Bibles together please and turn to Leviticus chapter 24. Leviticus chapter 24 and we'll read together from the first verse of the chapter. So Leviticus 24 and we're reading from verse 1 and Let's hear the word of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, command the children of Israel that they bring onto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the veil of the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation shall Aaron order it from the evening onto the morning before the Lord continually. it shall be a statute forever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually. And thou shalt take fine flour and bake 12 cakes thereof, two-tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron's and his sons, and they shall eat it in the holy place. For it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord. made by fire by a perpetual statute. And we're going to end the reading there at the end of verse nine in this chapter. The chapter goes on to deal with a particular event in Israel, the son of an Israelitish woman who blasphemes and what comes of that. And so we'll come to that in future, but we're confining ourselves really to these nine verses at the start of chapter 24. If you think about the tabernacle structure, you have the outer court where there was the brazen altar and there was the bronze laver, the basin that was used for washings. These are the pieces of furniture in the outer courtyard and the Israelite would be able to see the goings on there where the animals are brought and they're killed and placed upon that brazen altar and sacrificed onto God. Again, the Israelite could look through the doorway into that outer court and could see what was happening. But then if you're one of the priests, you would be able to go through the curtain and into the actual tabernacle itself. And as you enter into that first area of the tabernacle, in front of you would be the next curtain that leads to the Holy of Holies, that place where only the high priest could go, and even then, only once per year. You've got this curtain in front of you. And right in front of that curtain, you have the golden altar where incense was offered up onto God. And as you face that curtain and the altar of incense ahead of you, to your right-hand side, you've got the table of Shewbread, and to your left, you've got the golden menorah, the seven-branched candlestick. Well, tonight in this portion, Leviticus 24, the passage brings our attention to especially these two pieces of furniture, one on each side of you, or at least what's supplied for these pieces of furniture. The passage really is calling Israel to bring the provisions that will be needed for these things. Specifically, the Lord tells the children of Israel to bring pure olive oil and produced by beating the olives, which was the way to prepare the best and the finest, the most pure olive oil. And it's to be brought for use in the tabernacle. It's going to be used in connection with that menorah on your left-hand side, where the light will be lit. Then in verse 5, Israel are also to supply fine flour for the baking of 12 cakes. That's the showbread, which is going to be placed on the table to your right-hand side. So we're thinking very much about the inner workings of the tabernacle tonight. What went on inside? the veil, that is the outer veil, this main area of the tabernacle that the priests could go into. What went on there, away from the direct view of the Israelites. Now as we do so, I want you to recognize that the tabernacle as a whole really points us to the ministry of Jesus Christ, our great high priest. You could think about the different areas of the tabernacle precinct pointing to the different aspects of Christ's work in some degree. You could think of the outer courtyard, which especially holds out to us that picture of what Christ would accomplish before the eyes of men on the earth. The goings-on in the courtyard were visible to the common people as they looked in through the door, and they could see what was happening, and they could witness the sacrifice brought to the altar and killed and placed upon the altar. They could see it set on fire, perhaps, in the case of a burnt offering and the whole thing being offered up unto God. The activities of that outer court very much point us to the work which Christ carried out very visibly before the eyes of the world, especially when he went to the cross and he made that perfect sacrifice of himself. His blood was shed and he offered himself up to God as that perfect atonement to deal with our sin. The outer courtyard, you could say then, presents Christ's sacrificial work on earth. But then as you think about the inside of the tabernacle, I'd suggest to you, it pictures something of the ministry of Christ in heaven, away from the eyes of the world. The average Israelite was undoubtedly told what went on in there. They knew from reading, for example, Exodus or some of the portions of Leviticus. They knew some of the detail of what happened. They knew that the altar of incense was there. They knew about the menorah. They knew about the table of showbread. But they couldn't actually see it. It was