Jesus was a man of purpose and many of the acts and symbols in the Old Testament express some truth concerning His life and ministry. We have been looking at the showbread or bread of the presence the last few studies. Since Jesus said He was the bread of life, we are looking to see what we can learn about the bread and Jesus, and how we can apply what we learn to our own search for and expression of purpose. Let's continue our study this week.
6. Set them on the table of gold before the Lord. The table of gold was a wood table covered in pure gold. Without a lot of explanation, this table was a type of Jesus. He was a man (wood) and God (gold). Your purpose rests on the foundation of Jesus, who was a man of purpose. We define ourselves in the context of Jesus, who did the perfect will of God and now assigns purpose to each one of His followers.
7. Put some incense along each row as a memorial. When you function in your purpose, you are a pleasing aroma, a fragrant sacrifice to the Lord. When you try to be something you’re not, you can only do that in the strength of your flesh. Flesh doesn’t smell so good in God’s nostrils, but His incense is pleasant. It's interesting that the wise men brought frankincense to the baby Jesus as a gift, representative of the Father's pleasure in His Son's mission.
8. The incense was an offering to the Lord by fire. When you function in your purpose, there is a fire about you that burns but doesn’t consume you. You are like a burning bush and what you do, you do for God. It rises before God as a fragrant sacrifice. What's more, your fire in "contagious" and inspires others to also burn for the Lord in their purpose.
9. The bread was set out Sabbath after Sabbath. Isn’t it interesting that the bread of the presence was changed every Sabbath? When you function in your purpose, there's rest for you. You stop striving in your own strength and operate in the divine energy that comes when you function in your purpose. Rest isn’t always a cessation of activity, but activity that actually rejuvenates you as you engage in it. Jesus often functioned in His purpose without food or rest and was still effective, not because He was divine but because He was a man of purpose.
Do you feel fresh and rejuvenated in your purpose, or are you stale and in need of a purpose revival? Is it time to move on from where you are comfortable into some new expression of creative purpose that will spark a fire of energy? Do you see your value (the gold of your purpose) as you carry out your heavenly assignment?
Comments