THE TABLE

When’s the last time you walked into a bakery? There is something about the aroma of freshly baked bread! It smells like home. It’s welcoming. It says, “Come in! Sit down! Let’s visit!”

In the Tabernacle’s front room, the Holy Place, stood three objects. The Lampstand, the Golden Altar, and the Table.

The Lampstand was functional and prophetic. It shed its light, and it pointed forward to the Messiah, the Light of the World.

On the Golden Altar incense burned, providing a holy fragrance.

And on the Table, were spread twelve loaves of bread as well as plates, cups, pitchers, and bowls (Exodus 25:29; 37:16). The twelve loaves, symbolic of the twelve tribes, was “set out before the Lord every Sabbath day” (Leviticus 24:8).

In the Tabernacle’s Holy Place, the priests worked diligently to keep the lamps lit, and the incense spreading its fragrance. It was the priest’s job. When they entered the Tabernacle, they had work to accomplish.

But the Table was God’s invitation to sit. To rest. To visit. To share. To enjoy.

Today, God wants us to read and study His Word. He wants to speak to us, to instruct us, to guide us. The Lamp reminds us of this.

The Golden Altar reminds us to pray, to praise Him, to worship, and to intercede on behalf of others.

But God doesn’t want us to come to him busily performing righteous and religious tasks. He wants us to come to His table. To sit. To rest. To visit. To share. To enjoy.

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).