all happening away from their eyesight. And I would suggest to you that the activities in there point us to the ministry of our Savior in heaven, away from the eyes of the world. To make the point, just think about the altar of incense, which was there right in front of the veil into the Holy of Holies. The incense is very much connected with the idea of intercession. You could think of Revelation 8, where that connection's made, and there's an angel given much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Revelation draws that picture from this golden altar of incense and there you have the offering up of the incense along with the prayers of God's people. Well I'd suggest the altar of incense really it points us to Christ who having finished his work on earth has been taken out of our eyesight received up into heaven And from there, he is ever living to make intercession for us. And as part of that, he is presenting the prayers of his people onto the Father. That's part of why our praying is accepted, because it's, if you like, our prayers are carried into the throne room of heaven by Christ. So again, what we have going on in the tabernacle, it's something of a picture for the ministry of Christ as he labors in heaven for the good of his church. Not only in terms of offering intercession to God, but also in how he, from heaven, as he stands as our high priest today, how he supplies the need of his church. I'd suggest to you that's one of the main things held out here by the menorah, that golden candlestick, and by the table of showbread. These things speak of something of what Christ continues to provide for his people. In the passage, in practice, these things needed to be provided by the Israelites. So the Israelites had to bring the flour. They had to bring the beaten olive oil. They had to bring it to the tabernacle. Of course, today, similarly, the Lord requires his people to bring of ourselves, of our finances too, to practically invest ourselves in the work of There is a practical element to the goings-on of God's work, and that's true today, just as it was true in the Old Testament times. But certainly, even as the Israelites brought the oil and brought the flour, there was a recognition that even then, these things ultimately came from the Lord. It wasn't that God's people were paying God in any way. No, they're just bringing this token of what God has first provided to them. The same is true, by the way, when we bring tithes and offerings to the Lord. We're not buying anything from God, we're not earning our way, no, we're just giving back a token of the even greater provision that God has first given us. And certainly in bringing the oil, in bringing the flour, Israel are very aware, or at least they should be, that the Lord is the great provider of these things. Certainly as they soon were coming into the promised land in the next generation, they knew God was bringing them into a good land, as it's put in Deuteronomy 8, verse 8, A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates. A land of oil, olive and honey. A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness. Thou shalt not lack anything in it. And the point is God is the great provider of all this. So as they bring these things, they do so recognizing ultimately God is the provider of this oil. God is the provider of this flour and therefore the bread that's made. There's a picture here in these things then, as they're used at the tabernacle, of God's provision for his people. But to be more specific, we ought to recognize that when we deal with the spiritual lesson held out in the bread and the light here, we should recognize quite easily from the New Testament, God is the provider of these things, particularly in Christ. You think of the Savior who stood up in John 6 verse 35 and said, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall never thirst. Christ is the bread of life, providing nourishment and life for his people. Think of Christ who declared in John 8 verse 12, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Christ gives light, and hence life, to those who come unto him. So these things emphasize something of what Christ is to us, the provision that's there for us through Christ in particular. And they emphasize Christ's ongoing provision for his people, for his church. So as we consider this oil, this flower, as it's used inside the tabernacle, we have a picture of what I'm going to describe as the provision through Christ's heavenly ministry. So the provision for us through Christ's heavenly ministry. Our Savior has entered the heavenly place. from where he's still active, interceding on our behalf, and from that place supplying all that we need, bestowing good things upon his church. The provision through Christ's heavenly ministry. Now, first of all, and this is where we're spending the bulk of our time, notice the specifics of this provision, and we'll take them in turn. First of all, the provision of light, the provision of light. The first thing that our attention is brought to is this pure oil olive beaten for the light. Now, what's the significance of this olive oil, which would be brought in by the priest and would be