I invite you to turn to the second book of the Bible tonight, a short section to read here on the table for bread in Exodus chapter 25, beginning at verse 23 through 30. Exodus chapter 25 at verse 23. Beginning at verse 23 of chapter 25, this is the word of the Lord. You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height you shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it and you shall make a rim around it a hand breath wide and a molding of gold around the rim and you shall make for it four rings of gold and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs close to the frame the ring shall lie as holders for the poles to carry the table you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold and the table shall be carried with these you shall make its plates and dishes for incense and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings you shall make them of pure gold and you shall set the bread of the presence on the table before me regularly may the lord bless tonight the hearing of his word well the more you study the scriptures and you study the big picture of the lord's care and provision for his people you see how much he desires to care and provide for them for his people and for them to learn to trust him in that that's a wonderful thing that we even saw this morning with jesus's words from luke's gospel but he said that that how much more will your father who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him. He delights to give you good things to enjoy. We'll come back to that thought, but I raise that because part of what it means to live by faith is to believe in the goodness of our God to provide for us, to care for us, to supply our every need in this life. In other words, the heart of true faith comes with a childlike trust that he will provide for me as a child everything that I need. Think of the words of the Heidelberg that says, I will trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul. And he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. And that's why anxiety is so incompatible with trust in a heavenly Father who reigns in heaven, who cares for us, who provides for us, who loves us. This is what the scriptures were saying when it says, look, the Gentiles worry about everything, but you're redeemed, you're the Lord's, you're bought, you're purchased. We claim to believe in a sovereign heavenly Father who orders everything for our good, in creation and providence. And he gave his best. He gave his son to ensure that we will be brought safely to the new heavens and the new earth where righteousness dwells. What a glorious message he's given to us and assurance of even care in the small things of this life. Well, we see how important such childlike trust in the Lord is even down to our daily bread and how much that trust, even in that area of life, means to him. I don't know that we see it any more clear than when we begin to study the tabernacle and the ways that he's teaching Israel and what he's teaching them about body and soul, as the Heidelberg says. And we particularly see this emphasized tonight with the table of the showbread, or as it's designated correctly in our translation, the table, the bread of the presence. You'll notice that. The bread of the presence. what a great statement we'll come back to that at this point we have the table of showbread the next piece of furniture that we are studying for this tent this tabernacle in the wilderness and basic here to this is simply a reminder of israel's total dependence upon the lord for them to provide everything they need as they're on their way to the promised land remember they're out in the wilderness at this point. So we see how merciful the Lord is to build and have something constructed that would constantly remind them of his presence among them. With that in mind, I want you to see what the Lord is teaching us tonight about that presence with regard to the table of showbread. Maybe this will help because this was always an intention of the Lord that the parents would teach their children the meaning of these things, and you could imagine a child in Israel maybe one day as Moses and the people are constructing, and all this work is going into this tabernacle project. The blueprints have been given, and Moses begins this building project which will take place again. You'll see this fulfilled at the end of Exodus here, the building go up but imagine this mom and dad i i see moses and i see the leaders constructing this this tent out there that the lord obviously commanded them to build but as i look from the outside i see an altar and i see sacrifices and all these priests are running around doing all of these duties but i'm really curious what's behind that little tent back there what's behind in that little area that nobody can go in this is a really if you think about it important thing that that the parents needed to train the children of what this all meant so you'll remember that in verse 40 here you'll see again that you are to make everything according to you are to make everything in this section according to the pattern that is shown to you on the mountain. That's 40 of the last chapter, chapter 25. It says, and see that you make them after the pattern for them which is being shown to you on the mountain. The earthly tabernacle, as this thing was made and constructed, the later temple, all of this was designed to be a shadowy, we call it sketch, of what is in heaven. Now one of you left me a message last week, I won't say who, who recently lost a loved one and said that was the most comforting thing to think about. That in heaven is the reality and that God gave this mini structure, would come down and dwell here to teach them about the reality that he would open up in heaven for people to go to. That was immensely comforting to one of the saints here who lost a loved one recently. And this is what Hebrews 9 tells us about this tabernacle, that the earthly tabernacle was a copy of the true one in heaven. For Christ, he says, has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but he's into heaven itself. Now to appear in the presence of God for us. So he entered reality. And in fact, it says that Christ came as the high priest of the good things to come with a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands which is not of this creation that's hebrews so the tabernacle simply said was a little mini replica of the heavenly one this is what