This morning we are continuing our study of the tabernacle and we are looking at the pieces of furniture that were in the tabernacle itself. There were actually six pieces of furniture. Last week we began to look at the Ark of the Covenant that was in the most holy place. And it's interesting that the book of Exodus moves from the holy place and it moves outward And as we are mindful of that, it is in the gospel that God comes to redeem and to save us. We are not the ones coming to God. He is the one that is coming to us here in his love. Not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us. And he's given his own son for a propitiation for our sins. And so we are looking at this tent of meeting where God met with his people. He has come near to them. We're mindful that he is holy. We are mindful that he is only approached by means of a representative, by a priestly family, by a high priest, and with blood sacrifice. We are mindful of that as we consider the Ark of the Covenant, which was in the Holy of Holies. Today, we move out of the Holy of Holies into the next compartment that is referred to as the Holy Place. It is there that we have three pieces of furniture. As you would walk in, as a priest would walk into the holy place, immediately to his right would be the table of showbread. It was on the north side of the tabernacle. On the south side would be the candlestick, the golden candlestick. And then immediately in front, right before the veil that would lead into the holy place was the table of, or the altar of incense. And we have a picture here of those three items that you would see as you would have walked into the holy place. And so we wanna look today, begin to look at these three pieces of furniture that are there in the holy, place. We want to begin with the table of showbread that we read here in chapter 25 and verses 23 through 30. The specifications are given to us, the materials that were to be used, like the Ark of the Covenant. It is to be made, verse 23, it's to be made of this acacia wood, which is a common wood in that area in the wilderness there in Sinai. And it was then to be covered with gold. So this acacia wood and the gold that would cover it, there was to be a gold molding that would go all around it. And as with the Ark of the Covenant and the other pieces, there was four gold rings. And these gold rings were for the purpose of carrying and transporting this table of showbread. There were pieces of wood, acacia wood that were covered with gold that would be put through those and the priests would be able to pick it up and to move it. Because you remember that this tabernacle is going to move with the children of Israel. God's presence is going with his people. And so these various items, when they would move, would be packed up and the priests would carry them on their journey as they make their way to the promised land. But it is a reminder that God goes with them. Wherever they are in the wilderness, God goes with them. That's true for us today, isn't it, as well? God is with his people. He is with us wherever we go. And his presence was with his old covenant people as well. The dimensions are given to us in verse 23. It is listed in cubits, but in feet, it is three feet. in its length it is about a foot-and-a-half in its width and it is about uh... two and two foot uh... three inches in its height uh... that is about the size of our piano bench just a little bit bigger than our piano bench so the arc is about the size of the organ bench which is bigger and then the arc uh... or the uh... table of showbred was about the size of our piano bench now we might think about that and think It wasn't very big. Maybe we had in our mind that these pieces of furniture were very large, but they weren't. One thing we need to remember, they're going to transport these things, and there's a lot of gold, so they're heavy. So they're not huge. So we might think it's a little less glorious than maybe what we originally thought. However, Philip Ryken says this, like most of the furnishings, the table of showbread was not large. This helps us realize that the tabernacle was not built on a grand scale. The building's true magnificence was its message, not how massive it was. It's what these things are pointing to that is really this significant thing. Now, we know when they get into the promised land, eventually they build the temple. It is going to be a larger structure, a permanent structure. and in many ways more glorious, but it's important for us to see that it's not the magnificence of its size, but its message that we want to consider as we go through here. It lists in verse 29 some of the accessories that would be used on this table. It mentions gold dishes and pans and pitchers and bowls for pouring. There probably was a plate that was used for this showbread. There was a gold pan into which pure frankincense was put. We read about this in Leviticus 24. It gives us more details about it. There were pitchers that were made of gold. These were for drink offerings. They were kept here on the table of showbread, but these pitchers would be used to pour out a drink offering at the altar, which was outside of the tabernacle proper. So these were accessories that were kept there along with the showbread. Now, what was the purpose of this table? Well, verse 30 tells us, and you shall set the showbread on the table before me always. Again, Leviticus 24 gives us more information about this. There were to be 12 loaves of bread. They really aren't like loaves that we think of. They were more flat, and they were sort of like a big pancake. And there were to be 12 of them. And they were put in two stacks on each side. And those 