placed into the menorah and would be used to keep that menorah lit, that seven-branched candlestick? It's going to be kept alight. What's the significance of this oil? Well, I think there's a very helpful passage to consider. And that's Zechariah chapter 4. In Zechariah 4 and verse 2, Zechariah is shown this golden candlestick with its seven lamps. It's this menorah. And he sees the lamps are burning. And the more unusual thing that he sees is that there are seven pipes essentially feeding these lamps. And beside the golden candlestick are these two olive trees. Essentially what he sees is the pipes connecting the olive trees to the lampstand, and it's sort of giving this continual supply of oil so that the candlestick continues to burn. And it burns with this abundance of oil from the olive trees. It's a picture that at least a lot of the elements are very much taken from this scene in the tabernacle. Now, as you'd recognize, it's quite a strange vision that Zechariah is seeing. So he's wise enough to pray and to ask the Lord for the meaning. And the answer comes to him in Zechariah 4 verse 6. This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah was seeing through this strange picture of abundant oil continually being supplied to the candlestick. What he was seeing was this representation of God supplying his spirit. to enable the work. I think it helps us to understand what's in view, especially as we think of this menorah and the oil that's used in the tabernacle. Oil is quite commonly a picture of the Holy Spirit throughout the Old Testament. In fact, if you think of the kings or the priests who were anointed with oil for their ministry, it wasn't just a nice cultural ceremony. It was a picture of them being anointed by God with the Holy Spirit to conduct their ministry. They were called to high office. They were given very solemn duties to fulfill. And symbolically, God was saying, I give you my spirit to enable you for this solemn task, either perhaps as the high priest or else as the king. Take, for example, when David was anointed. You read of David in 1 Samuel 16, verse 13. that when Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren, it goes on to say, the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. It's talking about the spirit of God coming upon him to enable him for this task of eventually rising to the throne. The anointing of the oil was the visible symbol of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Now, let's remember, as we think about this oil used in the tabernacle, we're talking about what Christ provides for his church. And recognize that the provision of the Spirit is the direct result of the heavenly ministry of our Savior. Why was there a Pentecost? Why can we look to the Lord today to powerfully work in us through his Spirit? Well, it's because our Savior has ascended on high and entered into the heavenly throne room And it's because he intercedes for us, the coming of the spirit and the work of the spirit enabling us to live for Christ, to know Christ and live for him. It's because he intercedes for us. Christ said in John 14 verse 16, I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. Even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive. In John 16 verse 7, Christ said, Here's what we're being told. Christ says, I'm going to glory, I'm ascending, I'm going away, but I'm going so as to send the Spirit. I'm going so as to provide for you by sending the Spirit. Well, that's exactly what's happened. Christ has departed. He has entered into heaven for us as our representative. He is interceding for us. And in answer to his intercession, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, has been sent. Now think how important that is, how significant that is. Let's think of it in terms of this burning oil in the menorah, in the tabernacle. Whenever you think of that oil, first of all, The obvious practical result of the oil being used was that the tabernacle would be illuminated. So remember, the tabernacle was this sort of tent structure, and it didn't have windows. There were a number of different layers that made up the tabernacle. So the light wasn't getting in from outside. Maybe a little crack around the doorway, but the light wasn't getting in from outside. And so essentially, the whole thing would have been totally dark. except for this burning oil in the candlestick. The use of the oil meant that the priest could enter in and he could see what he was doing. You could say then, firstly, that this oil, it illuminated the way onto God. Think of that tabernacle as this structure whereby, at least symbolically, you are invited to draw near to God, that the presence of the Lord is known at the Holy of Holies. That's where the glory of God is abiding. And that's where God's presence is especially emphasized. And as you enter into the tabernacle, you're drawing nearer to where the Lord is. Well, there's this sense in which the way would be dark. The way to God would be totally dark. The way in to dwell in God's presence and to have access to the Lord would be totally dark, except for this oil being used. Well, so it is with regard to the need for the spirit. Without