3. The Table of Showbread
Key Verses: John 6, Exodus 25:23-30, Exodus 16
The Table of Showbread was the first station inside the Holy of Holies. On this table, Priests would keep 12 loaves of bread, one loaf for each Tribe of Israel. This Bread was called the “Bread of the Presence” and acted as a constant reminder that God was the true source of nourishment for the people.
In 1 Samuel 21:1-6, David is in a desperate situation. He is being chased down by Saul; who, troubled by an evil spirit, wishes to kill David. David and his men are without food so they go to the Priest. They ask for help and the priest offers them loaves from the table of Showbread. Jesus, later, cites this story in Mark 2:25-27 when the religious leaders criticize his followers for picking and eating grain on the Sabbath.
John 6 connects beautifully to the Table of Showbread. Here, Jesus declares that he is the Bread of Life. The Table of Showbread points to this. The twelve loaves for the Twelve tribes speak to Jesus as the Messiah for all people. It highlights that Israel’s nourishment WAS God. God is the only one who can satisfy our hunger.
The Feeding of the 5000 In John 6, Jesus feeds a crowd of 5000 men (and probably double that in women and children) with only 5 loaves and 2 fish. This whips the crowds into a frenzy of excitement. They wanted to crown Jesus king right then and there. Knowing this, Jesus withdrew to a quiet place. Later, in verse 25, the crowd finds Jesus again and beg him for more food. Jesus recognizes a pattern repeating itself. He says,
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.” (John 6:48-50)
What did Jesus mean? In James 1:17, it talks about every gift that comes from above being good and perfect. In Exodus 16, the Israelites are wandering in the desert. They begin to complain to Moses about being hungry, so God provides manna every morning for them to eat. This was literal “bread from Heaven”. Why did their ancestors die when manna was provided?
Maybe Jesus was making a point about how our attitude towards the gifts of God determines how we receive them. The crowds surrounding Jesus were presented a chance to receive bread from Heaven but their cynicism stopped them from enjoying it.
The Israelites received manna in the wilderness but gathered greedily instead of trusting that God would provide again. The crowd went looking for Jesus after he fed them, but not because of who he was but because of what he could do for them.
You are always presented with a new opportunity to make a new choice. You don’t have to follow in you ancestors footsteps.
Bread is a very sacred symbol in the Bible. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus broke bread with his disciples instituting the sacrament of Communion/Eucharist. As mentioned before, the 12 Loaves on the Table of Showbread symbolized that God was the true source of nourishment for the people. The loaves were “kept before (God) always” because God is a god of plenty. You can spare 12 loaves on the altar if you have the faith that God will always provide more.
So, in 1 Samuel 21:1-6, when David approaches the priest for food and receives some of the loaves from the Table, that is an act of Faith. David knew where his provision came from! David went right to the Source in his time of need looking for strength. When Jesus references this story to the religious leaders in Mark 2:25-28, he says,
“Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)
God is the Source we are free to come to, not the Source we can control. Sometimes in desperate situations, our religious rules and categories go out the window. What’s left is who God is. God IS our nourishment. God IS our source. God is our ground of being.
