The Bread of the Presence
Today is the first Sunday of the month which we have designated to observe communion. So today we are going to talk about the bread of the Presence.
We would all agree that God is all powerful, so what is the most important thing He could give to us? His peace—His love—His joy—even His salvation?
· In His presence is the fullness of joy.
Ps 16.11 NASB You will make known to me athe path of life; In bYour presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are cpleasures forever.
· He is love so in His presence, love is there.
1 John 4:16b NASB God is love, and the one who dabides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
· He is the Prince of Peace, so in His presence we have His peace.
Isa 9:6c NASB And His name will be called eWonderful Counselor, fMighty God, Eternal gFather, Prince of hPeace.
But, what good does it do if we have all these wonderful things, and still can’t have the intimacy with Him that we need and He desires? He could give us salvation, but it would still not be the best gift if we did not have access to Him. He could give us all these gifts and many more, but without His presence we would be barred from intimacy with Him. No, I think the greatest thing God can give us is His presence!
Moses told God that if His presence did not go with them, not to lead them to the promised land (Ex 33:15 NIV Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. )
David told God not to cast him away from His presence, in his confession of his sin over Bathsheba (Psa 51:11 NIV Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me).
In fact, God instituted a practice in the tabernacle/temple that constantly reminded the Israelites of His presence. It was in the Table of The Shewbread (bread of the arrangement [or ordering]) or The Table of the Bread of the Presence (see illustration). A few weeks ago we talked about the fact that we are the Holy of Holies where God dwells today. In looking at the Holy of Holies, we also talked about the Holy Place, which contained 3 items: the candlestick, the altar of incense, and the table of the bread of the Presence. Let’s briefly look at some scripture that refers to the bread of the Presence.
Ex 25:30 (NASB) “You shall set athe bread of the 1Presence (Face) on the table before Me 2at all times (continually).
2 Chron 4:16 (NIV) Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple: the golden altar; the tables on which was the bread of the Presence;
Heb 9:2 (NRSV) For a tenta was constructed, the first one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence;bthis is called the Holy Place.
When we examine these scriptures carefully, we will see there is a special way that the table and the bread are always shown: the bread of the Presence. It is not the bread of presence, but the bread of THE Presence! This is a capitalized word, which shows us it is talking about a person. The candlestick and the altar of incense are not capitalized—only the bread of the Presence. Do you see what that means? This is a direct reference to the presence of All Mighty God!
Another neat fact that comes out of Ex 25:30 is that the word for presence literally means Face or face the appearance of the presence of God. So that means that we are talking about the bread of the Face of God! When the priest came to the table to eat the bread, he was experiencing the presence of God. Now does that make you want to shout Hallelujah! Well, if not hold on and I hope by the end of the message you will be shouting with me.
The bread of the Presence of (bread of the Face) (Heb. lecḥem happānîm), was a continual offering required by the Lord (Exod. 25:30; Lev. 24:5–9) consisting of twelve loaves, each made of two-tenths ephah (4.4 liters. [4 qts.]) of fine flour, arranged in two rows or piles of six loaves each and placed on the holy table of pure gold “outside the veil” on the north side of the holy place in the tabernacle (Exod. 26:35). The bread was later called “Showbread” (Heb. leḥem hamma˓areḵeṯ) “bread of the arrangement [or ordering]”; 1 Chr. 9:32; 2 Chr. 13:11; 29:18; cf.LXX Grk. prosthéseis árto̱n; cf. Heb. 9:2, RSV mg. “the presentation of the loaves”); other names included “holy bread” (1 Sam. 21:4) and “bread of God” (Lev. 21:6, 8). The bread symbolized Israel’s recognition of God as the provider of daily bread, and the twelve loaves may have represented the twelve tribes (cf. Exod. 24:4; Lev. 24:5–9). A cup of frankincense (to which salt had been added; cf. Lev. 2:13) was placed on each row of loaves as a memorial, to be sacrificed when the loaves were changed. In order to maintain fresh loaves, the Kohathites (who also baked the bread using special forms and a special oven) brought new loaves each Sabbath (1 Chr. 9:32; cf. 23:29; 2 Chr. 13:11). The old loaves were given to the priests, who ate them in a holy place (Lev. 24:9; cf. 1 Sam, 21:4–7; Matt. 12:4 par. Mark 2:26; Luke 6:4). [i]
OK, all this is great for the Jews, but what in the world does it have to do with us and how does it fit into communion? Let’s look at the last supper of Jesus, where He gave us the pattern of communion
Luke 22: 19-20 (NIV) And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Jesus said that we are to eat of His body and drink of His blood. He was not talking literally of eating His body and drinking His blood, but symbolically. Yet, there is an important fact that we must not lose sight of in His words. By eating His flesh and drinking His blood he was saying you are taking My very Presence into you! Every time we celebrate communion, we are taking the bread of the Presence of our God.
Now if that did not make you shout, then remember this: In the Old Testament, ONLY the priests could partake of the bread of the Presence. If you were not a priest, you could not enter the Holy Place and you certainly could not eat of the bread of the Presence.
As a kingdom of priests (1 Peter 1:9 “a royal priesthood”) we are the ones today who are able to take of the bread of the Presence. Remember that the bread of the Presence was required in the Old Testament as a continual offering. Hallelujah, today we are invited to have God’s presence in our life every day!
Additionally, it is especially true that when we take communion we are to experience the presence of God. This makes communion much more than just eating a stale cracker and sipping some juice (which by the way there is never enough of to quench our thirst). It makes it a sacred celebration of the presence of God! When we come to the communion table we are acknowledging the very presence of Almighty God in our midst.
This is why Paul instructed us in 1 Cor 11:28 that we should examine ourselves before we eat of the bread and drink of the cup. When we are in the presence of God, we do not what to stand before Him with sin in our lives. To do so is to presume upon His grace by making the sacrifice of His dear Son of no value. For this kind of presumption Paul says many died (v.30).
As we take communion today, I want you to think about the fact that God is allowing you to share in the bread of the Presence. He is right here with us and wants us to be in His presence. He has given us access through Jesus Christ His Son to come into His very presence. In fact, He invites us into His presence!
Heb 4: 16 NIV Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence (boldness), so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
He has given us the very best gift, He possibly could give—He has given us His presence! Come to receive the bread of the Presence!
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a Ps 139:24; Matt 7:14
b Ps 21:6; 43:4
c Job 36:11; Ps 36:7, 8; 46:4
d 1 John 4:12f
e Is 28:29
f Deut 10:17; Neh 9:32; Is 10:21
g Is 63:16; 64:8
h Is 26:3, 12; 54:10; 66:12
a Ex 39:36; 40:23; Lev 24:5–9
1 Lit Face
2 Or continually
a Or tabernacle
b Gk the presentation of the loaves
Heb. Hebrew
l. liter(s)
cf. compare, see
LXX Septuagint
RSV Revised Standard Version
mg. margin
par. parallel
[i]Myers, A. C. (1987). The Eerdmans Bible dictionary. Rev., augm. translation of: Bijbelse encyclopedie. Rev. ed. 1975. (Page 172). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.