet with thee”. That is for every believer. According to divine purpose we are all priests, and we are able to partake in measure and the Spirit can help us and enlarge it. I was struck with how in Leviticus it says, “Every sabbath day he shall arrange it” - the Spirit would bring in the freshness. I was listening to a preaching by John Strachan just before I came and he said, ‘not one Lord’s day is the same as the previous one’. You have the freshness, and what the Lord gives each Lord’s day is different from what He gave you last Lord’s day. So, I think the renewal every sabbath means there should be something fresh for divine Persons.
CJB That is really helpful, and I wonder if it would be good to talk a little bit about Leviticus 24 and how everything was arranged in order. This is not the only reference; there are other references throughout Ezra and Nehemiah too when things were in decay, and there was light brought in and things were arranged on the table in a set order. I think the order would be set by God. Is that right?
WJK If I may just to back to appropriation again, I was thinking about it in relation to digestion, that which would be processed and fruitful. You were mentioning the appropriation of the shewbread by priests. I wonder if it would be that which would be fruitful for God.
CJB You are right because it brings in the fact that they eat it in the holy place. So in a way it does not go to waste, if I could put it that way, because it is all in view of what our brother was bringing out, that there would be freshness for the next week as it would be set out. So on a practical level that would change how we think about it. If you have to see it there all week, know that it is there all week, and God sees it all week; but then they appropriate it. How would that make it a little different when you go to set it out the next week? I am being practical; I do not want to be too dramatic about things. But does that link with your thought?
WJK Yes. I was thinking about it over against the manna, which would be the natural sustenance.
CJB Responsibility attaches to what we are talking about here. It is a very holy subject.
VMK Just for clarification, how is the shewbread differentiated from the unleavened bread that is spoken of elsewhere?
CJB You mean in the oblation, for example? In Leviticus 2 we get the details, and in this case the difference is that the shewbread was in the holy place; so I think it is what God takes account of. But I think the oblation is our appreciation of Christ. What does that mean? Well, an oblation was brought by an individual. They would sift the flour, and mingle it with the oil; so that would be our own appreciation. Whereas what we have in the shewbread is really more linked with the priesthood. The shewbread is unleavened. I used to think that leaven was our flesh and that kind of thing, and it links with that, but I have been helped recently to see that leaven includes any of our own thoughts, our own pride or anything that would taint. I am starting to realise that the leaven is something that can come up very easily in our own appreciation of Christ. We sneak in something about ourselves or we want something to make us feel better. Although maybe those things do not seem wrong, they can lead to ourselves being puffed up in the wrong way and can take away from the wonderful appreciation of Christ.
VMK Thank you for clarifying. So the shewbread would link more to what is heavenly?
CJB Well the oblation was holy too, but the shewbread links more with what God sees - the children of Israel did not really see the shewbread because it was in the tent, whereas the oblation was something they brought. The children of Israel would put that together and offer it, whereas the shewbread was made by the priests - Aaron and his sons, set there for the week it became food for the priests at the end. That is what we read on Wednesday night in 1 Samuel 21: 6. David came and ate that bread that was supposed to be for the priests. That was a very unusual time in Israel. But the Lord refers back to that in the New Testament, and when we consider who He is, there is mercy and grace.
DlJK So the oblation is really our appreciation of Christ and the shewbread is really God’s appreciation of Christ.
MJK I think it goes one step further - it is God’s appreciation of Christ in the saints. It is a very wide thought when you get to the shewbread. I liked what was brought up earlier about the fine flour - that is what is in the believer - it is Christ; it is Christ all over again.