him, without his ministry, the way to God would be dark. We would have darkened minds and there'd be no changing that. There'd be no access to God. This burning oil though removes the darkness. It enables the priest to come near and of course that's exactly what Christ does for us. It's what Christ does himself personally. He is the light of the world and therefore he can say, he that followeth me will not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. But recognize then particularly that it is the work of the Holy Spirit. whom Christ sends. It's his work to illuminate, to show us Christ, to, you could say, set forth Christ, the light of the world. And it's the Spirit's role to illuminate the way onto God. When Christ promised the coming of the Spirit, he said in John 16, verse 8, when he has come, he will reprove, or you could say convince, the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. The point is, Christ sent his Spirit to his church in order that in the power of the Spirit, the light of the gospel might shine and the darkness of men's hearts might be removed. It's the Spirit's work to illuminate the understanding, to convince, to open up that darkened mind. He convinces of sin and righteousness and judgment. He convinces of the gospel. He sets the things of God before darkened hearts and shines gospel light in, shines the light of Christ in. This is what Christ has done for us as individuals, we who know him, in that he has died for us, And then, not only that, but he has ascended on high, and as the one who died for us, he intercedes for us, even that the gospel might reach us, and that he for whom he died might be given to him. In answer to the prayer, the spirit of God comes, and the light shines in your heart, the glory of the gospel dawns, and the way is illuminated onto God. We ought to be encouraged in that picture too, because in a day when there's so much darkness in the world around, and you're sometimes looking at someone and trying to witness to them and the heart's darkened, you've got no ability to illuminate that darkened heart. But ours is a savior who is ascended on high, who sends his spirit, and the spirit does illuminate darkened hearts. This is how he saves. He shines the gospel light in, he shines the light of Christ in, and the darkness is dispelled. We should be encouraged that Christ has sent his spirit to do this work. We should be encouraged as we deal with a darkened world. The way onto God can be illuminated by the ministry of the Holy Ghost. Now, before moving on from the oil, let me bring you back to that vision that Zechariah saw. He saw essentially this candlestick in the tabernacle. He saw it supplied continually with oil from the olive trees. The people not even needing to bring oil and no one humanly needing to tend the The thing is just constantly supplied by the oil from the olive trees. Sort of strange picture, but when the Lord gives him this picture and explains it to him, it's being explained in terms of power through the spirit. The idea is of God abundantly giving his spirit and giving power by the spirit. At that time in the history, Zerubbabel was leading Israel in a pretty monumental task. He had to rebuild the temple. and he had to do such in the face of all sorts of enemies. The work was daunting, but this vision is given to Zechariah so as to encourage the people and to encourage Zerubbabel. And the Lord was declaring, it's not by might or by power, it's not by your strength, Zerubbabel, it's by my spirit. That's how the work will be accomplished, by my spirit. The work can't be accomplished in your might or in your power, but I'll provide my spirit. And in the power of the spirit, you can go forward. Now recognize that in this New Testament age, the Spirit is sent upon the church in abundance. It's as if the menorah is there and the pipes are feeding the menorah. It's as if it doesn't need to be tended by human hands. God is pouring in his Spirit to his church. This is in answer to the intercession of Christ. The Spirit is being poured out upon the church in abundance. And we have, through the Spirit, what we need to live for Christ, to live with power, To live a life of overcoming for the Lord, not by our might, not by our power, but by the Lord, by his spirit. When you think of your Christian witness and your desire to see others won for Christ, your desire to see lives transformed, it's not by your might or power that these things can be accomplished. It's by the spirit. And the encouragement is we have a savior who today is standing, interceding for us in heaven. sending his spirit upon the church to do this very thing, to empower us for service and to use us then powerfully in his hand to see the darkness dispelled and that we continue ourselves not walking in the darkness, but in the light with health and power. There's power for the Christian life, power for service, real vitality. And because our savior supplies the light, he supplies his spirit. And notice as well then the provision of the bread. Let's think about this bread. The Israelites are instructed to bring fine flour. And with that flour, there are going to be 12 cakes made, 12 pieces of bread. This is