Exodus (Lesson 51)

Welcome to the Preaching the Cross Radio Podcast, featuring the radio ministry of Pastor James W.

Knox of the Bible Baptist Church of Delaney, Florida.

Our prayer is that these half-hour Bible study programs will bring the lost to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and enable the saved to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Savior.

Now here's your host, Pastor James W.

Knox.

From the Bible Book of Exodus.

If you've not been with us, well, it'd be a long time ago since you listened.

If you didn't know we were studying Exodus, this is broadcast number 51 in our study of this great Bible book.

And today we'll be reading from the 27th chapter, Exodus chapter 27.

Exodus 27 · chapter mention

If you can get a Bible and follow along with us, that would be a blessing indeed.

What a joy to have the Holy Bible, be able to read God's words for ourselves and to behold what he has said.

And we are trying our best to get through all of this material, detailed material that God has placed in his word with regard to the construction of the tabernacle, the place where God did meet with men.

And we've uh spent quite a bit of time looking at uh the various items, in particular the Ark of the Covenant.

We might have a few more things to say about that on the program today.

We've also got to take a backward look at that uh candlestick and maybe even a little bit of uh information about that table of uh showbread.

You recall from chapter 26 we read about the placement of the table and the placement of the candlestick and the placement of the ark.

In fact, let's go back there and get this.

26, verse number uh 33, Exodus 26, 33.

And thou shalt hang up the veil under the touches that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony, and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy, and thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.

And we talked about those divisions last time between the holy place and the most holy place, and thou shalt set the table without the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south, and thou shalt put the table on the north side.

So there you have it the table and the candlestick and the Ark of the Covenant there inside the Holy of Holies and these other two items in the in the holy place, not the most holy place, but the holy place.

Let's take a few minutes.

We we've got the time, and there's no point in uh rushing through and rushing past this.

Uh, the table is first mentioned here.

It's the table of showbread.

It was made of the same materials as the Ark of the Covenant, the shit'em wood overlaid with pure gold.

It measured two cubits long.

That'd be about um three feet, and one cubit broad, foot and a half, one and a half cubits high.

Not a great thing.

It was the same height as the ark, but shorter in length and breadth.

Uh around its top there was a crown of gold, and on the outside of this crown was a border that measured a hand breadth, about four inches.

On the outer edge of this border there was another crown of gold.

It had four legs.

The table did.

Four rings made of gold were fastened to these legs at the top, close to the border.

Staves were made, also of this same wood, overlaid with gold, and these were used for carrying the table.

We read earlier the dishes and utensils for use for the table were also made of pure gold, dishes, uh, spoons for the sweet spice incense, covers for pouring out the drink offering, and bowls for offering drink offerings, and they're to cover it all.

It may be that they were uh also to receive the drink offerings poured out from these bowls, but in either case, the border was for holding securely these items so that they would not fall from the table, particularly when they were traveling or moving the uh table about.

Now, on this table was the showbread, S-H-E-W showbread.

It's not until Leviticus 24 that instructions are given in respect of the showbread, but to study the table without to mention the showbread, uh leave people wondering uh why you even had such a thing.

Each week twelve loaves were baked, and on the Sabbath set in two rows, six in a row upon the table.

These loaves were made of fine flour, about uh six pounds in weight, not each one total.

Given the size of each loaf, therefore, and of the size of the table, it would not be possible to place these loaves side by side in two flat rows.

Loaves would be baked in a round shape, and each row would have six of them placed one upon the other.

That'd be uh probably the best uh way to picture that in your mind.

Uh five of them were sufficient for David and his companions when they were hungry, if you remember that in 1 Samuel 21.

Frankincense was put on each row.

And after the new bread had been placed on the table, the bread that had been there for the previous seven days was for the use of the priests.

That's Leviticus 24, verse 9.

Leviticus 24:9

This bread is called cakes, uh meal offering in Leviticus 2.4, uh the continual bread in Numbers 4 7, the hallowed bread in 1 Samuel 21 4.

Now the significance of this table.

It's already been observed.

This is the first mention of a table of any kind in the Word of God.

Not just this table of showbread, but any table.

A table is a place at which meals are taken, and at times is used to signify a meal.

For example, the twenty-third Psalm, Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.

And Psalm 78, 19, can God furnish a table in the wilderness?

The purpose of God in erecting the tabernacle was not only to provide himself with a dwelling place, but also to provide a set table at which his guests could partake and be satisfied.

Upon it, that is the table, the eye of God could rest with satisfaction and delight, while his priests were nourished and strengthened by its hallowed bread.

So the table, therefore, is a place of food and fellowship, for only those who are at one can sit at ease and without disturbance at the same table.

Particularly, it is only those who are in fellowship with the host who can partake at his table.

You remember, this is the absence of David from the table of Saul, which indicated that David, because of the enmity of the king, no longer regarded Saul as one with whom he should sit at a table.

So to think that we are invited to sit at the Lord's table and partake of the Lord's Supper speaks of more than worship and more than duty.

It speaks of blessed fellowship, owing to the invitation of the host.

