Exodus 37:10, commentary and pictures

The verse records the making of the table of acacia wood for the first apartment of the sanctuary, two cubits long by one cubit wide by one and a half cubits high, overlaid with pure gold and standing on the north side of the holy place. It was made exactly according to the pattern and directions God gave to Moses on the mount, by workmen He specially endowed for the work, as part of the building and fitting of the Tabernacle that was set up with great beauty and accepted with the manifestation of His glory. Upon it the showbread was kept continually before the Lord, twelve loaves for the twelve tribes of Israel, renewed each Sabbath. Like the rest of the earthly tabernacle it served as a pattern and object lesson of the heavenly sanctuary and Christ's priestly work, and in particular the table with its bread pointed to the coming Messiah as the living Bread from heaven on whom people feed by faith. With the death of Christ and the rending of the veil its typical and shadowy service passed away entirely and forever.

Construction and Setting

Exodus 37:10 belongs to the account in Exodus 36-40 of preparing, building, and fitting the Tabernacle and its furniture. It was a structure of extraordinary magnificence and beauty. The Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the second year after the Exodus. Its completion and inauguration were marked by the manifestation of God's glory, which showed that He accepted the people's repentance.

The sanctuary was made exactly according to the pattern and the explicit directions that God showed and gave to Moses on the mount. The work was carried out by workmen whom He specially endowed for it. The verse records the making of the table according to the Lord's directions as one detail and one piece of that commanded work.

The verse records the making of the table of shittim wood, that is acacia wood. It is also called the table of showbread or presence bread. It measured two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. In its fuller description it was overlaid with pure gold. The table belonged to the holy place, the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary. There it stood on the north side.

Showbread was kept on the table continually before the Lord. There were twelve loaves, one for each tribe of Israel, renewed each Sabbath. The wilderness tabernacle was the building where Israel's worship centered, in relation to the holy of holies where the law of God rested beneath the mercy seat; beyond that setting the verse gives no further explanation of the table. It was the dwelling-place of God among Israel, made from willing and free-will offerings of gold, silver, brass, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats' hair, rams' skins dyed red, badgers' skins, shittim wood, oil for light, spices for anointing oil and incense, and onyx and setting stones, that He might dwell among them. That dwelling continued in the wilderness and in the time of the judges, Samuel, Saul, and David, until Solomon built the temple after the same pattern, which from its dedication when the glory of the Lord filled it was the dwelling-place of the Lord among Israel.

Typology and Teaching

The verse belongs to the laws given through Moses, which comprise far more than the Ten Commandments, including statutes and judgments, civil and health regulations, rules for conduct, and ceremonial laws. The laws of sacrifice and sanctuary furnishings furnish types by which the substance of the new dispensation is traced from the shadows of the old, as summarized for the worldly sanctuary in Hebrews 9:1-5. God commanded that sanctuary after redeeming Israel from Egyptian bondage, because their long slavery had unfitted them to comprehend His great salvation and the character He required. He therefore gave a great, multiple object-lesson by various forms and rites comprehending the great plan of salvation.

The holy place of the earthly sanctuary, to which the table belonged, served as a pattern and object lesson of the heavenly sanctuary and Christ's priestly work. Like the rest of the earthly tabernacle, it answered every purpose for which it was constructed, yet it was always typical of and foreshadowed the better temple, the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, serving unto the shadow of heavenly things. Like all the rites and ceremonies, the table was an object lesson pointing to the coming Messiah, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, and His power to forgive sin, transform the character, and deliver from burdens. In particular, the bread held upon it represented Christ, the living Bread from heaven, on whom people feed by faith.

With the death of Christ and the rending of the veil, its typical and shadowy service passed away entirely and forever. The account of the sanctuary, including the making of the table from shittim wood two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high, prompts reflection on how the soul is adorned for God's indwelling.