12, it's not stated, but most likely it is to represent what? the 12 tribes of Israel. These 12 loaves would represent each of the 12 tribes of Israel. And so they were to be put on this table and they were called the showbread. This was what was shown in the presence of the Lord, as it says in verse 30, they are to be there always before me. so every sabbath the priest would exchange out the bread and they would bring in fresh bread and then the priest would remain in the holy place and they would eat the bread. Now some commentators think that every day they brought in new bread but Leviticus 24 seems to suggest that it was just on the sabbath that they exchanged the bread. I guess it didn't go stale. But on the Sabbath then, when they brought in new bread, they would eat the old bread. The priests themselves would eat that bread and they had to eat it in the holy place. And it says that this was to be a perpetual thing. It was to continue on day after day and year after year under the old covenant. And it was an offering that, as it were, was made to the Lord and an offering made to God by fire, it says elsewhere. So it was always gonna be there in the holy place, this table of showbread. So what is the significance of this? What did all of this mean as we consider this today? We need to have caution as we think about trying to understand a lot of the symbolism with regard to the Ark of the Covenant and the pieces of furniture, the tabernacle itself. There are a lot of commentators you'll read that will go overboard and they'll just, they have something symbolically representing every single thing, every single thread had symbolic significance. And we need to be careful about that. I think we need to allow the scriptures to help us to understand these things John sale hamper said for the most part the Christian interpretation of the various parts of the Tabernacle has attempted to stay close to to the interpretations found in the New Testament. But we do pick up things even in the Old Testament that would have been helpful for them as well as us to what these things represented. So what might this have meant for the children of Israel as they think about in the holy place There's this golden table, and on this table are these 12 loaves of bread. I think what's interesting is it's not so much the table that is significant or symbolic, it's what it is holding. It is showbread. That's what the focus is upon, these 12 loaves of bread that are there. And I think it is this that has significance, this bread, the showbread. So as you think of bread and you think of the children of Israel, we already have seen in the book of Exodus, that God has been providing for his people, hasn't he? He's brought them out of Egypt, out of slavery, and he has provided bread for them in the wilderness. He has provided manna every morning for them, for their sustenance, to give life to them, to sustain their life. John Durham in his commentary said, the table of the bread of the presence is another symbol by which Yahweh's nearness was suggested by its opulence as by the containers and the food and drink placed continuously upon it and periodically renewed. This table announced he, that is Yahweh, he is here, and here as one who gives sustenance. It is God who has not only redeemed us out of Egypt and saved us, but it is God who is sustaining us. It is God who is providing for us. He is giving us our bread in the wilderness. He is with us, yes, and his presence with us is a sustaining presence. It's a beautiful thought, isn't it? God is with his people and God is sustaining them. He is upholding them. I think there's also another concept here. As you think of the priest who would eat this bread every Sabbath, they would eat this bread. It probably has this idea of a communal meal, a fellowship that they have with the Lord. We saw something of this in Exodus 24 when God had made the covenant with Israel. Moses and the elders go up onto the mountain and they have food and drink. And there is this communal meal, as it were, that they have with the Lord. And a meal often is, in the Bible, it's a reflection of communion and fellowship. We sit down at meal and we have fellowship with one another. It's more than just eating food. but it's this idea of sharing together and a communion. And maybe this is being expressed as well, that here's God who has come near. And by the representatives of the people of Israel, there are the priests there and they are eating this bread. There's this meal that they're sharing in the presence of the Lord. And so God, as he comes near unto his people, he comes and his presence is the means by which he gives sustenance to them. And there's communion and there is fellowship. And so this bread that would be on this table as even the children of Israel who would not see these things, the majority of them, only the priests, the Levites, the sons of Aaron were in the holy place. But by faith, they knew that that's what was in the holy place. This bread was there representing the 12 tribes. And interestingly enough, whether the tribe was large or small, there was a loaf of bread that was in there to represent them in the holy place. And it was there that they had the presence of the Lord, as it were, and his presence reminding them of the fact that he sustained them, he was with them, he was providentially caring for them and for their needs. And so it would be a constant reminder of God's care for them, but also, of their dependence on His life-giving presence. We need Him. We need Him who gives us life and who sustains life. Every breath that we have comes from Him. Every piece of bread that we eat, it comes from Him. And so they were reminded of this. God not only saves us, but God is the one who sustains us, both physically and spiritually. Now, what about us? You know, we don't have a golden table with showbread on it. We don't have furniture, as it were, that they had in the tabernacle. And we might think, well, what significance does this piece of history from long ago have to do with us? It's not useless history. There's a lesson for us. And the New Testament tells us in Colossians and in Hebrews, that all of these things are pointing us to Christ. Those were shadows, but they are pointing us to a greater reality, the reality itself. And that reality is Jesus Christ. He is the one who, according to John 1.14, He has come and He has tabernacled among us. He has come and His presence, as it were, is with us. He has taken on flesh, our likeness. We have flesh and blood. He has taken on flesh and blood. He has come to tabernacle among us. His presence with us is that which sustains us. We find our life in Him. And so not surprisingly, we hear the words of Jesus himself telling about how he and his father will care for us physically. Jesus, when he taught us to pray, said that we can pray to our father and say, give us this our daily bread. I think in the mind of Jesus probably was this table of showbread. Give us our daily bread. Lord, we recognize that our life comes from you. This bread that we eat that sustains our life, it is a gift that comes from you. And also Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, I say to you, do not worry about your life or what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap, nor do they gather in barns. And yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Now, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Will not I, my Father, care for you? Will we not give you the basic necessities that you need for life? So don't be preoccupied with those things. Don't be anxious about those things. And we can be, can't we? But what does Jesus tell us to do? What should we be preoccupied? Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things are gonna be added to you. He will take care of you. So Jesus as the one who has come to tabernacle among us is the one who cares for us, who upholds us, who sustains us, he and his father. But there is more importantly, I think this idea that he is the one that spiritually sustains us. He is the one that gives to us spiritual food, gives to us spiritual sustenance as we live in this fallen broken world, as we live in a wilderness. It is Christ that sustains us. It is Christ that feeds us. We read about this in John six. We read a little bit about that earlier. Jesus had fed the 5,000. He took a few loaves and fishes and he multiplied it and he fed this large gathering, probably up to 10 to 15,000 people, more than 5,000. Those were just the men. But he multiplied those things and he fed them and their bellies were filled. They had excess food. But Jesus uses that to point to something more important that he himself is this bread that has come down out of heaven. Just like manna that Moses fed the children of Israel with and the Old Testament or God did, there's this bread that has come down out of heaven. God's people feed upon and we are sustained, we are helped. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the true bread, Jesus said, that comes down out of heaven. And he who eats of this bread will not die, he will live forever. Whoever by faith receives this bread, receives Christ, he says, this bread will give him eternal life. He who comes to me shall never hunger and he shall never thirst. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and they died. but he who feeds on this bread will live forever. And so there is this idea that Jesus is this bread in a symbolic way, in a mystical way. It is Christ that we partake of. And the Bible says we are united to Him. We are spiritually joined to Christ. And John 15 speaks about Him being a vine and we are branches and we receive life, life that comes from that vine to us that sustains us, that upholds us, that is giving us day by day sustenance spiritually. And I hope brothers and sisters this week you have been mindful of that. It's in God that we live and move and have our being. It's in Christ that this life comes to us by his grace. Ephesians 1.3 says that every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ in the heavenly places. Romans 8.32 reminds us that if God spared not his own son, will he not also with him? with Christ freely give us everything that we need. And sometimes we're not mindful of that. Sometimes we become weary. Sometimes we become spiritually dry and weak and complaining. And we're like Israel of old, aren't we? We forsake the Lord who is a fountain of living water and we go out. And we try to hewn for ourselves cisterns that can hold no water. They cannot sustain us. They cannot give life to us. It is only found in him. Christ is our life, Paul said to the Colossians. So spiritually, we are feeding on Christ. We feed upon him. He is the good shepherd we read about in Psalm 23. He makes us to lie down in green pastures. He is the one that leads us beside the still waters. What is this picturing? But Him giving us life and bread and water as it were spiritually. He is the one who restores our soul. And even when we walk through the valley of death, we fear no evil. Why? Because He is with us. He is there to sustain us, to uphold us. Even in the darkest times of life, He is with us. You prepare a table before me in the very presence of my enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil and my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This is the good shepherd who feeds and cares and sustains