It's the Lord's Supper, and the Lord bids us to feast with him.

Now, what does the show bread uh speak of?

Some see it signifying the twelve tribes of Israel, constant before the Lord, and the twelve loaves would certainly uh suggest that.

But would that be uh would would that work if that which signified his people were food for the priests?

That could lead to some uh some real misunderstanding.

Uh it's there's no doubt that priests feed upon the people, but it's not supposed to be that way.

That wouldn't be a type that that God would institute.

Priests do not feed on the people of the Lord, they feed on the Lord and feed the people.

The showbread, therefore, signified the Lord as the food of his people.

We've already talked about lessons learned from the manna, which is a food from Israel in the wilderness, spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the showbread is in the sanctuary.

It's Christ, the food of his people, enjoyed in the place of fellowship.

These loaves were made of fine flour, speaking of the spotless perfection of Jesus the Son of God.

There was no unclean or impure grain, no husk had been ground into the flour, no chaff of any kind had marred the ingredients for these loaves.

Here is a picture of Jesus' manhood, absolutely free from all traces of sin, as holy as is God.

The flower could be run through the fingers, and all was felt to be fine, pure, perfect, with a smoothness leaving a sense of satisfaction that no roughening grain was there.

Manhood with no roughness, but in every way fine and even.

For sin had no part in the holy Son of God.

Yet this fine flower had to be pierced, and then subjected to the heat of the furnace.

He had to endure temptations at the hand of Satan, sorrow at sin and its consequences.

So clearly seen around him was the rejection by sinners and the derision heaped upon him by evil tongues and the plots of the Jews to put him to death, and finally the buffeting and blows of sinful men.

Through all this, he remained pure.

Through all this, fine flour was as fine at the end as it had been at the beginning.

He delighted to do God's will, and he did so morning by morning.

Isaiah 50, verses 4 and 5.

Isaiah 50:4

Now in the sanctuary, the priests were able to partake of the loaves and figuratively to feast on Christ.

The manna gave energy for the wilderness.

The show bread gave energy for the sanctuary.

But it's important that we understand that the bread on which the priests fed had been enjoyed by God for seven days.

For as long as he took to create the universe, he gazed on that which spoke of Christ as the food of his people.

Priestly appetites were satisfied with that which satisfied heaven.

And you know, nothing else could meet the needs of those who ministered in the holy things.

We must never forget, long before anyone enjoyed God manifest in the flesh, the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ, long before any human enjoyed his company.

God the Father had been enjoying that company throughout eternity.

You see, we come to know the Lord Jesus, and then we come to love the Lord Jesus, but his Father, God the Father, has ever loved and enjoyed Him.

Every Sabbath these loaves were changed.

They were never allowed to get stale.

They were always fresh in the presence of God.

And never will there be anything stale about the Lord Jesus Christ.

What he is and what he endured is clothed in an eternal freshness.

Frankincense was placed upon each row.

Leviticus 24 7 says, for memorial, even for an offering made by fire.

Why is that?

Well, the frankincense appears to have been deposited, not only directly upon the loaves themselves, but in vessels for that purpose, where it could be conveniently renewed as fast as it should be consumed by the daily ministrations at the altar of incense.

But this frankincense could not be used for the daily ministrations upon the golden altar of incense, because the sweet incense used for that purpose consisted of stacti, ocha, galbanum, and frankincense blended together.

You get that in the 30th chapter.

But yet this frankincense, which was placed on the loaves as they were set on the table of show bread, is said to be, as we just mentioned, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

So this procedure carried out by the priests appears to be that after the frankincense was placed on the bread, the remainder of it was burned on the golden altar, the sweet fragrance which arose would then be of the same frankincense that was on the bread.

Thus the loaves were brought before God for his pleasure, as we said, and for his enjoyment.

Today, Christians partake of this holy food.

It accompanies us on our pilgrim journey.

It's a feast that cannot fail to satisfy.

It's a bread that never grows stale.

To feast on Christ Jesus, the true bread of his presence, is to enjoy provision that will give all the variety of diet required to those traveling to the promised land.

See what this bread pictured?

Jesus Christ, he's the full, real, lasting substance thereof.

I don't mean a death cookie in the hand of a papal priest.

I mean the real, true, genuine article.

Jesus Christ the Lord, the resurrected Son of God.

Now what are this candlestick?

The purpose of the candlestick was to provide light in the holy place.

It was positioned on the south side directly opposite the table of showbread.

It provided the only light in the sanctuary where the priest ministered.

Think about it.

Look at those men as they make their way into the holy tent.

They pass a curtain, rich and brightly colored hues.

Then what a scene appears.

The light gleams around, the pure gold sides, the pure gold vessels, sparkling canopy, cherub veil, and the orbs of heaven, the light from without don't lend any aid.

No sun beams, no reflection of the moon.

Just this candlestick.

Nothing else.

The seven branches, the seven lights.

They alone are sufficient to drive out the darkness.

The candlestick, like the ark, was made of pure gold.

It was beaten out according to the pattern given to Moses.

The weight of gold was one talent, estimated at 116 pounds.

