FINDING CHRIST IN THE TABERNACLE, PART SIX.

Finding Christ in the Tabernacle, Part 6.

“For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” John 1:17.
The Lampstand (Exodus 25:31)

On the right (north side) is the Table of Showbread, now look to your left (south side) as you enter the Holy Place and you will see this beautiful Lampstand, the Menorah, with SEVEN oil flames illuminating the room. It is described in minute detail, the most striking detail perhaps being that it is made of one solid piece of gold. By today’s standards it would be worth more than 754,800 pounds (3/4 of a million pounds). Based on 1oz=£478, 1lb=£7,648, 100lbs=£754,800. In Hebrew it is known as the 'menorah' and has developed into one of the most commonly used symbols of Judaism.

The menorah within the holy place of the ancient tabernacle was a work of extraordinary beauty and consisted of three main parts: the base, the shaft and the branches. Out of the base a vertical shaft arose and from either side of the shaft there sprang three branches curving outward and upward.

Each of the six branches and the centre shaft ended in a cup made in the form of an open almond flower. At the very top the opened petals of the flower held an oil lamp. The branches and the central shaft were skilfully decorated with that same open-almond blossom design with three on each branch and four on the centre shaft.

The Lampstand was made of solid, pure gold; it was beaten out of one talent of pure gold, weighing about 43 kg. (Over 100 lbs.), and with the hammer alone, bit by bit, the whole wonderful masterpiece was fashioned. First the central stem was beaten out. Then from the central stem the six branches were beaten out.

What a glorious mystery this is! Exodus does not give us either the dimensions of the Lampstand, Jewish tradition assigns it a height of about five feet and width of about three and a half feet, but we do know it had branches and that the bowls were to be formed like almonds in blossom.

As the hammer in the wise and able hand of master maker patiently formed the golden masterpiece, so the Holy Spirit of God is now forming us by His faultless working: the Church of Christ, which is formed out of Him, as well as for Him, grafted into the vine!
The Lampstand was therefore like a tree of gold. “In Him was life and the life was the light of men” John 1:4.

The Lampstand was lit permanently, to give light inside the Holy Place. “The true light which enlightens every man was coming into the world” John 1:9.
Jesus said “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” John 8:12. Therefore, the Lampstand points us to Jesus Christ Himself, the light of the whole world. We not only need to see His light, we need to walk in His light (I John 1:5-7; Ephesians 1:18; 5:5-8).

The bowls in the decorations of the candlestick everywhere were made after the fashion of almonds, with a bud and a flower, the three repeated again and again. The bud, the flower, and the almond suggest life, beauty, and blessing. The arrangement was a bud of the almond, then a flower of the almond, and then the almond itself, the fruit.

Aaron’s rod in the tabernacle budded and bore almonds (Numbers 17:8), which was God’s own evidence of his priesthood. The almond, being the first tree to bud in the spring, is a type of resurrection. The candlestick thus bore the evidences of resurrection, and also of the priesthood of our Lord.
The purpose is to illuminate the Holy Place. There are no windows and no natural light. Each morning and evening the priest would enter and would trim away the burnt part of the wick and adjust it. This is the place of the glory of God, and this light was like a supernatural source, not a natural one.

It is probably the most perfect picture of Jesus of all the tabernacle furnishings. For God is light.
A. GOD IS PHYSICAL LIGHT.
He was that pillar of fire that led them by night. And in heaven there is no need for artificial light. Jesus is the light of heaven.
B. GOD IS INTELLECTUAL LIGHT.
Any knowledge man gains are only because God has allowed ‘the light to come on’. Technology today has exploded and man is so proud of himself, but God is that light.
C. GOD IS MORAL LIGHT.
People live and walk in moral darkness.
John 1:5 “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
The priests in the Tabernacle were responsible, evening and morning, of trimmed the wicks of the lamps in the Lampstand and re-filled the bowls with oil so that the light burned brightly again.

Compare Revelation 1:12-13 “Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.”

The oil that was used was a slower process than the crushing of the olive berries. With a rod, the workman struck the olives one by one, to extract what was best of the oil. First the Lampstand was beaten, now the oil berries were beaten. This speaks of the beatings that Christ bore on Calvary. This is not a candle that could go out, but an everlasting LAMPSTAND.

The oil is the Holy Spirit of God. What is the fuel that keeps this church afire? The Holy Spirit! What is the fuel that will ignite you a burning beacon for God? The Holy Spirit! Our divine power source. Not by might, programs, or man made devices, but by God’s Holy Spirit things are accomplished.

The Lampstand has seven lamps (seven is the number of completion and perfection). Therefore, the Lampstand is composed of multiple lamps (people) having similar experiences: like the local church.
By the time of the apostle John, in the book of Revelation, there are seven churches in Asia (Revelation chapters 1 to 3) that are still the objects of Christ's care and attention. There is one church in each of seven cities (1:20) and it is still God's work: the Son of Man, Jesus, is walking in the midst of the seven churches, which are seven golden lampstands.

Eventually, at the end of the book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem will be one vast golden Lampstand, not requiring any more trimming. There will be no darkness to combat any more, just the flowing of the river of water of life, with the tree of life, from the throne of God and the Lamb (22:1-2).

There where THREE kinds of light within the Tabernacle.
1. Natural light. Sunlight, natural, outward. A light of knowledge that comes from human study and understanding.
2. Inner light. The light of the Golden Lampstand. The light of knowledge that comes by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
3. Heavenly light. In the Holy of Holies. The light of God’s glory, a light of knowledge that is beyond our understanding.
Do you see Jesus in this Lampstand?
A. The buds like pomegranates speak of His fruitfulness.
B. The flowers remind us He is the Lily of the Valley and the Rose of Sharon.
C. The bowls like almonds with olive oil speak of the resurrection.

IF YOU KNOW NOT THE CHRIST (SAVIOUR) OF THE TABERNACLE, WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND HIM, CONTACT US AT: Internetpreachersforchrist@gmail.com

Part seven coming on site soon!