"Showbread" is one of the words in the Bible that is really made of two words. The words in Hebrew are "paniym" and "lechem." "Lechem" simply means "bread." But the showbread was a special kind of bread. It was paniym bread. If we are to understand the showbread at all, we must understand the word paniym.
Paniym is the plural of panah. Panah is both a verb and a noun. It means something similar to the English word "face" which is also both a verb and a noun. For example, a person has a face, and he can face a different direction.
The word Paniym is plural and yet it is always used in a singular sense. It seems to be more of a verb than a noun. It has to do with "facing" something. When it's a noun it has to do with that part of the face that turns. The Hebrew thought seems to go something like this... If you were surprised by Someone of surpassing excellence, kindness, gentleness, love, faithfulness and beauty, you would turn your face towards that person and be transfixed, standing in awe, face to face, drinking in that love. And of course, that love would change you. You would always want to come back for more. That love would become the source of your life.
And so we come to the table of "showbread" or "bread of facing God." The priests were required to come and eat that bread in the presence of God, in the Holy Place, every Sabbath day (Saturday). So what exactly was it about that bread that would bring them face to face with God?
This bread was baked with wheat taken from every corner of Israel, thus signifying that the whole people of Israel were one people. Interestingly, they used wine to leaven the bread. (In those days the wine was not pasteurized. Thus the yeast used to make the wine would still be active.) Honey, salt, and olive oil were some of the other ingredients. It had to be a very good tasting bread. Before putting it in the ovens, they split the tops of the loaves with two slits, making the shape of a cross. After the bread was baked, it was placed on a table called "the table of the face bread." There were twelve loaves in all; one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Each loaf was sprinkled with granules of sweet smelling, red frankincense - representing the sweet smelling fragrance of walking in right relationship with each other, and with God. The twelve loaves were stacked up on two racks containing six loaves apiece. Finally, two cups of red wine (representing the blood of the covenant [see Exodus 24:8] ), were placed between the stacks of loaves.
The table was made from acacia wood completely overlaid with gold. Acacia wood is the longest lasting wood known on earth. The table of the face bread had a frame surrounding the top of the table, and another one around the legs about halfway down to the floor. These two frames looked like crowns so they were called "crowns." One crown was for Jesus as the Son of God, and the other for Jesus as the Son of Man. The table of the face bread represented Christ Himself. The acacia wood was symbolic of His humanity. Gold, in the Old Testament, was symbolic of Deity.
The symbolism of the "face bread" and the "table of the face bread" is hard to miss. Leavened with the new wine of God's grace saturating the wheat (the Body of Christ), seasoned with salt (eternal life), soaked with olive oil (the Holy Spirit), baked with honey (the sweetness of our fellowship in Christ), visibly marked with an empty cross (resurrection power), and sprinkled with sweet smelling frankincense (the fragrance of Christ). The loaves actually looked more like large sheet cakes, and were baked in pans made entirely of gold.
The finished loaves were placed upon the table of the face bread, symbolic of Christ and His finished work of redemption, which carries us into the presence of God. (We rest upon His completed work - of grace.)
But why was the bread called "face bread?" It is because grace brings us face to face with God. There we stand, stripped of all our pretenses, faced with His awesome, everlasting love. And in His face, what do we see? The greatest kindness, compassion, forgiveness, acceptance, and gentleness imaginable! We can have no attitudes there. We are left only with thankfulness and praise.
Don't forget those two cups of red wine that were placed between the stacks of loaves! Yes indeed! The bread and the wine represent communion! (But this is not the Lord's Supper. This just represents intimate fellowship with God and with one another. This is the communion within the communion, if you will.) Grace brings us into intimate fellowship with God!
Remember also that this "bread of the face" was always eaten in the Holy Place, where the only light was from the menorah, and the room was filled with a sweet smelling fragrance from the golden altar of incense, and that, in this Holy Place, God would commune with the priests. At times, angels would come. It was a candle light dinner if you will. The equivalent of a romantic evening with God.
The miracle of the showbread was that it was always still fresh and hot every Saturday, even though it had been baked a week earlier. It is said that the golden pans for baking the showbread also stayed warm all week long, and that pilgrims coming to the temple could touch them.
Remember that all of the temple sacrifices and rituals were a type and a foreshadowing of Christ. So we must understand that Christ is the fulfillment of the showbread. He is the Bread of Life. We eat and are satisfied.
Is it possible for us living today to have a romantic candle light dinner with God? We can if we want to. Jesus invites us to come and dine.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face (paniym) shine upon you;
And be gracious to you:
The LORD lift up his countenance (paniym) upon you,
And give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26 (parenthesis mine)next lesson: Showbread
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