It was made with a center shaft which sprang from the base on which the candlestick sat.

From the center shaft there came six branches, three on either side, each decorated with bowls, knobs, and flowers.

Now these bowls were made like almonds, according to verse 33.

The knobs difficult, but they're they're like a capital on top of a pillar, a knob or a bulb.

And the flowers in the form of buds bursting into bloom.

Now we've got to first observe that the center shaft is described as being uh, well, the shaft, and the other six branches as his branch.

The word translated uh branches means just that.

Nobody can fail to understand it or comprehend it, just as a tree sends out its limbs in various directions, so this candlestick has uh the uh seven places for the light.

So it's perfectly clear.

The center shaft or branch was decorated with four bowls, each with a knob and a flower.

Each of the six other branches had three bowls, but only one knob and one flower.

Now, what's the significance?

Once again, in the pure gold we see the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He was God, he is God, he'll always be God.

He is the light of the sanctuary.

It is not here the Lord is the light of the world, for this light is not seen outside the sanctuary.

This is Christ as the light of his people as they come before God.

He is the only light in that sanctuary and the only light that's needed.

The food to sustain the priests as they exercise their duties, and the light by which the priest can minister are all of his supply.

God is light.

In him no darkness at all, 1 John 1 5.

No matter therefore what light is required, he's the giver and sustainer of it.

The first spoken words recorded in the scriptures are let there be light.

And light came into being even before the sun was hung in the heavens.

God is therefore the giver of natural light.

And yet, John wrote, chapter 14, verse, or I'm sorry, chapter 1, verses 4 and 5, in him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.

So he is not only the source of all natural light, he's also the source of all spiritual light.

The purpose of light is to reveal.

And without light everything is obscurity.

Thus, without spiritual light, all is darkness and ignorance.

You might have religion, you might have church, you might have activity, but you cannot see, you cannot comprehend fully, completely, properly, without light.

You see, this is the state in which the devil holds those who are his.

They're said to be under the power of darkness, Colossians 1.13.

Added to ignorance, darkness brings fear.

But when the Lord Jesus Christ comes into the life, the Bible says that he calls us out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2.9.

Before salvation comes, men are, well, they're in darkness, because the Bible says the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

That's 2 Corinthians 4.4.

But you know, when the gospel is believed, what a change happens.

The same chapter, 2 Corinthians 4 says in verse 6, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

So light is inseparable from God.

And his desire is that his people should enjoy that spiritual light which he alone can give.

Now, why is this candlestick in the holy place?

Number one, it was to be lit before the Lord.

Chapter 40, verse 25.

It shed its light in God's presence.

It lit up the holy place.

Second, it was opposite the table of showbread, as we read in our chapter 26, 35, and would therefore cast its light upon the table, and the candlestick lit up itself.

Speak unto Aaron and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

Numbers 8, verse 2.

Numbers 8:2

So one chief object of the light was to illumine the candlestick itself.

Now it was made of beaten gold.

The fact the gold was beaten must catch our attention.

It's significant.

Before any oil could be placed in the uh lampstand, the candlestick.

The gold had to be beaten, as did the oil.

Chapter 27, we'll read that there.

And it is with the greatest reverence that this beaten gold is considered.

Jesus Christ was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief.

Lamentations 1 12 says, Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by?

Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

You understand?

As he wept over Jerusalem, as he prayed in that garden of Gethsemane, strong crying in tears, as his sweat became great drops of blood.

As God the Father poured out his wrath upon God the Son of the cross at Calvary, yes he is the gold of deity, and yes, he is the light of the world, but it's beaten gold.

He suffered in your place, it's beaten gold.

He suffered for my sins and yours.

What a thought to consider.

And then the bowls.

Precedence given to them indicates they were of prime importance.

And there's much, much to be said about them.

I'm looking, I'm looking at the time.

How how it goes so quickly, too quickly.

I was going to say a word today about these bowls and these knobs and these flowers and the seven lights and the tongs and the snuffers.

But with the little time that we have left, we can't cover all of that.

So let's go back and look at it again.

Isn't that gold a precious thing?

Does it not speak of the great worth and value and beauty and desirability of our Lord Jesus Christ?

It certainly does.

But as Jesus came, God manifest in the flesh, as the Lord of glory set foot upon this earth, he taught, he preached, he healed, he cleansed, he fed, he drove out fears, he emptied graves and broke up funeral processions.

And yet, when he made his way to Jerusalem, and the false witnesses bore their false reports, and the mock trial ran its course, then the Lord Jesus Christ, the glory of God manifest in the flesh, began to feel the blows and spittings of sinners, the lash across his back, the nails in his hands and feet, the crown of thorns driven into his brow, the side pierced, blood and water flowing out, and all God's waves and billows passing over him.

I say to you, he is gold, he is fine gold, but my friend, it's beaten gold.

Jesus Christ suffered for you and for me.

He was punished for you and for me.

He died for you and for me.

Let his light shine into your soul.

Let this bread from heaven feed and sustain you.

Put more simply, as we find in the New Testament, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

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