“There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place” (Hebrews 9:2 NLT).
An Old Testament priest was the only person who could lawfully eat the sacred loaves of bread mentioned here in Hebrews 9:2. Yet, Israel’s king David once ate such bread when nothing else was available, according to 1 Samuel 21:1-6. Many generations later, Jesus referenced that incident to illustrate an important spiritual principle.
Even though David breached the letter of the Old Testament Law in eating this bread, God did not condemn him for doing so. This tells us that human need represents a legitimate consideration whenever we are engaged in the spiritual decision- making process. In cases where genuine human need exists, David’s example indicates that God has allowed for that need to take precedence over traditional or ceremonial observances.
However, this does not mean that human need outweighs God’s Law in every instance. If that were the case, then we might escape any responsibility to obey God’s Word simply by characterizing something we want as “a need.” Instead, we can find a better guiding principle in the words of Hosea 6:6: “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings” (NIV).
Since Jesus’ disciples had been accused of violating the law against working on the Sabbath, Jesus used David’s example to provide a correct understanding of the Sabbath’s function: “People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people” (Mark 2:27 CEV). In other words, the Sabbath was created for the benefit of humanity and not the other way around. Unfortunately, the religious establishment of Jesus’ day had turned that beneficial directive into a burden through their erroneous interpretation.
In light of this, it’s important to remember a primary theme that runs through the Biblical book of Hebrews: Jesus’ dominion over all. Thus, it should not be surprising to find that Jesus exercised His prerogative to define appropriate conduct on the Sabbath. As He Himself said, “Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28). In this, and other judgment calls of life, all interpretations are ultimately subordinate to His.
One source completes our look at the Showbread from Hebrews 9:2 with the following insight…
“The Old Testament showbread placed on the table in the tabernacle provides a wonderful picture of Jesus, the Bread of Life. Jesus is holy before God, He provides true sustenance, and He is always present. ‘Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry’” (John 6:35). (1)
(1) GotQuestions.org, What was the bread of the Presence (Exodus 25:30)? Retrieved 08 August, 2022 from https://www.gotquestions.org/bread-of-the-presence.html