CJB We cannot have any leaven, we cannot come before God or appease God, but we can only bring Christ. We have to be in Christ. I think it leads to Mr Coates’s reference to Colossians, vol 3 p269-300. You think about Colossians linked with the shewbread! It made me see Colossians in such a different way. We could read that whole chapter but it is amazing to think that first of all, he points out that we have the table which is the wood overlaid with gold; everything was measured, and the half measures, we cannot really enter into. The half measures are really distinctive to Christ. Everything is set on that table and displayed before God. It is all set on the work and the manhood of Christ. Here is a Man. Then we have the twelve loaves, the drink offering and the utensils. The loaves bring in the saints, in the way I understand it: think about all resting on the work of Christ, and then you read in Colossians 1: “because by him were created all things, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth, the visible”, and then it comes to “And he is the head of the body, the assembly; who is the beginning, firstborn from among the dead, that he might have the first place in all things” (v 16, 18); that brings in the divine order. It is amazing to think of the heavenly side of things coming out in the Old Testament. We can look and see the wonder of the work of Christ and the order that has been set, and it brings out the wonder of Christ and the saints.
AML Do you think that the gospels would set out the oblation in all its glory, the manhood of Christ? There are four gospels and they all present the glory of Christ in a different way. As we appropriate that, and contemplate the greatness of what we have in the gospels, we really get the fulness of the oblation.
CJB The gospels also help us to have an appreciation of the wood for the table as well.
AML I was just struck with the acacia wood; the ark was made of the same material. It is just one character, one feature that is acceptable to God, and that is the glory of Christ, which is also seen in the fine flour.
CJB I think, for the young people, what is being referred to is that when you read each gospel there are distinctive features of Christ in each one. Some things come up in all the gospels; some come up in just one or two. But in all the pathway of the Lord, actually walking here as a Man, as found in each gospel, there are precious features of His manhood; He has used these experiences to lead us to understand the greatness of the wood representing His manhood. Then you think of that wood overlaid with gold; it is so wonderful to behold His glories! But also to think about the oblation, and the flour being sifted. We can see a great example of this when you read the passage about Satan challenging the Lord and how he attacked the Lord and tried to reason with Him and get Him to fail. When you look at all of the Lord’s responses, I think you get an impression of the testing. There are no flaws in His responses; He was absolutely perfect.
OWK Explain a little bit more about the two states. The sifting of the fine flour seems to be one thought, but then it is made into these loaves, and that would be the saints formed according to Christ. But I would like a little bit of help on that as well. It would seem that the twelve loaves in Leviticus are all distinct; they are each in some way unique.
CJB In Leviticus they are set in a certain rank: ‘order’ or ‘rank’, the note says. I do not think that necessarily means that one is better than the other. I would like some help with that word ‘rank’. But if the flour represents the perfection of Christ, God has taken account of what was to be seen in Christ and found nothing untoward, no flaw; but then the flour is mingled with the oil which would represent the Spirit. Then it is baked, and that is pressure; it reminds us how the judgment of God came upon Christ. What was said earlier is that there are twelve cakes, representing the whole of the tribes of Israel. For us, that represents the whole of God’s people.
AML I think it has been said that the number twelve is divine love in activity: It is two times six, six times two, three times four, four times three. The Lord had twelve disciples; the number twelve runs through scripture; we have the names of the apostles of the Lamb in the heavenly city and they were the twelve as well. God will keep to that very number. It also speaks of administration.
DgJK I am impressed with the thought of holiness running through all of this. You get the holy place; the shewbread is spoken of in Samuel as the holy bread. What is spoken of as holy is all typical of what we get in the New Testament; it is either the saints, or Christ, or the things of God. I do not think this table is spoken of as holy, but it is spoken of as a pure table. I am linking that back to the breaking of bread. The table the loaf and cup sit on is not holy, even the bread and the cup are not holy, but they are representative. But what is found is the holiness of Christ which is then in the saints.
CJB Holiness can be found in the service of God in the saints - I think we were all impressed by that; that the work of Christ brings out something that is fragrant for God, and we come into an area of holy things. We are made holy.
PBK “Thou shalt set upon the table shewbread beforemecontinually”. It is not just shewbread on the table but “before me”; it is the holiness showing forth.
