A Table for Bread

During Israel’s time in the wilderness between the exodus from Egypt and settlement in the promised land of Canaan, the people dwelled in booths or tents (Lev. 23:42–43). Thus, as a fulfillment of God’s promise to dwell among them during this era, the Lord had the Israelites build a tent or tabernacle in which He would reside (see Ex. 25:8). This tent was much like the tents in which the Israelites dwelled, only larger and more beautiful, and since it was God’s “home,” as it were, much of what was found in the tabernacle was similar to what you might find in an Israelite tent home. Then, as now, every home needed a table for storage and for serving meals, and in today’s passage we see that God’s tabernacle housed a table.

Exodus 25:23–30 describes what has been called the “table of showbread” or the “table of the bread of the Presence” because the priests placed bread on it in the portion of the tabernacle known as the Holy Place (see v. 30; Heb. 9:2). According to Exodus 25:23–24, this table was made of acacia wood covered with gold with similar but smaller dimensions than the ark of the covenant, being about thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches tall, assuming that one cubit equals eighteen inches (see vv. 10–11). Like the ark, the table had a ring on each of its legs so that two acacia wood poles covered with gold could be inserted, one on each side of the table, for transporting it (vv. 26–28). Unlike the ark, the table probably had its poles removed whenever the people came to a resting place and set up the tabernacle, for the text does not say that the poles could never be taken out of the rings (see vv. 12–15). Like the ark, the table featured a decorative molding on its edges (vv. 24–25; see v. 11). Various dishes used to hold incense and drink offerings for use in worship were placed on the table (v. 29).

The bread of the Presence (v. 30), as we have noted, was also placed on the table. We read more about this bread in Leviticus 24:5–9, which tells us that Aaron—the high priest—arranged twelve loaves on the table every Sabbath and that Aaron and his sons—the priests of Israel—alone could eat it. Most likely, the bread reminded the Israelites of God’s provision of bread in the wilderness (Ex. 16:8) and for the Lord’s sustaining their crops and thus their food more generally. That there were twelve loaves may point to the twelve-month or yearly agricultural cycle, and it probably also pointed to the twelve tribes of Israel themselves as an offering unto the Lord. After all, Exodus 6:7 tells us quite clearly that Israel belonged to God.