Message 91
(2)
Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:23-30; Lev. 24:5-9
This is the continuation of the foregoing message on the table of the bread of the Presence.
The table of the bread of the Presence was made of acacia wood (25:23). Acacia wood here signifies that Christ’s humanity is the basic element for Him to be our feast. It is significant that both the ark of the testimony and the table were made of acacia wood, signifying Christ’s humanity.
Exodus 25:24 says, “And you shall overlay it with pure gold.” The fact that the table was overlaid with gold signifies the expression of God, Christ’s divinity. Within Him, Christ’s humanity is the basic element for our enjoyment, and upon Him is His divinity as the expression of God. If we enjoy Christ, we shall express God. This means that as we enjoy the Lord Jesus as the supply with which to serve God, the outcome will be gold, Christ’s divinity as the expression of God. This is very meaningful, and I trust in the Spirit to reveal more to the saints concerning it. From our spiritual experience we know that the more we enjoy Christ as the basic element of our feast, the more we express God. This is the significance of the table being overlaid with gold.
Verse 24 also says, “And make for it a rim of gold round about.” The rim of gold around the table signifies that the expressed glory of Christ’s divinity becomes the keeping power and holding strength. We have previously seen this with respect to the rim of gold around the ark of the testimony. With both the ark and the table, the significance of the rim of gold is the same.
According to verse 23, the table was two cubits in length and a cubit in width. Here we have two units of measure, each one cubit square, or two square cubits. In the Bible the number one signifies a complete unit, a unique unit. Furthermore, for something to be square indicates that it is perfect and without bias or defect. Thus, the two square cubits signify the perfect and complete life supply of Christ to issue in a testimony.
The enjoyment of Christ is perfect, represented by a square. It is without bias or defect. Eventually, this enjoyment makes us a testimony. This two-square enjoyment issues in a testimony. No words are adequate to explain this. But if we consider the picture of the table, we shall gain a proper understanding of it.
We know from verse 23 that the table of the bread of the Presence was a cubit and a half in height. This signifies that the standard here is up to that of the ark of the testimony. The nourishment of Christ to us as serving priests matches the standard of God’s testimony. If our enjoyment of Christ does not come up to God’s testimony as signified by the height of the ark, then our enjoyment is not perfect. It is in some way defective and below the standard.
Today Christians everywhere read the Bible and study it. But is the standard of their enjoyment up to the standard of God’s testimony? In the vast majority of cases it is not up to God’s standard. Along with the study of the Bible, some Christian groups use worldly music. The use of such music lowers the standard to a very great degree. On the one hand, these Christians have the Bible; on the other hand, they have things which lower the standard.
As we consider the picture of the ark of the testimony and of the table of the bread of the Presence, we see that the height of both the ark and the table is the same — one and a half cubits. This indicates that the ark and the table are on the same level. This reveals that our enjoyment of Christ must match the standard of God’s testimony. Our enjoyment of Christ through the Word must be very high. No place should be given to any gimmicks which lower the standard.
Exodus 25:25 says, “And you shall make for it a border of a handbreadth round about; and you shall make a rim of gold to its border round about.” According to our present understanding, the Hebrew word here does denote a border. However, it does not denote a border in an ordinary sense. According to verses 26 and 27, four rings of gold were to be put upon the four corners which were on its four feet. Furthermore, the rings were to be “close to the border as receptacles for the poles to carry the table.” In Hebrew, the word rendered close means side by side. Thus, for the rings to be close to the border means that they were next to the border. This indicates that, since the rings were on the four corners which were on the four feet of the table, the border must have been close to the bottom of the table. Some translations use the word frame instead of border.
As we consider the table and its frame, or its border, we see that the purpose of the frame was to connect the legs and strengthen them. In this way the frame helped to stabilize the table.
The frame, or border, was a handbreadth round about. A handbreadth here signifies full of strength to connect and strengthen. Notice that verse 25 does not say that the frame was a handbreadth in height. This may indicate that the frame was a square handbreadth, a handbreadth in both width and height. Such a frame certainly would have been a strong support to the table.
Verse 25 says that a rim of gold was made to its border round about. Just as there was a rim, or crown, upon the top of the table (v. 24), so there was a rim of gold upon the frame. As we have pointed out, this rim is for keeping and holding.
It is not adequate simply to use our mind to try to understand the significance of the frame round about the legs of the table. We need to consider this in the light of Christian experience. We know from our experience with the Lord that when we obtain Christ as our nourishment, Christ becomes to us a table with power to connect and strengthen. This means that the enjoyment of Christ as a feast strengthens us, connects us, upholds us, and keeps us. Every aspect of the frame is related to our experience. The size, shape, and material are all significant when considered in the light of spiritual experience.
Verses 26 and 27 say, “And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners which are on its four feet. The rings shall be close to the border as receptacles for the poles to carry the table.”