DgJK I think that links with the holy place; it is not that the meeting room is holy: it is God’s presence that is holy.
MJK What is substantial in the table is that it is that which upholds that which is holy, in a holy place. It is upholding that which is holy. I think the “me” is Jehovah. Christ is looking on that which He has purchased.
DgJK We may not refer to particular things in the holy place as holy, but there is a dignity that marks them. So there is what the queen of Sheba observed, the deportment of Solomon’s servants (1 Kings 10: 5), that is one of the things that might be taken account of; but also to further that, the only people who could partake of the holy bread were the priests, who were holy. So, linking that to ourselves in coming to the breaking of bread, does that produce a real sense of responsibility? As we observe the shewbread through the week, as we observe Christ, we have a fresh appreciation of Him on the Lords’ day.
CJB The oblation, the manna and the shewbread would suggest the greatness of the Lord’s supper. Considering the holiness of this area, there is no leaven. I think it helps us to see that all this is for God and of God. Salvation is a wonderful thing; we are so thankful for His grace and mercies but if you think about everything being for God, I think that takes things to a different level.
DlJK Say something as to the covenant. I would like to know about the covenant here; and there is one in relation to the breaking of bread too. How does that come into the shewbread, the appropriation and the appreciation? God’s appreciation of Christ and us taking that in and then the covenant is related to that.
CJB One thing that I am really struck by is that it is from God first. The new covenant also is not something man came up with; this is all according to God’s plan. I would really like some help on it though.
DlJK I would like to hear more: it brings in the covenant for a reason here, but I was actually impressed with the covenant this morning. It is from God’s side and that is the reason it is unbreakable. We come into the good of that, but the Lord drank the cup of sorrow. Everything that needed to be sifted was sifted out by Him. But with Christ when the sifting came in, everything of Christ came through. Then, we come into the good of the covenant. I was thinking about “The cup of blessing which we bless”, 1 Cor 10: 16. Everything we come into is in the gain of what God has brought us into: everything is from God’s side. There is no breaking this covenant, and it has everything to do with what is heavenly. I would like to know more about this side because it is gain for our souls.
DgJK A contract binds two parties together. But a contract as man knows it may not be for the benefit of both all the time. It may be so when it is signed, but it just shows how far short that falls of the covenant that God made; it is not only for the benefit of both but it satisfies both.
AML Do you think it is significant that the ark has both the name “the ark of the testimony” and the name “the ark of the covenant”? Here it was the ark of the testimony because they were going through the wilderness. As in relation to the land, it was a reminder as the ark of the covenant. Would that bring in the promises of God and His faithfulness, what He has instituted and established in Christ?
CJB In that way, does the covenant lead in some way to the house of God? Or is it in view of the house of God - the area that is God’s?
AML I think you can hardly separate the one from the other. They are linked together.
MJK Can you say this ‘everlasting covenant’ is linked with the new covenant? When you get to Solomon’s temple, it says that the ark of the covenant was in the temple and what was found in the ark was the two tables; that is the only thing that it mentions there, 1 Kings 8: 9. And so the covenant is very important in relation to Israel and even important in relation to the new covenant. The new covenant is in one sense in relation to Israel on the earth in a day to come. We carry the spirit of it in relation to that; once we are in glory, we hardly need the idea of a covenant. We are in the presence of the One who holds that covenant; but what do you say about the everlasting covenant?
AML It is something the Lord has secured anticipatively, and He will take it up with His people in a day to come. He will drink of the fruit of the vine afresh in His Father’s kingdom (Matt 26: 27), but we are already involved and included in the spirit of it now, maintaining it for Christ. It has all been established in the death of Christ. That would give the eternal character.