the shew bread. And the bread will be set in, as it's put in our translation here, in roos, six pieces per roo, something that literally, The idea is actually more of like a pile. You've got the Hebrew word roo, but perhaps it means this idea of piled up, mainly because of the dimensions of the table and setting these big pieces of bread. You just wouldn't seem to have space on the table for that. So it seems maybe in a pile, but whatever way you take it, I'll just say roos. The bread is there placed upon the table. It's called the showbread in our translation. In the Hebrew, that's literally something like the bread before God's face. I think I remember reading that William Tyndale just sort of invented this word, showbread, to try and convey all of that, but it's literally called something like the bread before God's face, or the idea is the bread of God's presence. It's this bread that speaks to God's presence being there. The bread had frankincense put upon it, or beside each room, and that frankincense was offered onto God as a little token, a memorial token, being burnt to God instead of the bread. It sort of holds out this idea of the bread being offered to God, and yet at the same time, the bread stays there on the table. In fact, it turns out, you'll notice that the bread doesn't even, it doesn't end up being eaten by God. It ends up being eaten instead by God's people, by the priests in the holy place, in the presence of God. Every Sabbath day, it's time to change the bread. So the priests will place new loaves upon the table, and then they'll be able to eat the bread that they're taking off the table, and it's eaten there in the tabernacle in the Lord's presence. Now, I suppose bread obviously speaks to us of life, in that it's our daily bread that keeps us alive. Christ certainly uses it in that sense when he calls himself the bread of life. In, I suppose, referring to the manna from heaven in the wilderness, he had only just called himself the bread of God. He says, it's he which cometh down from heaven. and giveth life unto the world." Of course, the manna came from heaven and gave life to Israel, but he uses that picture and says, I'm the bread of life that has come down from heaven and gives life to the world. There's what I do. I'm the bread. I give life. Certainly because we have a savior in the heavenly place who ministers after the power of an endless life, he is able to supply life to us. But can I suggest that in this place, the bread maybe especially emphasizes the idea of communion with God. Now, we shouldn't think that that's totally different from the idea of life, because what is life? Life is to know God. Life is to have fellowship with God. That's the substance of life. This is life, that we might know him. So the bread here speaks especially of the idea of communion with God, fellowship with God. Again, it's the bread of God's presence. And when the priests eat this bread, they eat it in the holy place, in the presence of God. There was one commentary I was reading, and they sort of described this scene in a general way, by saying that as you look at the tabernacle, as you come into it, you find that the light is on, because the oil is burning, the light is on, and the table is spread. There's bread on the table. And you've got this picture almost of, no matter when you come into that tabernacle, it's as if the Lord is at home, the light's on, and not only that, but the table is spread and you're welcome to draw near. That's sort of the picture that's there. I think it's quite a good picture, a good way to think of it. The Lord was there and the table was spread, ready to receive. There's fellowship with God. And this is one of the great blessings of the gospel that we can right now draw near to our God. And again, this is a privilege that we have specifically because Jesus Christ has offered his sacrifice and because he continues to be our high priest, ministering in heaven, ushering us in to the presence of God. You think of the language of Hebrews 10. In Hebrews 10 and verse 19, we're told, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and, notice this, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith. Notice as you think of this way onto God that's been opened up, there's emphasis there in Hebrews 10. not only on the blood of Christ shed for us. Of course, that's a vital importance. There'd be no access to God without our sin put away at the cross. That's a vital importance. But it doesn't stop there. That's part of it. A major part, but part of it. There's also emphasis on this living high priest. We have a high priest right now who is over the house of God, and it's because we have him alive, ministering as our high priest, that we are able to draw near with a true heart. in full assurance of faith. He stands in heaven for us and as we draw near to fellowship with our God, you could say it's not just that we come as a lone individual coming boldly before the throne of God, no, we come as if taken under Christ's arm, as if led by our high priest to the throne of grace and we are accepted in the presence of God because our high priest who is accepted brings us near along with him as it were. Now