we're studying if you ever want to study heaven this is where you go. This is how you do it. A lot of people have questions about it. Well, we're getting an idea here. And this is a very simple meaning of the tabernacle, was that God himself had come down to us. That was the message, isn't it? That's the message by the end of Exodus, that the whole tabernacle is filled with the glory presence as it had descended and the cloud had come down, the glory cloud and rested right over this structure whenever they looked at the tabernacle in the wilderness in all of their hardships and all of their struggles and all of their difficulties and all of their failings they would walk out of their own tent doors and they would look and they would see a visible construction of a tent a declaration that god was with them that god had come down to dwell with his people. Now, it's not premature at this point to say that the New Testament writers applied all of this, especially John in his gospel, and said that the whole construction of the tabernacle is all about Jesus's body. Whatever the tabernacle had, its furnishings, its presence, its meaning, the fulfillment of the tabernacle is Jesus. His presence coming down from heaven, when John will say in chapter 1, and choose the word of John 1, he tabernacled among us. God came down to us, that's what we're confessing. Christ came down and even would say, destroy this temple and I'll raise it up. And he wasn't talking about a structure, he was talking about his own body, wasn't he? Now, it's important to say because all sorts of crazy interpretations happen with the rings and the poles and all these things where people find Jesus in all the wrong places. It is true that the earthly tabernacle is teaching Israel about the person and the work of Jesus Christ. That basic point is not denied and so important for understanding this. And we saw that last week because the first thing that was presented to us was the most holy place of this structure. Remember, there was in the most holy place the ark. And in the ark, it was overlaid with pure gold. And the law of God was put in there. Remember the testimony? And there was a mercy seat put over that, over it in pure gold. And above that mercy seat were two cherubim with their wings stretched. It was all symbolic of the throne room of God and the throne of God himself. Where the cherubim surround God's throne continually. You have this imagery when Isaiah saw a glimpse of the glory of God and he sees the cherub and their wings outstretched. You have this imagery in Ezekiel 1 when the chariot is moving and the wings are raised to seal off his glory so that it doesn't consume anybody outside of this. well, you have this most holy place sealed off. No one can go in there. No one can see God and live. And that's what we looked at with this last time, that there the Lord symbolically dwelt with his people. When it was sealed off with this curtain, and we'll talk about the large curtain, which will have so much importance later when we think of the death of christ and this thing is split from the top to the bottom by the hand of god opening it up for you which was the message when it was sealed off only the high priest could enter there once a year going backward and sprinkle blood all over the seat which was the throne this is the throne room and all of that speaking to the fact that this holy just and pure god without the shedding of blood no one will ever be in his presence this was declared and so hebrews says that a way was opened up that we might have access that's what i read tonight through the blood of jesus so we have access to come into the most holy place hebrews 10 when we were called to worship tonight declared that to you blood was sprinkled there in contrast blood had been sprinkled in chapter 24 on the people who swore the blood oath and then immediately after the gospels announced that blood would ultimately need to go on god's son it would be his blood shed for the remission of sins in the most holy place and actually in the holy place you had the most holy place and then you had the holy place sealed off by a curtain and then we'll get to the outer temple veil door which is splendid to study in the holy place most holy place there's the cherub in the holy place were three pieces of furniture the altar of incense the golden lamp stand and the table of showbread tonight we just briefly look at the table of showbread in verse 23 he says you shall make a table of acacia wood Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. Overlay it with pure gold and make, you'll notice here, the molding, pure gold of gold all around it. He then goes on to describe the frame and the four rings which are put on the legs as holders for the poles to bear when it is moved. The poles, again, you'll notice here, acacia wood were overlaid with gold to be carried by the priests when the tabernacle would move. And then you had there on this, the pitchers and the pans and the dishes and the bowls for the pouring, which were also made out of pure gold. It's not a real big table. You look at this little table here. This one was probably, the table that was made, they've calculated, was about three feet long, a foot and a half wide, and no more than three feet tall. A little coffee table. And it says in verse 30, the importance of this is what was set on the table. You shall set showbread on the table before me always. That's an interesting verse. That's the real verse we need to spend a minute on tonight. I'm not going to go into building dimensions. Everyone knows I can build nothing. I break things. but i'd like to talk for a little bit about this and what went on the table because that's the emphasis exodus doesn't give us all the details but you put all this together it was the table of showbread we find throughout the pentateuch that every week 12 loaves of bread were baked the day before the sabbath and of course those represented the 12 tribes of israel And the priests would go in and they would eat the old loaves and replace every week on the Sabbath brand new, freshly baked bread representing the tribes. Twelve new, brand new, fresh baked bread right on the table of the show bread. This is one explanation in the scriptures. And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohites were in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath. Fresh baked showbread, always there on the table, lined in rows. And I want you to