DlJK Does that help us with the privilege of this, this covenant? It is really the covenant with Israel, but what a privilege that we can carry the idea of the new covenant today. Think about how the children of Israel let things go, let things slide. Today mankind, even Christendom, is letting these things slide. But what a privilege, and what it means to God, that we can take up with this covenant. Think of the appropriation when we look on Christ and can see what He means to God. He is perfect and we have come into the gain of that perfection - what a Man!
DgJK Hebrews says, “by one offering he has perfected in perpetuity the sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears us witness of it; for after what was said: This is the covenant which I will establish towards them…”, chap 10: 14-16. I was thinking of the offering of Himself in perpetuity, the sanctified, and then the Holy Spirit entering into that too. Is that how it is perfected in us?
EJC Going back to the table, it seems there was a lot of gold. Can you explain why there is so much gold?
CJB Gold represents the righteousness of God. I remember when I was younger, I thought, ‘Well really, who came up with this?’. But when you look through scripture it is very evident. You see gold attached to all of the things that are holy. The whole temple inside was almost all overlaid with gold. The point in the gospels is that we might see the wood and the flour, all the things that could be seen in Christ walking here. But the gold is so critical - the table is holding up these things, overlaid with gold, the righteousness of Christ approved in the eyes of God as the holy and the pure One; everything is set on that, set on the righteousness of God, seen in His manhood.
BSK Why were there four rings? “two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side” and the staves of wood, Exod 37: 3.
CJB On each side there were rings and they would put the staves through, and it was carried. You might think that seems obvious but we are in the wilderness, we are not in heaven, we are moving. They were on the move so they needed to be able to transport the table. That is important because everything was holy, pure and precious, to be carried, not by just anybody, but by certain people. And so was the ark, everything in the tabernacle needed to be carried, until the temple was built. The tabernacle had to move through the wilderness until they got into the land and the temple could be built, and then everything could rest in that; everything was looking forward to that.
MJK All these things were in the tabernacle. Everything in relation to the tabernacle was carried by the Levites. That was one tribe; one tribe was responsible for packing up the tabernacle and moving it. Every Levite was involved in the movement. There might have been as much as eight tonnes of metals in the tabernacle, of which the gold alone was about one tonne. These rings were for putting the staves through, and then those staves were carried, the stave from each corner of the ark was put on the shoulder of a Levite and as I understand it the table was moved the same way. I think the altar of incense as well. We never read of the staves coming out of the ark until it gets to the temple. Once we get to heaven the movement of things has stopped, but right now we need to be Levites and carry the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the movement of the Spirit - that is something that is seen. When they carried the ark, they always saw the blue. The heavenly colour was what was shown as they carried it.
AML Is it important also to remember that the ark never journeyed backwards; it always journeyed forward. That is the testimony moving because of the greatness of Christ.
BSK We have talked a lot about the bread; why have we not talked a lot about the blood?
MJK Are you thinking about the breaking of bread, or are you thinking about sacrifices? The blood does need to be mentioned. The thought today was to speak just about the bread not about the blood but when we come, Lord willing, if we are able to continue with these readings, to the breaking of bread, then the blood would come out in the cup.
DgJK I was wondering if the four rings would relate to God’s outlook. Anders spoke of the side of the testimony and I was thinking of the four corners of the earth; north, south, east and west, really relating to God’s outlook. It was not just for them but universal?
JDK Something that really helped me in relation to the question about the gold is that it often says, “pure gold” or in another place you will get, “gold purified by fire”, Rev 3: 18. This takes us back to the wheat. There are no imperfections in it. Gold is secured out of a fire and there are no impurities. It is completely perfect.
WJK It is that which has gone through, which has been tested by God’s judgment.
ABERDEEN, IDAHO
17th May 2020
Key to initials
(all local in Aberdeen)
Colin J Brien; Ewan J Clark; Adrian J Croot; Brock S Klassen; Daryl J Klassen; Doug J Klassen; Jonathan D Klassen; Michael J Klassen; William J Klassen; Oscar W Klassen; Phil B Klassen; Victor M Klassen; Anders M Lidbeck