Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Table of Shewbread*

My little sister had this book; it was her favourite.

Long before she went to school she could reel it off, we thought she could read, she just knew it off by heart: “Come over to my house” [read].

It’s easy for kids – they want to be friends they invite you over to their house to play.

We adults are far more reserved and careful.

If we want to know someone we might ask them over for a cup of tea.

If we really were keen on spending time with them we might over them over for a meal – share a meal.

What the NT calls “reclining at table”.

That’s what we are going to look at today – the table.

The table is the place of fellowship.

We use the term fellowship when we have a social time but fellowship is more than having an interest in common, being friends or doing things together.

Fellowship takes place when we meet with the LORD together.

We have been looking at the tabernacle, getting closer to where יְהוָה is: first we approached the tabernacle where יְהוָה’s presence dwells *[P]*; came to the court of righteousness, through the door that is Jesus, to the bronze altar which is His sacrifice for sin *[P]*; then we came to the laver where we as priests were cleansed by the washing of the water of the word *[P]*; then we came to the tabernacle itself *[P] *which is Jesus – last time we looked at getting to know Him deeper.

Now we actually are going to enter in to the tabernacle *[P]*.

To the Holy place – we are “in Christ” – right in the place that He dwells what do we find?

The table *[P]* – the place of fellowship.

*Table – fellowship:* [*Exodus 25:23-30* /“You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long and one cubit wide and one and a half cubits high.

“You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold border around it.

“You shall make for it a rim of a handbreadth around it; and you shall make a gold border for the rim around it.

“You shall make four gold rings for it and put rings on the four corners which are on its four feet.

“The rings shall be close to the rim as holders for the poles to carry the table.

“You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that with them the table may be carried.

“You shall make its dishes and its pans and its jars and its bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.

“You shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times/] *[P]* So, what does the concept of table signify?

*1~/* Do you remember David?

– he wanted to show his friendship for Jonathon after he had died [*2 Samuel 9:1** ff* /Then David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”/]

He was told there was a son of Jonathon named Mephibosheth./

/[/David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.”/]

– *[P]*  being at the king’s table was extending friendship, kindness, *2~/* Also in the time of David: remember he had to flee in a hurry from his son Absalom; there was a man called Barzillai who provided him and his men with food at this desperate time.

David remembered his goodness when he returned to Jerusalem.

He gave instructions to his son, Solomon: [*1 Kings 2:7* /“But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother/.]

*[P]* – to eat at the king’s table was extending an honour.

*3~/* In [*Psalm 78:19* /They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness/?]

– *[P]* preparing a table is speaking of provision, giving food, sustenance.

*4~/* But the key idea of the table is that of fellowship [*Matthew 8:11*“/I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven/;] *[P]* fellowship, being together and being included with them.

[*Matthew 26:20* /Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples./]

Communion is a time of fellowship, being together with our Lord, the Lord’s supper was a time around the table.

[*1 Corinthians 10:21* /You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons/].

You fellowship with those you share at the table with, are joined with them – you can’t be in fellowship with both.

The LORD of glory desires fellowship with His redeemed ones!

Amazing!

Hallelujah! Again referring to the Lord’s supper [*Luke 22:14* /When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.

And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;/] – it was something Jesus longed to do.

[*Revelation 3:20* /‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me/.]

An appeal to be there with God, with Jesus; sharing a meal together – in closeness, friendship, fellowship.

It is an invitation given to a church, to believers.

The Lord wants to share a meal with us – be with His people, fellowship around the table together.

[*Psalm 23:5-6* /You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and loving-kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of יְהוָה forever/.]

It is a picture of wonderful closeness with God.

So let’s look at this table.

Would anybody like to suggest what the table represents?

Enter tabernacle – you meet Jesus!

Our fellowship is with God and with Jesus [*1 John 1:3** */what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ/.]

The table was made of wood *[P]* – the humanity of Jesus *[P]*.

Covered with gold *[P]* – His glory!

His Divinity – He is God!

It speaks of the LORD’s table around which the saints gather – communion – communing in fellowship with God.

That is the place of fellowship.

That is where the early church met with God [*Acts 2:42* /They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer/.]

Fellowship is associated with breaking of bread, communion.

Breaking of bread – there we meet with Jesus, there He is revealed to us [*Luke 24:30-35* /When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; …..

They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” /they went back to the disciples in Jerusalem and:/ began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread/.]

We have fellowship with both aspects of Christ’s life, the wood and the gold: *1~/* the wood of His human life and sojourning among men, a life of humiliation and suffering – we share this [*Philippians 3:10* /that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death/].

*2~/ *Identification with His death means we share in His glory [*Romans 8:17*/ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him/.]

We have been called into fellowship with Jesus: [*1 Corinthians 1:8-9* /God is/ /faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord/.]

So the table speaks of fellowship – κοινωνια, having things in common.

What do we have in common?

John loves surfing; I’ve never even tried it.

John likes motor-bikes, I’ve never ridden one – our scooter doesn’t qualify!

John likes tennis, I hate sport.

He works in a cable factory; I look down a microscope and count cells.

What have we in common?

How can there be fellowship?

What do we have in common?

*Jesus!*

That is why there is fellowship.

Jesus is who we have in common.

I have been in church for a few years now and in that time I have seen a few troubles – where there are people there are problems!

Almost universally those difficulties arose because the attention was on man, our attention was no longer on Jesus.

When Jesus alone is the focus of each one I have never seen division and strife.

Jesus, the Word made flesh, is what makes us one.

But this table was not just an ordinary table, it had some peculiarities: it had a rim, two borders, rings and poles.

But before we look at these lets look at what was on the table:

*Bread:* If you say “come over to my house”, it’s not your table that gets my attention – I’m more interested in what you’ve got on it!

It is not the table that feeds but the bread that is on it *[P]*.

[*Leviticus 24:5-9* /Then you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake.

“You shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table before יְהוָה.

“You shall put pure frankincense on each row that it may be a memorial portion for the bread, even an offering by fire to יְהוָה.

“Every sabbath day he shall set it in order before יְהוָה continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the sons of Israel/ (bread of the covenant – like communion)/.

“It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from יְהוָה’s  offerings by fire, his portion forever.”/]

Bread was the staple of the diet – bread is what nourishes, what satisfies, what sustains, what maintains our basic life.

I was brought up being taught that bread was God’s Word – you feed on God’s Word.

I just accepted it, there were even Bible reading notes called “Daily Bread” – but symbolism doesn’t sit comfortably in my rational psyche.

If the Bible says that what it is, fine – but where does the Bible say that bread is Scripture?

I do know that the Bible says: [*1 Corinthians 11:23-24** */For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me./”] – bread of remembrance.

Jesus equated bread with His body, His flesh.

Bread pictures the body of Christ.

Jesus Himself said: [*John 6:27-35* /“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”