that's such an important idea when your conscience troubles you and you're trying to pray. You might at times be inclined to picture it in terms of in prayer you're coming before the throne of God and you enter in and there you bow yourself before the throne and you come with all your need, but all the time you're sort of wondering in your mind, will the God of glory accept me in his presence? Will the God of glory hear my voice? What reason would he have to hear me? But notice that's not the way to see it. As you enter and you come before the throne of God in prayer, you have an advocate standing right there with you in your high priest. You have Christ at your right hand supporting you, upholding you, keeping you in the presence of God. Through your living savior, you can come near and enjoy fellowship with God and find life and spiritual nourishment in his presence. You can come and find your needs supplied as you wait on his presence because Christ lives and because he is today actively upholding you and ushering you in. You're accepted because your high priest stands with you and he stands for you. Again, in Christ, there's life, vitality, power through this supply of his spirit. There's this blessing of abundant life, the blessing of fellowship with God. We're recipients of an abundance of good things, wonderful provision through him who has died for us. You could say he's offered his sacrifice in the outer courts, but he's also now entered into the heavenly tabernacle. And from that place, he continues today, right now, providing for we who are his people. Today, we have what we need because we have a high priest living for us in glory. So we've thought about the specifics of this provision. Let me mention the sufficiency of it. The sufficiency. As Christ ministers in heaven, and he intercedes for us, and calls for gospel blessings to be applied to us, not only does he provide the blessings of God that we need, but he provides perfectly. He provides abundantly for us. And you even have something of that picture here. If you think of the oil that was used in the tabernacle, it was used by being burnt on the golden candlestick. And that was a candlestick with seven branches. You had seven flames in the tabernacle. And I would suggest that at least one of the basic points is this idea of perfect illumination, seven in Scripture is a very significant number. I'm not a big fan of all sorts of strange numbers being used and given excessive meanings in the Bible. Sometimes it can be treated a little bit like a secret code, which I don't think is there half the time. But certainly with something like the number seven, it's a very obvious picture of perfection that's used regularly throughout the Word of God. And here you've got a golden candlestick with seven flames, and it sort of holds out this idea of perfect illumination, full provision, of light as the oil was used. There's the idea of fullness there, a fullness of vitality and strength and light and so on. If you think of the bread then, here in the passage you'll see in verse 5 that the flour is taken and with that flour there are 12 cakes, 12 loaves you could say, baked and they're going to be set on the table. Probably that's meant to tie in with the fact that there are, you know, you think of the 12 tribes of Israel. And if you like, then there's a loaf for every tribe and none are left out. Obviously in practice, the pieces of bread themselves, literally, were all going to be eaten by the priests. So it's all going to be eaten by Levites. But symbolically there's this idea of bread on the table for all the tribes, for all the people. It's as if all the tribes can draw near and they will all find that there's provision for them. Matthew Henry puts it this way, there was a loaf for every tribe for in our father's house there is bread enough. They were all provided for by the divine bounty and we're all welcome to the divine grace. You know, because we have a savior in heaven who intercedes for us and who therefore assures us of the favor of God, Paul was able to write in Philippians 4.19, My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. All your need will be supplied. As you draw near to God to receive from him, as you come in your weakness and you're crying out to God for help from the Holy Ghost, or as you come needing nourishment from your soul in the presence of God, you need to be strengthened in his presence, and you're waiting on the Lord, you will find that there is always sufficient in your God through Christ to meet your need. You'll find as you wait upon the Lord then you will be able to renew your strength and to mount up with wings as eagles and to run and to not be weary, to walk and not faint because there's sufficient provision from your Savior. Christ has died for you but more than that he He continues today to live for you, to intercede for you, to pour out blessing upon blessing upon you so that you might continue to run the race which is set in front of you and continue to serve your God and continue to overcome the wicked one. Through Christ, God shall supply all your need. So draw near and receive. As one of our hymns puts it, come, there's bread in the