Partake of the Altar, or the Table?

[Mr. M]

1 Corinthians 9:13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things

live off the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?

By this we can discern the meaning of the expression “Priests and Levites”. Any qualified man

of the tribe of Levi could minister at the Lord’s Altar in Gifts and Sacrifices. Only sons of the line of Aaron,

further refined by Phineas, later Zadok could partake of the Lord’s Table in the Holy Place of the Temple.

The Table Of The Lord

Luke 22:29 And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me,

30  that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom…

The table of the Lord in the Sanctuary was the place where the Lord's bread was laid

before Him for the tribes of Israel.

Exodus 25:30 And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always in the Holy Place,

outside the veil where the lampstand and altar of incense were placed.

The place where the Lord's incense was offered was called an altar, only the place

of the show bread is called a table. All were anointed within the sanctuary.

Exodus 30:

25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded

according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.

26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;

27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense.

The place for breaking the bread of fellowship was at the Lord’s Table,

among the sons of Aaron in the Holy Place every Sabbath.

Leviticus 24:8 Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually,

being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place;

for it is most holy to him above the offerings of the Lord made by fire,

by a perpetual statute.

This is the meaning of the term 'purpose of heart'.

Acts 11:23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged

them all that with the purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

Breaking the bread of fellowship is the place where our hearts are laid out before Him,

and where we minister to one another in Spirit and Truth.

This must be holiness unto the Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons;

you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

Without a holy table of the Lord, the fellowship of love among the holy priests defiled their worship.

Malachi 1:12 But you have profaned it, in that you say,

The table of the Lord is polluted;

and the fruit thereof, even his bread, is contemptible.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Mr. M

[AdHoc]

5 hours ago, Mr. M said:

1 Corinthians 9:13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things

live off the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?

By this we can discern the meaning of the expression “Priests and Levites”. Any qualified man

of the tribe of Levi could minister at the Lord’s Altar in Gifts and Sacrifices. Only sons of the line of Aaron,

further refined by Phineas, later Zadok could partake of the Lord’s Table in the Holy Place of the Temple.

The Table Of The Lord

Luke 22:29 And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me,

30  that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom…

The table of the Lord in the Sanctuary was the place where the Lord's bread was laid

before Him for the tribes of Israel.

Exodus 25:30 And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always in the Holy Place,

outside the veil where the lampstand and altar of incense were placed.

The place where the Lord's incense was offered was called an altar, only the place

of the show bread is called a table. All were anointed within the sanctuary.

Exodus 30:

25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded

according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.

26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;

27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense.

The place for breaking the bread of fellowship was at the Lord’s Table,

among the sons of Aaron in the Holy Place every Sabbath.

Leviticus 24:8 Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually,

being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place;

for it is most holy to him above the offerings of the Lord made by fire,

by a perpetual statute.

This is the meaning of the term 'purpose of heart'.

Acts 11:23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged

them all that with the purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

Breaking the bread of fellowship is the place where our hearts are laid out before Him,

and where we minister to one another in Spirit and Truth.

This must be holiness unto the Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons;

you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

Without a holy table of the Lord, the fellowship of love among the holy priests defiled their worship.

Malachi 1:12 But you have profaned it, in that you say,

The table of the Lord is polluted;

and the fruit thereof, even his bread, is contemptible.

The change in the priesthood brought about a change of the law.

Hebrews 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe,

from which no man has officiated at the altar.

14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe

Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek,

there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law

of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 

The Saints not only minister to one other, but also to the Father's

special people at the table of the Lord.

Luke 14:

13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be

repaid at the resurrection of the just.

15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things,

he said to Him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!

Nice. I would like to add.

There are FIVE EATINGS for the Christian. To gain insight on them, we need the Old Testament. Well has the OP said that the eating was restricted for men under Law. There was MANNA outside the Camp. There were the Offerings at the Altar of blood and there was the "Shew.bread altar". The ordinary Israelite may eat of some of the offerings at the brass altar in the Outer Court. The priestly class may eat of nearly all the sacrifices and Aaron's kin could eat the shewbread. That is, the Israelite who ws ritually clean could eat these three IF HE WAS OF AARON'S KIN! This is THREE eatings. A FOURTH was compulsory for every Israelite - the Passover - to be eaten inside the house.

Israel lost the privileges of the firstborn and the priesthood. And Israel needed continual washings and sacrifices. But the Christian is immensely elevated in rank and privilege. ALL Christians are priests, and the curtain, or veil, between the shewbread altar and the Holy of Holies is torn completely. And while the man under Law must eat the Passover in memory of Egypt, the Christian may eat the Lord's supper - a much superior feats because it not only speaks of Messiah's death BUT HIS RETURN IN TRIUMPH. The Covenant of the Passover is a "perpetual" one, while the lord's table will end when He returns.

But as if this is a wonderful elevation of our eating what of the "hidden manna"? The daily manna was eaten among the daily good and the bad of life. But to get a portion of the hidden manna a man must enter the torn Veil and come into the presence of God. The Holy of Holies is a scary place. Everyone in the bible who came into contact with God thought he would die. The presence of such holiness causes Isaiah to groan "I am undone!". John, who lay on Jesus's breast must "fell as if dead" when He saw the glorified Christ. And the mighty heavens and earth must flee and be not fond at His face at the White Throne.

But Christ's work is effective in all costs of holiness. IN Christ you may be ushered into the presence of God and eat the memorial of the son of God incarnate being slain. Of this eating the Jew knows nothing. But mind you, it is only for the OVERCOMERS who receive this feast. Many are the Christians who will never eat of this manna.

Israel is the leading nation when in God's favor. Their leading men are "mighty men of valor". Song of Solomon allows their beauty and as a war machine they strike terror into the enemy. What a nation! But how superior is the lot of the weak Christian. At the end of 1st Corinthians 1 we are told that God has populated the Church with ignoble and base things. That is you and I brother ... sister. But oh what a rich portion of Christ we get! FIVE EATINGS from the Outer Court to the Hidden Manna - and in the presence of God! And when it is reduced to FOUR again, our BELOVED will be with us, not as a King like Israel, but as an intimate husband.

[Mr. M]

30 minutes ago, AdHoc said:

Aaron's kin could eat the shewbread.

I found this quite illuminating, in the realization that what the Lord expected of those who serve at the table,

to simply break bread together on the Sabbath! And yet they despised the week old bread? Rather than understand

this is the bread of His Presence, covered by the frankincense.

The Bread of the Tabernacle

Leviticus 24:

5 And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 

6 You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord.

 7 And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial,

an offering made by fire to the Lord. 

8 Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from

the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 

9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy

to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.

Malachi 1:

11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles;

and in every place incense (prayer) shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great

among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.

12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof,

even his meat (bread), is contemptible.

[Mr. M]

The change in the priesthood brought about a change of the law.

Hebrews 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe,

from which no man has officiated at the altar.

14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe

Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek,

there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law

of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 

The Saints not only minister to one other, but also to the Father's

special people at the table of the Lord.

Luke 14:

13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be

repaid at the resurrection of the just.

15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things,

he said to Him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!