Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:23-30; Lev. 24:5-9
Ⅰ
The bread of the Presence, the face-bread, signifies that God's presence, God's face, is the feast of God's priests to be their serving supply for His building—Exo. 25:30; Lev. 24:9; cf. 1 Sam. 21:6:
A
The bread of the Presence being on the table within the Holy Place of the tabernacle signifies that God's face as our nourishment for serving is for a corporate feasting within God's dwelling place, in the midst of the built-up saints—Psa. 27:4, 8; cf. 1 Cor. 14:26:
１
In the church life we are feasting on the face of God, the divine presence.
２
His face is our treasure—2 Cor. 2:10; 4:6-7; 3:18.
３
God's shining face with His grace and His assuring countenance with His peace are our real and unique blessing and our supreme enjoyment—Num. 6:22-27; Rev. 22:4.
B
The Spirit is the presence of the Triune God within us—Matt. 1:23; John 14:16-17, 20; 20:22; 2 Cor. 3:17; Rev. 4:5; 2 Tim. 4:22:
１
We can enjoy the presence of the Triune God by being gathered into His name—Matt. 18:20.
２
We can enjoy the presence of the Triune God in the teaching of His Word—Matt. 28:20.
３
In order to enjoy the shining of God's face through His Word so that His face, His presence, can be our feast for our serving supply:
ａ
We must turn to the Lord absolutely and come to the Word to seek His face with our whole heart and with a single heart—Psa. 119:58; 105:4; cf. 2 Kings 22:8; 23:25; Matt. 5:8.
ｂ
We need to give Christ the highest and most prominent position in our life so that we may enjoy the salvation of His countenance—Psa. 80:3, 7, 15, 17, 19; 42:5, 11; Ezek. 1:22, 26.
ｃ
We need to deal with anything in our heart that is negative or that causes separation between us and the Lord—Prov. 20:27; Rev. 4:5; Eph. 4:30.
ｄ
We should humble ourselves before the Lord, putting aside our self-confidence and self-assurance—2 Chron. 7:14; 34:27; 1 Pet. 5:5; Matt. 5:3.
Ⅱ
The table of the bread of the Presence was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, signifying that Christ's humanity is the basic element for Him to be our feast and that His divinity as the expression of God is the issue of our enjoying Him—Exo. 25:23-24:
A
The rim of gold around the table signifies that the expressed glory of Christ's divinity becomes the keeping power and the holding strength.
B
The size of the table being two square cubits signifies the perfect and complete life supply of Christ to issue in a testimony.
C
The height of the table being the same as that of the ark (a cubit and a half) signifies that our enjoyment of Christ must match the standard of God's testimony—cf. 1 Cor. 1:9.
D
The frame of the table with its rim of gold was for connecting, strengthening, and stabilizing, which indicates that the enjoyment of Christ as a feast connects us, strengthens us, stabilizes us, upholds us, and keeps us—Exo. 25:25.
E
The four rings of gold on the four feet of the table signify that the Spirit of Christ is the linking factor and power and that Christ as our feast moves and follow us—vv. 26-27; Eph. 1:13; Luke 15:22; Eph. 4:3; 1 Cor. 10:4.
F
That the rings, as holders for the poles, were close to the frame signifies that both the linking and the moving are dependent on the connecting and strengthening—Exo. 25:27; Acts 1:14.
G
The poles being made of acacia wood overlaid with gold signifies that the move of Christ as our supply is by His two natures mingled as one—Exo. 25:28.
H
All the utensils being made of pure gold signifies that the divine nature of Christ is the means through which we partake of Him as our life supply and our offering to God—v. 29; 2 Pet. 1:4.
Ⅲ
We need to be perfected in the priesthood to display Christ as the bread of the Presence to all of God's worshippers so that they can enjoy Him as their serving supply—Lev. 24:5-6; 1 Chron. 9:32; Acts 6:4.