2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Today, we continue our tour of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness with the hindsight of new covenant understanding given us by our Abba. In looking back into these precious verses from the Torah which describe the furniture in the Tabernacle, we are being allowed to see how it foreshadows crucial truths that apply to us as God’s partners in the Covenant of Grace. Yesterday we looked at the brazen altar and the laver in the outer courtyard, as well as the Table of Showbread inside the Holy Place where only the priests can go. Today, we continue examining the furniture in the Holy Place. The Table of Showbread was to the right as one entered the Holy Place. On the left resided the Seven-Branched Lampstand. This was made of pure gold with hammered gold at its base and on its shaft, according to EX 37: 17-24. Six branches extended from its sides, three from each side. Each of the six branches had three decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. The shaft of the lampstand had four decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. It had seven lamps with tongs and trays of pure gold. These lamps were fueled with olive oil. The lampstand and all its equipment were made from 75 pounds of gold. We must remember that olive oil is repeatedly used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures. The concept that light emanates from the Lord is certainly suggested here.
One of my favorite citations in all the Scriptures which I never tire of repeating or thinking about is PS 119: 105, “You are a lamp unto my feet, a light for my path.” What a great through Abba’s light piercing the darkness of lies and evil is! Another great thought from the Bible is that expressed in MT 5: 14-16, “You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead, he puts it on the lampstand, where it give light for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” In the first case, the reference is to God’s light giving us a way out of evil. In the second case, it is God’s light reflected through a believer so that His glory is revealed and people are brought out of darkness by the believer’s example of faithfulness. While JN 1: 4 directly deals with light, the new covenant message foreshadowed by that ancient lampstand in the Tabernacle is best appreciated if I cite JN 1: 1-4. “Before the world was created, the Word already existed; He was with God, and he was the same as God. From the very beginning, the Word was with God. Through Him God made all things; not one thing in the all creations was made without Him. The Word was the Source of light.”
I would hardly be appropriate for me to leave the subject of the lampstand without citing what it represents in the revelation seen by the apostle John while imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos in the late 90’s AD. REV 1: 12, 20, “I turned around to see Who was talking to me, and I saw seven gold lampstands…Here is the secret meaning of the seven stars that you see in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands: the seven stars are the angels (messengers) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. This is so important, because what John was seeing was a vision of Christ, and those seven churches were not only real churches that existed in Asia Minor, but examples of seven church profiles that exist today. Zechariah also had a vision of the lampstand in ZECH 4: 1-14, which I hope you will read, which really helps us to see the symbol of the olive oil as the Holy Spirit, God’s message to this prophet that the two trees in this vision represent Joshua son of Josedech [not to be confused with Joshua son of Nun] who was the high priest and Zerubbabel, then governor of Israel, and the lampstand which represents Israel itself. God intended for Israel to reflect His light.
In looking at the next piece of furniture, the Altar of Incense, there is some disagreement between the OT and NT as to its position. That would lead me to believe that it was movable, depending on the occasion it was being used. EX 40: 26-27 says that it was put in front of the inner veil in the Holy Place. HE 9: 3-4 has it within the Holy of Holies behind the inner veil. EX 37: 25-29 describes it as being made out of acacia wood, for burning incense. It was 18 inches long by 18 inches wide by 36 inches high. It’s projections from its four corners form one piece with it. The top, four sides, and projections were covered with pure gold. It had two gold carrying rings to hold poles for use in moving it. This portability would lend credence to my idea above that it was placed either inside or outside the Holy of Holies, depending on the occasion it was to be used. EX 30: 34-38 even instructs the priests how to make the incense, a special mixture containing sweet spices-stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense mixed like sweet perfume. No one was to use this formula for any purpose except for a holy purpose dedicated to God. The fragrance from this burning incense would waft across the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant carrying with it the prayers of the people. This Altar of Incense is a foreshadowed reminder that Christ is our High Priest in heaven who takes our prayers to the Father forever, as we are told in HE 7: 25. We should meditate on how these wonderful new covenant reminders impact our everyday lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, You bring such wonderful light into our lives. Our life on earth has changed from being slavery to sin and sure death to one of the refiner’s fire of sanctification and the hope of eternal life with You the moment we came to faith in Christ. When we empty our spiritual vessels and allow the Holy Spirit to pour in and take over our lives, You equip us to reflect Your light on a cruel and darkened world. You have not left us to the challenge of spiritual warfare alone. Instead, You stand beside us to give us strength, You guide us to make wise choices, and You encourage us to stay the course knowing we are designed for victory if we will obey You. The picture of the lampstand in the Tabernacle in our minds is a reminder of Your light in our lives, light that You want us to spread to others. Amidst the judgments of Revelation, John tells us the function of the incense in REV 8: 3-4 in this prophesy of the future. “Another angels, who had a gold incense container, came and stood at the altar. He was given a lot of the incense to add to the prayers of all God’s people and to offer it on the gold altar that stands before the throne. The smoke of the burning incense went up with the prayers of God’s people from the hands of the angels standing before God.” We are reminded by the picture of the Altar of Incense in the Tabernacle of that and of our Advocate and Intercessor Who serves in heaven to carry our prayers and plead before God for us. He is Your same Son Who died on the cross for us in the first place. He now serves this way forever, helping to bring us closer to eternal life with You. None of this would be possible without the love You have for each of us. Today, we come before Your throne in humility to offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, honor, glory, praise, and adoration. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen
While I’ve already written about the items in the Holy of Holies, the Lord directs me to say more about them in tomorrow’s message. His presence in our lives is what makes being a believer truly worth the challenges to our faith that come our way. How comforting it is to know that the pain we feel as a part of the sanctification process is so much less than the pain we would have with spiritual death. At the end of sanctification, we will be perfected-ready for that meeting in the air and on to eternal life. At the end of sinful disobedience and lack of reverence for God comes eternal agony with no way out. Our loving Abba does everything in His power to lead us to the first choice, and we come out of the refiner’s fire strengthened and purified from it. That is one more example of the love He has for us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn