THE BREAD OF HIS PRESENCE

Leviticus 24:1-9 NLT

The LORD said to Moses, 

[2] “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. 

[3] This is the lampstand that stands in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron must keep the lamps burning in the LORD’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation. 

[4] Aaron and the priests must tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand continually in the LORD’s presence. 

[5] “You must bake twelve flat loaves of bread from choice flour, using four quarts of flour for each loaf. 

[6] Place the bread before the LORD on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in two stacks, with six loaves in each stack. 

[7] Put some pure frankincense near each stack to serve as a representative offering, a special gift presented to the LORD. [8] Every Sabbath day this bread must be laid out before the LORD as a gift from the Israelites; it is an ongoing expression of the eternal covenant. 

[9] The loaves of bread will belong to Aaron and his descendants, who must eat them in a sacred place, for they are most holy. It is the permanent right of the priests to claim this portion of the special gifts presented to the LORD.”

What is the significance of the Bread of His Presence and how did it point to Jesus Christ? The Bread of His Presence is an emblem of the Messiah’s cup of fellowship.

Bread of the Presence were loaves of bread placed on a special table in the sanctuary or Holy Place of the tabernacle and later in the temple.

The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve large loaves, each made of one-fifth ephah of fine flour. Since an ephah was just over a bushel, two and a half bushels (30.3 litters) of finely ground wheat were required to make the twelve loaves. Jesus, God’s anointed one, provided for the needs of others despite the Sabbath regulations. The Bread of the Presence prophetically illustrates how God would step into the world He created and make his dwelling among His people to reveal His glory through the face of Jesus Christ. 

Aaron as the Levitical priest was charged with making sure the light kept burning, never to go out. Jesus came to cast and kindle a fire in believers, but it’s our responsibility to never allow the fire to go out as seen in Luke 12:29. Like them, we must keep our fire perpetually lit too with fresh oil.

The responsibility of providing the ingredients belonged to everyone in the camp, as the responsibility of providing for the Lord’s house belongs to us all. They were all allocated tiny portions of fresh oil and flour when put together were fit for purpose and requirement.

The significance of the bread of His presence is the continuous fire of God in our lives, homes, children, families and ministries.

The act of breaking bread together is not only symbolic of how God feeds and sustains us by his every word, but it also represents the intimacy of the close fellowship that we are privileged to enjoy through the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made to reconcile us to God. We partake of one loaf, the bread that came down from heaven, and through the bond of his Spirit, we are brought into unity and maturity through faith, according to 1 Corinthians 10:16 because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of that loaf.

The bread of His presence is a confirmation of the continued sustenance and provision according to Philippians 4:19. The bread on the table connects with the breaking of bread at the table of the Lord in the new covenant and the command is to do this as often as we can to remember His finished work in 1 Corinthians 11:25.

The table and the showbread symbolized the privilege of close fellowship with the Lord. 

Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of his sons in 2 Samuel 9:1-13. All of us were once enemies of God because of sin, but He cleaned and restored us based on his loving-kindness alone and has prepared a table before us in the presence of our enemies according to Psalm 23:5.

We must keep our lamps fresh and constantly refill from the presence of the Lord to avoid staleness and contamination.

We are all priests of God and are both the representatives of the people before God and of God to his people. Just as the Israelites symbolically entered God’s presence and ate the consecrated bread on behalf of the people, we who partake of the word of Christ, become ministers of the new covenant. The bread of His presence is on offer to you! Will you partake of it?

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, for providing me with both physical and spiritual bread, may I never misuse the bread of your presence in Jesus’ name, amen.

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