As we begin Chapter 24 we'll be looking at nine verses today regarding the oil for the tabernacle lampstand and the loaves of bread that are set out before the Lord at the tabernacle every Sabbath.
"The Lord said to Moses, 'Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law from the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening til morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord must be tended continually.'" (Leviticus 24:1-4) This same ordinance was given in Exodus 27:20-21.
The light is to be kept burning in the tabernacle day and night and only the very best olive oil is to be used in the lampstand. The Lord watches over His people day and night without ceasing; the ever-burning lampstand symbolizes His continual care. Also I feel it symbolizes not only that the Lord Himself is the light of the world (John 8:12) but that we who belong to Him have been commissioned to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). One of the duties of the high priest, the man of God, was to keep the lamp burning around the clock. The high priest was a person the people looked to for guidance about godly living in a dark and fallen world. We too can be lights in the darkness, helping the lost and the hurting to find their way to forgiveness and hope.
Now the Lord speaks of the bread that is to be laid out in the tabernacle on a weekly basis. "Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf. Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold before the Lord." (Leviticus 24:5-6) The twelve loaves represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the bread symbolizes the Lord's provision for Israel. The table is to be set this way Sabbath after Sabbath, year after year, to commemorate the Lord's faithfulness in providing week after week and year after year.
The Lord doesn't ask for fancy cakes to be placed upon His table. He asks for plain, filling, wholesome, nutritious bread to be placed there. Bread, often referred to as the staff of life, is capable of sustaining people for a long time if other foods are not available. The Lord, who referred to Himself as the "bread of life" (John 6:35, John 6:48, John 6:51) sustains us day by day with the filling goodness of His word, His love, His comfort, His mercy, and His guidance. We have little need for the "fancy cakes" of a gospel that has no real substance to it. We need the unshakable and unalterable truth of a gospel that sustains us body, mind, and soul.
"By each stack put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant." (Leviticus 24:7-8) Incense is used as a symbol of prayer several times in the Bible. (Psalm 141:2, Revelation 5:8, Revelation 8:3-4) Just as the smoke and the fragrance of incense rises up into the air, so also our prayers rise up to God.
The rituals that surround the lampstand and the bread and the incense provide us with an illustration of the Lord's work in the lives of those who love Him. He watches over us, provides for and sustains us, and hears and answers prayer.
No one but the priests are supposed to partake of the bread. "It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in the sanctuary area, because it is a most holy part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord." (Leviticus 24:9) The religious leaders need an extra dose of sustenance from the Lord. They are responsible for leading the congregation by word and deed and for explaining the word of God to them and preaching sermons on it. I can understand why my own pastor, for example, needs more support from God than I do, for he carries a heavy burden 24/7.
In times of necessity it is alright to lay aside the law regarding who can eat this bread, as we learned several weeks ago when discussing the time David and his men were hungry and were on the run from a murderous plot by King Saul. (See 1 Samuel 21 for this story.) David approached the priest to ask if he had anything he could give them to eat, but the priest had nothing except the bread laid before the Lord. The priest gave the bread to David and we find the Lord Jesus commending the priest for his mercy in Matthew 12 and Mark 4. Jesus used this story as an example that mercy is better than sacrifice---that love fulfills the law better than a rigid adherence to the law in the face of someone's need.
We who belong to the Lord are sustained by Him. We can, in turn, provide help to those around us by being the light of the world, by providing the good honest bread of the gospel message, and by offering up prayers to the Lord on behalf of our fellow man.
Speaking of prayer, I'd like to ask for prayer for a family in my church and for my church as a whole due to the Covid-19 death of one of our members last night. Mr. Anthony Johnson, a hardworking middle-aged husband and father of five adopted children, cousin of my pastor, friend to many in the church and in the community, lost his life to this terrible pandemic even though he was a healthy and active man prior to catching the virus. Please lift up this man's family members and friends up to the Lord in prayer. The Lord is the only one who can provide the comfort and sustenance they need in a time like this.
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