Here it is sufficient simply to review what we have said about the four rings of gold that were cast for the ark. These rings do not signify the divinity of Christ. Rather, they signify the Spirit of Christ as the linking factor and the linking power. In typology, a gold ring signifies the Spirit. When Rebekah became engaged to Isaac, she received rings of gold. These rings signify the Spirit mentioned in Ephesians 1:13. Furthermore, when the prodigal son came home, the father gave him not only a robe signifying Christ as righteousness to cover him, but also a ring of gold, which signifies the initial gift, the sealing Spirit (Luke 15:22). The Spirit signified by a golden ring is a uniting bond. Ephesians 4:3 speaks of keeping the oneness of the Spirit. This oneness of the Spirit is the ring, the bond with its binding power.
If Christ were only the Lord objectively in heaven and not also the life-giving Spirit dwelling in us subjectively, there would be no way for us as believers to be united, for we would not have the golden rings. In order to have oneness and to keep the oneness, we must have in our experience the rings of gold, the Spirit as the linking factor and the linking power.
The four rings of gold were put upon the four feet of the table so that there could be a way for the table to be moved. Without the rings, the table could not be carried. This table, signifying Christ as our feast, is not stationary; it is a table which moves and follows us all the time. According to 1 Corinthians 10:4, the children of Israel “drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” Just as Christ as a spiritual rock followed the children of Israel, so Christ as the table for our feast follows us. The ark of the testimony could be moved, and the table of the bread of the Presence could be moved also.
From verse 27 we see that the rings were close to the border as receptacles for the poles to carry the table. This signifies that both the linking and the moving are dependent on the connecting and strengthening. We have seen that the frame was for connecting and strengthening and that the rings were for linking and moving. The fact that the rings were close to the frame indicates that the linking and the moving are dependent on the connecting and the strengthening. If among us there is no connecting or strengthening, there cannot be any linking or moving. If we are disconnected from one another, we shall not have the strengthening. Then it will be impossible to have the linking or the moving. But because we have the connecting and the strengthening, we also have the linking and the moving. How meaningful it is that the golden rings were placed close to the connecting and strengthening frames!
Verse 28 speaks of the poles: “And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; and the table shall be carried with them.” Once again, the acacia wood signifies Christ’s humanity. Here the poles made of acacia wood signify that Christ’s humanity is the strength for moving. The fact that these poles were overlaid with gold signifies that Christ’s divinity is the expression of the move of the table. The acacia wood is the strength, and the gold is the expression of God in His move. Furthermore, the poles made of acacia wood overlaid with gold signify that the move of Christ as our life supply is by His two natures mingled as one.
Verse 29 says, “And you shall make its dishes, and its cups, and its jars, and its sacrificial bowls with which to pour a drink offering; you shall make them of pure gold.” The dishes were for displaying the bread. When you serve a meal, you put the food in serving dishes. In the same principle, the dishes were used for displaying the bread.
The cups contained frankincense. Frankincense signifying Christ’s resurrection was poured upon the bread of the Presence displayed on the table. The cups were used to contain this liquid frankincense. The jars and sacrificial bowls were used for pouring the drink offering.
All these utensils were made of pure gold. This signifies that the divine nature of Christ is the means through which we partake of Him as our life supply and our offering to God.
If we consider our experience as Christians, we shall know that this interpretation of the details related to the table is accurate. Praise the Lord that He is God’s ark and our table! He is the embodiment of God’s testimony and also the feast for our enjoyment. As the ark, the law is within Him and the cherubim are upon Him. As the table, the bread of the Presence is displayed on Him. If we remain in the tabernacle to serve God, we shall enjoy Christ as such a portion.
Exodus 25:30 says, “And you shall put upon the table bread of the Presence before Me continually.” The King James Version and other versions adopt the rendering showbread in place of bread of the Presence. In the Old Testament the bread on this table in the Holy Place has two names: the first, found here in Exodus, is the bread of the Presence; the second, found in 1 Chronicles 9:32, is the bread of arrangement. In both places the King James Version says showbread. This expression is very close in meaning to the bread of arrangement. When the bread was arranged in a certain way, there was a show, a display, of the bread. However, by the term showbread we do not have any realization that the bread is related to the presence of God. This bread is not only for a show, display, or arrangement; it is also the bread of the Presence.
The bread of the Presence is surely an unusual expression. In ordinary language we do not have such a term, for this is not part of our culture. People do not ordinarily speak of the food of God’s presence. But this is precisely the meaning of the term bread of the Presence. It denotes the food of God’s presence. Actually, the Hebrew word means face. Hence, verse 30 speaks of the presence-bread or of the face-bread. When you have this bread, you have God’s presence, God’s face. Furthermore, when you eat this bread, you eat the presence of God, the face of God. Therefore, this bread is not merely for show or display.
We have pointed out that the table of the bread of the Presence was not far from the ark of the testimony. This table was thus before God, in His presence.
