“And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD” (Lev. 24:5-6). We know that this table is the showbread table. This part of the Word tells us that on the table there were twelve cakes in two rows and that every cake was of two tenth deals.
“And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they (the priests) shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it” (Exo. 25:37). On the showbread table there were twelve cakes, and on the lampstand there were seven lamps.
These two numbers, seven and twelve, are the main numbers in the book of Revelation. In that book there are the seven churches, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven bowls, etc. And eventually there is the number twelve in the New Jerusalem: twelve gates, twelve layers of foundation, twelve names of the tribes of Israel on the twelve gates, and twelve names of the Apostles on the twelve layers of foundation. The fruit of the tree of life is also twelve in number. In Revelation, there is first the number seven, and then the number twelve. Later on we will see the meaning of these two numbers in God’s economy.
Now we must read Exodus 28:9-10: “And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.” These two pieces of onyx stone were put on the two shoulderpieces of the ephod of the high priest.
“And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones...” (Exo. 28:15, 17). There are two rows of the showbread, but here there are four rows of stones, each row with three precious stones.
“They shall be set in gold in their inclosings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes” (Exo. 28:20-21).
“And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually” (Exo. 28:29-30). In addition to the four rows of twelve pieces of precious stones, two other things are put on the breastplate: the Urim and the Thummim.
We must also turn to Numbers 27:21: “And he (Joshua) shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he (Joshua), and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” Joshua and all the people had to go out and come in according to the judgment they received through the high priest with the breastplate of Urim.
In this last chapter we must come to the central and ultimate point of the priesthood, the breastplate. We have seen in past chapters that this breastplate is made of two kinds of materials: gold and twelve pieces of precious stones. Gold is the setting to hold the different pieces of precious stones, and the precious stones are used as the materials to build up the breastplate.
This is in figure and in principle very much like the building of the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is a city of gold. This is the setting. Then, upon the gold, many pieces of precious stones are built up to be the city. The twelve layers of the foundation are twelve pieces of precious stones, and upon the foundation the wall is built with jasper. So the whole city is a building of precious stones set in the golden setting. In principle, the building of the New Jerusalem is exactly the same as that of the breastplate.
In previous chapters we have seen that the breastplate is a type of the proper building up of the church. This comes from the expression of Christ which issues out of the enjoyment of Christ. As we have seen, the priests must experience all kinds of offerings as their food and enjoyment, and these offerings are all the different aspects of Christ’s riches. So we must feed on the riches of Christ as our enjoyment, and issuing out of this we will have the expression which is typified by the clothing of the priests. After the priests enjoyed Christ within, they expressed Christ without. It is in this expression of Christ that there is such a building. Thus, the breastplate is the product of the enjoyment of Christ, resulting in the expression of Christ. This is the central and ultimate point of the priesthood.