The Table, Bread and Lampstand

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

The Table, Bread and Lampstand

Date: Jan. 13, 2016

Passage

Exodus 25:23-40 (ESV)

23 “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. 24 You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. 25 And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim. 26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 27 Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these. 29 And 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. 30 And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

31 “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. 32 And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 33 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. 34 And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, 35 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. 36 Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. 37 You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it. 38 Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent of pure gold. 40 And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 25:30

And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

First, we find the table and the bread (23-30). The table held the bread. The rim kept the bread in place when Israel was on the move. The dishes were used by the priests when they ate the bread. Twelve loaves of bread were baked fresh each week. The old bread was eaten by the priests. They kept the bread before the Lord at all times. This took vigilance. We can understand the nature of our faith, which is a daily fellowship with the Lord. The table and the bread symbolize the peace and the new relationship which forgiven sinners have with God. Eating the meal together speaks of the friendship and fellowship among God's people.

Second, the lampstand (31-40). The lampstand held seven lamps. It was made of one piece of gold. It was the only source of light in the entire holy place. The lamps were lit twice a day, in the morning and evening. It represented God's living presence as the light of the world and as their guiding light. When the lamp was lit, the darkness fled and they were left with only the beauty of the Lord in his tabernacle.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the fellowship you have created with us and with each other.

One Word: Fellowship in the light of God

The Songs of Moses and of the Lamb

Revelation 15:1-8

Key Verse: 15:4

  Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
  For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
  for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Today's Question

What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?

See answer and references