listen to Leviticus 24, and this will really help. And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. you shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to 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 for Aaron and his sons and they shall eat it in a holy place for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual state all of you as you hear that should be thinking a little bit why what is the purpose of this that's the question isn't it Think about the structure for a minute. Most holy place, no one can enter. And then in the holy place, fresh bread is lined in rows. And the priests get to come in and eat it. One of the mistakes I suppose we could make is something that I witnessed years ago when I visited a Buddhist temple. And I remember entering this massive temple, and there was a series of steps up to the lower court. They had a whole temple complex, and they had this all figured out themselves. And then you would see this naked statue of Buddha sitting there. An incense would be burning. And then the priests would constantly be bringing food up to the Buddha. And it was an offering to the Buddha, wasn't it? a whole bunch of fresh food was brought up. Apples, oranges, all kinds of stuff for the Buddha. Fruits, grapes, it was all there. The best of food and it would sit there. And I didn't miss what was going on. It was a ritual done and practiced out of conviction that they were, that man was to present to the gods, to their God, the best of foods for them to enjoy. That was the thought behind it. In fact, in Mesopotamian culture, it was extremely common to arrange foods and they would prepare meals for the gods. This is what you did. One scholar says the practice was based on the belief that the gods were like human beings. They also needed food and actually ate and drank. In some traditionary matter, Foods and drinks that were put before them like a king who eats and drinks of the best of what his servants set before him on his table. Is that what's going on? Were they presenting food to God? Did he need food? Offerings were always commanded in the Old Testament and brought to the Lord. but in none of those offerings was it ever meant that the people brought forward something themselves that propitiated God it's the issue of who's satisfying who here and the whole message of of Christianity has always been that God out of his own resources supplies what we need and and ultimately he gave his best when he provided an atonement of the blood of his son that would meet the demands of the divine law that we could never could never keep thus the high priest signifying this and teaching this as blood would go on the throne there would have to be the shedding of blood but of who hebrews says the blood of bulls and goats doesn't do that had to be the blood of jesus maybe this helps a little bit with the mentality of this morning the struggle that we have the rich young ruler asking to get into life into the holy place on the basis of what he offers right that was the struggle of of mark 10 and i hope no one walked away thinking well i just better go sell everything i have and and give it to the poor you've missed the message if you think you'll do that jesus will drive a dagger right in somebody somewhere else in your life and expose that you can't do it. That was the purpose of the law. Our gifts don't satisfy Him. We're not the bringer of good gifts to Him. God doesn't need them. It would be idolatry to think that we're feeding God bread. I suggest that this is what Israel struggled to understand throughout its history, her history. that offerings became a system of their own righteousness, didn't it? I think one of the clearest examples of this is when the Pharisees came to Christ because his disciples had plucked grain on the Sabbath to eat. And they said, why do your disciples do what is not lawful on the Sabbath? Remember that? Remember what Jesus said? Have you not read what David did when he was hungry? And those who were with him, he entered the house of God and ate the showbread on the table. Ate the showbread on the table when he was hungry, which was not lawful for him to eat. Interesting, isn't it? But only for the priests. And Jesus goes on to say, but I'm greater than the temple. I'm greater than what all that pointed to. I'm the fulfillment of that. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. What these people missed about that account was trying to figure out if Jesus was breaking the law by David's intention with the show. If David was breaking the law, we get in all this discussion about the breaking of the law. The point that Jesus raised to the religious leaders was the very meaning of the showbread itself. David was hungry. Just like the Sabbath, Where God, man was not made to be a slave to the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man so that he might enjoy God and enjoy worshiping him and have a festive day of rest. That's what we get today, a festive day of rest, anticipating it. You could say the same thing for the bread of the presence, that it was an intended benefit. Man was not created to display showbread for God, but the showbread was always intended to be set out and explained to Israel that it would be something as the priests ate in front of them that God would give to people to eat. Now, here's where I hope this comes together tonight. Jesus comes, and he fulfills all of this, enters back into heaven for us, and makes us all kings and priests to our God. The intention was that when the time of fulfillment would come, all the people of God would have access to the showbread. Priests are eating it here. fulfillment all priests would get it you're all priests to god now we're getting to the meaning a little bit of this i i hope the gospel the good news about the god of israel is that he is for us that he loves us and that he desires to provide for us he cares that much about us the bread was given and prepared was something to be taught to israel that god would continually supply for them but God was teaching Israel that he would do this they're in the wilderness they had no jobs they had no way of providing for themselves they had no way of maintaining they didn't have social security they didn't have the government of Egypt bailing them out they had no social programs they had no unemployment they had no retirements they had no way of knowing where tomorrow's food would come think about that imagine living like