his sheep. It is in him that we know this life and enjoy it. And how is it that we feed upon Christ? How do we draw nourishment from Christ? Well, it's through the word of God that points us to Christ, that lifts up Christ, that exalts Christ. Jesus said, you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify of me. So, as we sang, break thou the bread of life, O Lord, to me. As thou didst break the loaves beside the sea, beyond the sacred page, I seek thee, Lord. My spirit pans for thee, the living word. May God, by his grace, may he make us mindful of our daily need, not just of our physical bread, but our daily need of Christ. our Savior who sustains us, gives us grace for each day, who upholds us as we feed upon Him. And He is, as that bread was to be a perpetual offering to the Lord, He is our perpetual bread, is He not? Day in, day out, He is the one who sustains us spiritually. Well, the second piece of furniture is the golden lampstand. We read about this in verses 31 through 40. This, unlike the other pieces that we've already looked at, was to be made completely of gold. No wood, nothing else added. It was pure gold. Verse 31, you shall also make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be of hammered work, its shaft, its branches, its bowls, and all of it was to be a hammered work. I think this probably was one of the most difficult pieces to make. It was all one piece. It wasn't cast. It wasn't put in a mold. It was to be hammered by Beelze. I can't say his name, but that guy, he's the one that would hammer this out and make this beautiful golden lamp stand. And it was all of gold. It was one piece. There was a base. They came up and then out of that base, out of that trunk came three on each side, three branches that went up and all of these would hold the cups or the place where the lights would be put, the lamps. And it was all of gold. But the imagery that is used here is that of an almond tree. It's really picturing an almond tree with the trunk and then these branches that go out and then the light. So there's pictured here almond blossoms, buds, flowers, and all of this is used to depict the almond tree. If you ever have heard of the, the Jews speak of a menorah, that's what they're speaking of. The seven branched lamp stand. that was used there in the holy place. Along with it, the accessories are given in verse 38, there were wick trimmers, there were trays that were of pure gold. These were used to care for the lamp stand. Verse 39 tells us that it shall be made of a talent of pure gold. This talent is a measurement that would be equal to 70 to 75 pounds of gold. Think about that. It's a lot of gold, isn't it? I went online to find out how much that might be worth. 75 pounds of gold comes out to 1,200 ounces of gold. And 1,200 times the going rate as of Thursday was $1,289 for an ounce of gold. And if I figured right, it's, and I just, you might want to do your own math on this because I'm not good at math, but it was about a million and a half in today's currency. So this was an expensive piece of furniture there, this lamp stand. And clearly it is conveying to us all of gold. This is God's royal majesty. This is the place where God as it were resides. Now, what is its purpose? Verse 37, you shall make seven lamps for it and they shall arrange its lamps so that they give light in front of it. Obviously there's the need for light in the holy place. This is where the priests are going to minister. Covering over the tabernacle are four layers, as it were, these layers that are like tarps that cover it. There's no light that is able to get in to this holy place. And there is the need for light. And so a very practical purpose is that this was given for the purpose that they can minister there in the holy of holies. Just a historical note, there is in Rome today still a monument, it's called the Arch of Titus. I think I have a picture of it here. And this arch was to remember, Titus built this to remember his conquest of Judea, particularly the city of Jerusalem. in 70 A.D. where the city was destroyed, where they destroyed the temple, and it was a great victory for the Romans. And his father Vespasian was the emperor at the time, and he was building this arch to be a memorial to his great conquest and his overcoming of the Jewish nation in time of revolt. But it's interesting as you look at the carvings that are in this, you can see these two pieces of furniture that we've looked at today. I think you can see there the golden lamp stand and then over to the right is the table of showbread. It even has some of the gold vessels that are upon this. And so these were taken then from the temple and they were brought back to Rome. They were spoils of war. So this is the golden lampstand. So what significance might this have for them in that day as well as for us? Well, again, just in a practical way, it gave light, but there was something more, I believe. First of all, this was represented, it was like a tree of life, the almond tree. The almond tree was the first tree in spring to begin to bud, to flower. We're beginning to see a little bit of signs, you know, crocuses poking their heads up out of the ground. It's the signs of new life coming after a winter. And here is this tree, this almond tree that speaks about life. Maybe an echo back to the Garden of Eden, where there was the tree of life that was planted in the center of the garden, that God is the source of life. His presence with his people is life for them. It is the restoration and it is the hope of life that is found in God and his presence with his people. Secondly, it is not only a tree of life, but it was a tree of light. It gave light there in the