Leviticus 24:1-9

D. The preparation of the holy lamps and showbread 24:1-9

The connection of these instructions with what precedes is this. The Israelites were not only to offer themselves to Yahweh on special days of the year, but they were to worship and serve Him every day of the year. The daily refueling and burning of the lamps and the uninterrupted presentation of the showbread to Yahweh represented the daily sanctification of the people to their God. [Note: For other explanations of the placement of chapter 24 in Leviticus, see John R. Master, "The Place of Chapter 24 in the Structure of the Book of Leviticus," Bibliotheca Sacra 159:636 (October-December 2002):415-24.]

The Israelites donated the oil for the lamps (Leviticus 24:1-4). It symbolized them ". . . as a congregation which caused its light to shine in the darkness of this world . . ." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 2:451.] These lamps burned through the night, and the priests refilled them daily (cf. 1 Samuel 3:3; 2 Kings 25:30). In this offering Israel offered its life to God daily for consumption in His service of bringing light to the nations (cf. Zechariah 4; Isaiah 42:6).

The flour for the twelve loaves of showbread, one for each of the tribes of Israel, was likewise a gift of the people that represented their sanctification to God (Leviticus 24:5-9). The flour represented the fruit of the Israelites’ labors, their good works. It lay before God’s presence continually in the holy place. The addition of incense to the bread (Leviticus 24:7) represented the spirit of prayer (dependence) that accompanied the Israelites’ sacrifice of work. The priests placed fresh loaves on the table of showbread each Sabbath day. Josephus wrote that there were two piles of six loaves each. [Note: Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 3:6:6. See also Bill Mitchell, "Leviticus 24:6: The bread of the Presence-rows or piles?" The Bible Translator 33:4 (October 1982):447-48; and Schultz, p. 116.]

"The devoted service (i.e., faithfully and rightly bringing offerings) of God’s people (i.e., people with their offerings, leaders with their actions) ensures that the way to God is illuminated and that provisions from him will continue." [Note: Ross, p. 442.]