that the lord's been raining down bread from heaven the lord has been raining down bread from heaven to their doorsteps manna god was teaching them as a perpetual reminder every week that as that bread was replaced with fresh new bread he would continue to sustain them in the wilderness all the way to the promised land the psalms were always saying this yet he commanded the clouds above and he opened the doors of heaven he had rained down manna on them to eat and given them the bread of heaven men ate angels food the best angels food cake boys and girls he sent them food to the full he caused an east wind to blow in the heavens and by his power he brought a south wind he rained meat on them like the dust feathered foul like the sand of the seas and he let them fall in the midst of their camp all around their dwellings so they ate and were filled for he gave them their own desire he has made his wonderful works to be remembered the lord is gracious and full of compassion he has given food to those who fear him he will be ever mindful of his covenant wonderful cares to feed you it's in the simplicity of the meaning i suppose that this is so profound that god cares to give you food that's boys and girls why we stop and we don't just dive in we say thank you lord thank you for supplying this for us it comes from you Remember back in chapter 21 that this God was concerned when poor people went to bed cold. Remarkable, isn't it? That's how much he loves his people. Do you stop and think that God loves you like that? Stop and think that he cares for you like that. We're rushing, rushing, rushing. Never seeing all the provision that's constantly set before us to enjoy it. You understand why we say that faith in the Lord is that trust. that he's going to supply, the Heidelberg says, everything we need for body and for soul. He himself taught us in one of the petitions of the Lord's prayer to pray, give us this day our daily bread. He wants you to pray, recognizing he's doing that for you. That's why worry and stress and running around in a fanatic way, which we do all the time, is so inconsistent when God is offering himself like this. us and providing for us and caring for us. That's why Christ was saying, you don't need to worry. You don't need to worry about your life. You don't need to worry about what you put on. You don't need to worry about what you're going to eat. That's what everyone's worried about. I'll give that to you. What kind of father, if a son asks him for bread, he's going to give him a stone. I'm going to give you good bread. That's a very important meaning of providing for us physically. But you know that the New Testament takes this bread of the Lord and applies it in a much more profound sense. Because our greatest need in this life is not just physical food, but by living by every word which proceeds from the mouth of the Lord, our greatest need in this life is Jesus, isn't it? So that in his high priestly work, we all become priests and kings to our God and eat. Now, every week bread was set out. Every week. It's replaced fresh for them. The greatest need for Israel and the greatest need for you and for me is the true bread that the Father sends down from heaven. And now you understand how important John 6 is. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the man in the wilderness that are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. Always set out, always set out, always provided. I'm the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. I give this bread. I'm giving you my life. The message that Jesus gave was simple. I'm the show bread. I'm the show bread. I'm laid out all the time for you. And when I gave my life on the cross, I'm the continuous bread that you eat and live. I'm the continual source of your life. I uphold you. You'd fall so quickly. You would wither away into spiritual deadness so quickly if it were not for my bread, for me, says Jesus. I'm the bread of life, John 6, 35. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. That's the most glorious verse, isn't it? Why you exist. I'm the one that's come down to give life to the world. Whoever comes to me will be filled for life. And I give you direct access. And whoever believes in me, your life will never be thirsty again. I'll satisfy you. You get this. This is what the whole supper is about. So that our coming to Christ equates with being filled and believing in him equates with being satisfied. That's faith. The gospel was preached to Israel in the wilderness. That's why Hebrews said it. The gospel was preached to Israel in the wilderness. That's what the table of showbread taught them. All of that foreshadowed a time when Jesus himself would commune with his people in the supper, giving his life, his flesh, his body on the cross to be true drink and true bread for our souls and promising that he's going to eat and drink this anew with us in his kingdom. The bread today is not just for Old Testament priests. It's for all of you. That door's open. He came down, he went back up, and he split the temple veil so that when you worship him in spirit and in truth, you're right there in the presence of God feeding on Christ. As we head to the promised land, may we never err as Israel did in thinking God's not with us. God has promised to supply all your need for body and soul, as the Heidelberg says, according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Christ says, whoever eats me will live. Christ invites you to eat him by faith. And that's what we get when we come before his presence in worship, believing. Let's thank him. gracious heavenly father thank you for teaching us about the showbread and seeing it in fulfillment when the lord jesus would say he's the bread thank you for satisfying us providing for all of our needs and caring so that we shouldn't live a life of worry but then all of that is so minimal compared to the greatest gift that you've given us forgiveness so that nothing can separate us from your love and that because we eat the true bread from heaven we can truly be satisfied in this life and enjoy all these good gifts that you give us recognizing they come from your fatherly hand thank you for supplying these things maybe we go out into this week with a fresh perspective that you're with us that you care about us and that you will bring us home sustaining us on the true bread from heaven all along the way, who is Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.