temple or in the tabernacle, and it is God who is the source of light. Genesis 1 makes that clear. He is the one who said, let there be light. And there was light. And spiritually speaking, light is that which originates with God as well. in his new creation, in his giving life to his people, Israel, his being with them. Not only does he give life, but he gives light to them. He gives spiritual understanding. This is a new creation and there is spiritual light. Psalm 27 one says, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Number six speaks about the Lord's presence, His face dispensing grace and mercy and kindness. And so there is light that is given in the gospel. And certainly as we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, He is our life and He is our light, isn't He? John is one who makes much of this. John says, everyone who looks to the son and believes in him will have eternal life. John 6, 40. John 4, 21, the son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Jesus said, I give unto them, unto my sheep, I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. He said, I am the resurrection, and I am the life, and he who believes in me will live, even though he dies. He is the life giver. Just as there was life in that almond tree, as there's bud and there is the flowering, and then there is the fruit. It is God who gives life through his son, Jesus Christ, but he is also our light, isn't he? John also speaks of this. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. All things were made by him, John says, and in him was life. and the life was the light of men. Jesus himself said, I am the light of the world. And he who believes in me, he who believes in me will not remain in darkness, but will have the light of life. How important is light to us? We need light, don't we? To be able to see, to be able to function when there is darkness. And we live in a dark world, don't we? And it is in Christ that we have light. To be able to see realities that left to ourselves we could never see. He is that light. He is the one who shows us what salvation is, where it is, and it is in Him. and those who believe in him shall not remain in darkness. They will have this light that gives understanding spiritually, sight to the blind, to see and understand and perceive spiritual realities that are found in Christ. We also have a picture in Revelation 2 and 3 of the seven churches, interestingly enough. And in the midst of the seven churches, there is who? Jesus Christ. He is in the midst of them. He is giving light to his people. He gives understanding to us. He is our light. How thankful we can be that he is our life and he is our light to direct our paths. But he also says to us, you also, you are the light of the world. You are to reflect the very light of Christ himself. May men buy you their good works. May they glorify your father who is in heaven as they see your light shining in this world. Paul says to the Ephesians, we were formerly darkness, but now we are light. Walk as children of the light. Walk in this light. There's a revelation that you have through God's word of Christ, what it means to be joined to him and walk in that light. When Christ talked about judgment, when he talked about hell, he talked about it as being darkness, didn't he? To be cast away from the presence of the Lord is to be cast into utter darkness. It's a horrible thought, isn't it? To be in darkness. My wife this week, in the middle of the night, just shouted out in terror, and awoke us and she was shaking. And she told me later after we had gotten up the next day, she said, I was in a very dark place. I was in a very bad place, a very dark place. And that's way hell is described, it's outer darkness. It's a place of God's wrath and of his judgment. And it is only in Christ that we are redeemed and saved out of that spiritual darkness. It's only in Him. And the call of the gospel is to come to Him and find life and light in Him. It's found nowhere else, only in Him. Well, the third piece of furniture in the holy place is the altar of incense. And we are not going to look at that today. We're gonna look at that tonight, I should say. It is, I think, in part dealing with prayer. And tonight we're continuing our series on prayer. So we will look at that in connection with our service tonight. But as we conclude this morning, I would like us to do a corporate confession of sin. As we think about Jesus being our life as we think of Jesus being our light So often we are like Israel of old in Jeremiah 2 where God says He is the fountain of living water And what Israel had done is they had gone to seek after other cisterns that could hold no water And are we not like that sometimes? Here is Christ who sustains us, who is life to us. And yet we, like Israel of old, we go and seek our sustenance. We seek nourishment and other things that can never ultimately satisfy us. And today, again, we come back to Christ, who is our life, who sustains us. I wanna ask you, if you will, to stand and let us together just say this corporate confession. Our actions and wrongs are dusting things. This story is recorded, but we do not read it. This story is reached. As we close this morning, I invite you to take your hymn book and turn to number 501. We're just gonna sing the first and the third verse. Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts, and pray that God would make this to be more and more true of us. Let's close by singing the first and the third verse. Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts, and pray that God would make this to be more and more true of us. Let's close by singing the first and the third verse. ["Pomp and Circumstance"]