The table of shewbread stood to the north side of the holy place.  It was made of acacia wood, and was overlaid with pure gold.  It was three feet long, one and one-half feet wide, and two and one-fourth feet high.  It had a golden crown or moulding all around the outer edge to keep the twelve loaves of bread safely upon the table and to prevent them from falling on the ground and becoming defiled.  There were four golden rings, two on each side of the table, through which were passed two bars or handles made of wood and plated with gold.  With these bars the table was carried from place to place by the priests whenever they were on the move.

The table in the tabernacle points to Jesus just like all the tabernacle.  Both the table and the bread on the table represent Him.  There were twelve loaves of bread placed on the table, six each in two separate rows.  The bread was flavored with frankincense.  This was the food of the priest.  They worshiped and fellowshiped daily at this table, on the basis of the blood of the sacrificial animal slain on the altar.  The bread also speaks of the Lord Jesus, the living Bread who came down from heaven.  Jesus Himself said in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

He repeats it again in John 6:48 and 51, "I am the bread of life."  "I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever."

The table in the tabernacle, therefore, represents Jesus, our Sustainer, and the bread on the table was symbolic of His own body.  The table was the center of fellowship for the priests, the bread was the living Word, as revealed in the written Word.  The lesson for us here is that we are New Testament priests, ministering unto the Lord.  We have come by way of the bloody altar, have been sanctified by the laver of the Word, and now we are to seek fellowship for worship with other saints in the holy place, which may represent the assembling together of the saints.

The believer cannot be independent and work alone; he needs the blessing of assembling with other believers.  Jesus said "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). There is not a single individual believer who has so far advanced in the things of God that he can get along without the fellowship and the blessing of saints gathering around the table of the Lord.

The basis and center of this fellowship was the table of shewbread around which the priests gathered daily.  They were to feed on Him as the Bread of Life, flavored with the frankincense of the Holy Spirit.  The sustaining food of the believer is the Word of God, both the living Word, and the written Word, the Bible and the Holy Spirit, represented by the bread, the Word, and the frankincense, the Holy Spirit.

The bread on the table with the frankincense was the only thing placed on the table as the food of the priests.  This is all that is necessary for health and for life.  There were no sauces and spices and pickles and olives and fancy salads or pie alamode; just bread.