Perhaps we can illustrate the significance of the bread of the Presence by pointing to the delight a mother has in preparing a favorite meal for her son. Although a certain mother may be in her seventies and her son in his fifties, she still loves him and enjoys cooking for him. Suppose her son comes to visit her after an absence of several years. The elderly mother may prepare a meal she enjoyed cooking for her son and that he especially enjoyed eating when he was young. She recalls that her beloved son enjoys this particular dish very much. Thus, she prepares the meal for him and serves it to him. As he eats the food she has prepared, her eyes are upon him. He enjoys this meal in his mother’s presence. Therefore, this food is the food of his mother’s presence, his mother’s face. In a sense, this meal is virtually the presence of his mother. By eating this food, he eats his mother’s presence. When he eats this food before his mother, it becomes the food of his mother’s presence. In like manner, the bread on the table in the Holy Place is the bread of God’s presence.
This bread is very different from manna. Manna could be gathered and eaten far away from God’s face. We have indicated that no matter where they may be, Christians may have manna without God’s presence. If we consider our past experience as believers, we shall be able to confirm this. Did you not experience manna years ago, before you came into the church life in the Lord’s recovery? But did you enjoy God’s presence at that time? Now in the midst of the built-up saints we have a portion of Christ with God’s presence. Although words cannot explain this adequately, if we have had the experience, we shall also have the understanding. Praise the Lord for the bread of the divine presence, the bread of God’s face! In the church life we are feasting on the face of God.
The presence-bread, the face-bread, signifies Christ as the food of God’s priests. This food was to be enjoyed by them in God’s presence and it was to bring them into His presence. We know from our experience that when we enjoy Christ as such a portion, this enjoyment brings us into the presence of God. Actually we are enjoying Christ as our life supply in God’s presence.
According to Leviticus 24:9, the bread of the Presence was the most holy of the people’s offerings to Jehovah made by fire. It signifies the surplus of the believers’ experience and enjoyment of Christ offered to God for His satisfaction. This means that the bread of the Presence was God’s food. It was offered to God by His people to be His food. God, however, caused certain loaves to be spared, brought into the Holy Place, and arranged and displayed on the table. Eventually, the priests who served in the Holy Place ate of this bread.
The significance of this matter is that the believers should experience Christ and enjoy Him daily. Then they should bring the Christ they have experienced and enjoyed, and they should offer Him to God for His satisfaction. God will reserve a part of this food for the priests. Suppose no one has this experience and no one makes such an offering to God. Then God would not have any food, and He would not be satisfied. Furthermore, nothing could be spared as a weekly supply for the serving priests. If in the church in your locality no one experiences Christ and enjoys Christ to this extent, then there will not be anything of Christ offered to God. As a result, there will not be the bread of the Presence, and the serving ones will not have any weekly supply.
We today are both the believers and the serving ones, both the people of God and His priests. For this reason, we encourage all the saints to experience and enjoy Christ daily. Then they will have a portion of the Christ experienced by them to bring to the meetings and offer to God for His satisfaction. In a very real sense, this offering is God’s food. God will reserve a portion of this food for the priests who serve Him. They will then display this portion in God’s presence and partake of it as their weekly supply.
The bread of the Presence was on the table within the Holy Place of the tabernacle. This signifies that Christ as the food of God’s priests is for a corporate feasting within God’s dwelling place.
In the meetings of the church we have a particular enjoyment of Christ. Those who stay away from the meetings do not have this enjoyment, although they may enjoy Christ in other aspects. When we are in the tabernacle, in the midst of the built-up saints, we enjoy Christ on the table in God’s dwelling place.
The bread of the Presence on the table signifies a corporate feasting. In the Bible a table always signifies not an individual feasting, but a corporate feasting. In the church life we feast corporately. To be sure, we can have some enjoyment of Christ when we are alone. But this enjoyment cannot compare with feasting with Christ corporately in God’s dwelling place. How rich is our enjoyment of the bread on the table in the tabernacle!
The bread of the Presence was to be eaten in the Holy Place. This means that it is to be partaken of and enjoyed in God’s habitation, the church. It is not possible to have this table outside the church life. This table is found only in the tabernacle, only in God’s habitation.
The display of the bread on the table signifies the life supply. The ark with the cherubim signifies God’s glory, but the table with the bread of the Presence signifies nourishment. In the church life we should have both the testimony and the nourishment. We should have both the ark of God as God’s testimony and the table with the bread of the Presence as nourishment for the priests.
We have seen that both the ark and the table were made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, that both were of the same height, that both had golden rings at the feet, and that both were carried on poles of acacia wood overlaid with gold. These similarities indicate that the table comes out of the experience of the ark. It is always the ark which first issues in the table, not the table which issues in the ark. Eventually, however, in our experience it is difficult to say which is first. The ark issues in the table. But the more we experience the table, the more we shall have of the ark, for the table will always bring us back to the ark. Therefore, the ark issues in the table, and the table brings us back to the ark. This means that Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony issues in our enjoyment of Him, and that our enjoyment of Him always brings us back to Him as God’s testimony.
