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3/14 Reading Portions: Exodus 25; John 4; Proverbs 1; 2 Corinthians 13

Listen to the audio devotional above, and/or read the written devotional below.

SHEWBREAD

Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life (John 6:48). There is nothing a sinner can do or avoid to diminish this truth. This command for tabernacle worship is a necessary and important one to you and me. Once we’ve been saved, everything we think, say, and do is considered worship before a holy God (1 Cor 10:31); albeit, this may vary from day to day, depending upon the strength or weakness of our faith. The bread of Presence is a literal translation of the Hebrew. It’s translated “shewbread” in the KJV. The commandment is a reminder of the prophetic foreshadow of Jesus Christ and the necessity of His holy, righteous, and eternal presence before the heavenly Father. We do not stand before the presence of God by our own merit. The best of all and anything we do has enough corruptions in our mortal flesh that it requires every wit of Christ’s righteousness, every bit of Christ’s perfect sacrifice, and every drop of Christ’s precious spilt blood for us to even gain audience before a holy God. We must set Christ, the Bread of Presence, before the LORD God regularly (alway, KJV), or “perpetually,” as the Hebrew word תָמִיד (ta-MEEYD), may also be translated. When we worship God in Christ each week, by firmly recognizing Christ as our Mediator (1 Tim 2:5), our faith is strengthened and the heavenly Father is pleased (Heb 11:6). Jesus continues to represent us before the Father the whole week, just as the Shewbread is before YHVH God constantly. The priests are nourished by the bread each week (Lev 24:9) when they replace the bread every Sabbath (Lev 24:8). Likewise, we are nourished in our weekly gathering by Christ, the perpetual Bread of Presence, when we renew, by faith, His mediating position in our hearts and minds. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bread of Presence, Thou art holy,
You stand righteous in my place;
Therefore, I will trust Thee boldly,
And one day see Thee face to face.