Leviticus 24:2-9 Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.… 1. Here remark, (1) Bread is the staple of life. The manna is called "bread from heaven." In the present case the bread is made of fine flour, ground between the millstones. (2) It is most likely unleavened, though the book nowhere affirms this expressly. The Passover bread, and most, if not all else offered unto the Lord, was unleavened (Leviticus 2:5-11; Leviticus 6:14-17). (3) It remained on the table from one Sabbath until the next; even on their journeys it was not omitted (see Numbers 4:7). Therefore is it called shewbread-bread of faces — bread continually before faces of the Lord. This renders it the more likely to be unleavened; for in that climate where the manna remaining overnight spoiled, leavened bread a week old would be sour. (4) The frankincense was probably placed in some of the dishes provided, and was removed and burnt in the censers or on the incense altar on the Sabbath. 2. Let us inquire into the typical meaning of the table, its furniture, and its contents. In general it exhibits Messiah as the Bread of God, that comes down from heaven and sustains the life of the Church (John 6:35-39). But particularly, (1) The wood and the gold, as throughout, symbolise the human and the Divine natures in the person of Christ. (2) The sufferings of the Saviour may be alluded to in the grinding of the flour and the action of the fire in baking. (3) The twelve cakes or loaves are the twelve tribes of Israel, for each and all of whom bread was provided. (4) The frankincense, when offered, expresses prayers and thanksgivings of the Church. (5) The continual presence of the bread is a guarantee that spiritual food shall never fail, but a store is perpetually on hand. (6) The exchange of the bread and the priests eating it in the Holy Place on the Sabbath sets forth clearly and forcibly that abundant provision of spiritual food and nourishment which the Lord's day always brings with it to the people of His love. (7) Its exclusive appropriation to the priests intimates the limited privileges of the people, and prepares for the contrast of a later day, when they become elevated as kings and priests unto God. (8) The unleavened bread indicates the absence of any process of decay. Leaven is the first step towards dissolution, and its prohibition assuredly intimates the absence of all tendency to corruption in the Redeemer, who, even in a physical sense, saw no corruption. Does not this teach that in the sacramental supper we ought not to use leavened bread, bread in the first stage toward utter putrefaction? Moreover, the other idea, suggested by the unleavened bread of the Passover as an indication of being hastily driven out on a pilgrimage journey, is still applicable: we are travelling through a strange land toward the heavenly Canaan. (George Junkin, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. |
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