house of thy father and to spare. And so there is. Let me finally emphasize then the steadfastness of this provision, the steadfastness of it. One of the key features regarding this bread and light was that they were continually in place inside the tabernacle. You can see there in verse two that Aaron was to cause the lamps to burn continually. So to that end, he had to order the candlestick from the evening to the morning. And so it was before the Lord continually. In the evening before bed, he would look to the candlestick so that the flame wouldn't go out during the night. And he would attend again to it in the morning. And once again, he makes sure that the flames don't go out. And so no matter when you come into the tabernacle, the oil is burning. The light is shining. The same thing with the bread. The 12 loaves are placed upon the table on the Sabbath, and they're going to sit there for the full week. They're going to stay on the table. There's sort of a memorial offering of them unto God when the frankincense is burnt in their place, but the bread's still there. The table is always spread. And when the next week arrives, the next Sabbath comes, the priests, yes, they're going to be able to eat of it, but at the same time, they're taking, as they take the bread off the table, they're putting 12 new loaves on the table. As verse 8 says, every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually. And again, it means that any time you came into the tabernacle, the table was set and there was fresh bread there. I think that's a very good picture. Emphasizing, you will never come into the presence of God and find the Lord unprepared to be your good host and to have good things for you. If you pick the wrong moment to turn up at my door, and you're feeling hungry, I might let you in and we'll have a chat and so on, but I might have to say to you, you know, it was really time for us to go out to the shops and I don't have much in the house right now. I don't have much to give you. Certainly because we're not big biscuit eaters, if you come and have a cup of tea at our house, we quite often don't have packets of biscuits to set before you and things like that. So you could say you come to my house sometimes and I'm not ready for it, I'm not prepared. Well, that's the nature of things with us sometimes. You think of Christ's parable in Luke 11 verse six, There, there was a man whose friend had come from a far country, and he had to go to his neighbor's house and ask for bread, and he says to his neighbor, I've got nothing to set before him. I've got nothing. Well, be sure that you'll never find the Lord in that position. As you draw near to God through Jesus Christ, your living Savior, you'll always find fresh supply. You'll find the table is always spread. There's always nourishment for your soul. What an encouragement that should be to draw near. I mean how foolish we are sometimes when we go for lengthy enough seasons without stopping and taking the time to come back into the presence of God. How foolish we are when we allow Satan to distract us sometimes with maybe even things that are legitimate and necessary and other pressures of life, and we sideline time with God? How foolish we are, when all the while, if we were only to come into his presence afresh, perhaps open our Bible and take time around the Word and meditate upon the things of God and seek him in prayer, there would always be provision for us. There are always good things to receive from the Lord. Sometimes we get into this rut where we think Our Bible reading's just going to be a mundane chore. It's something to do because we know we ought to do it. But we sort of forget that there's tremendous blessing here. Appreciate it. When you draw near to God, there is always fresh bread for you. The table is always spread. The light is always shining. It's always going to be that way. You can get a banquet for your soul today. And if you come again tomorrow, you'll find that God's resources aren't exhausted. You'll find that Christ's ministry has not been limited, that there's your high priest, he's in heaven for you and he's got fresh blessings to bestow upon you. There's fresh nourishment for your soul today and tomorrow and the next day too. There's this continual supply in the presence of your God. Again, I'll put it this way. The light is always on. The table is always spread. There's your high priest. Jesus Christ who died for you, he's risen from the tomb, he's ascended on high, and he is ministering in the midst of it all for you. He's ushering you near to take and to receive and to be nourished and strengthened as you wait upon your God. So as we come to a close, let me give that invitation again from Hebrews. Since there is this new and living way which Christ has opened up for us, his bloodshed, and since we have and high priest over the house of God, since he's presently living and ministering and ready at this moment to supply all of our need as he bestows his spirit and fellowship with God and life and blessing, as he bestows it upon us, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Let's heed the invitation. May the Lord bless his word to us tonight. Amen.