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After the priests had washed their hands and feet in the
brass laver, they could enter the Holy Place, the first room of the
Tabernacle of Meeting. The Holy Place had three pieces of
furniture in it: The menorah (or golden lampstand), the golden
altar of incense and the table of showbread.
note: The menorah was to be made from one talent of pure gold. A talent only weighs about 75 pounds. That leads me to believe that the two hexagonal bases beneath the menorah were added later, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The biblical description of the menorah does not include the two hexagon shaped bases. (see Exodus 25:31-40) |
The picture you see above really does give us a pretty good idea what the menorah in the tabernacle looked like. How do we know? Because the Romans captured the menorah from Jerusalem in 70 AD and took it to Rome. There they chiseled a carving of it into the triumphal arch of Titus. Here is that picture....
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As you can see, the lampstand had seven branches. Each of the branches had an olive oil lamp resting on the top of it. (see picture at right) The lamps on the lampstand probably had deep wells because they had to burn all day and all night, for 24 hours, before more oil could be added. There was a wick in the spout of each lamp. The wicks were made from the used robes of the priests. The High Priest is the one who was supposed to trim the wicks, add new oil, and light the lamps, or at least see that it got done every day. |
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Bronze age oil lamp from IsraelThen the LORD (Yahweh), spoke to Moses, saying, "Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. Outside the veil of the Testimony (outside the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies), in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until morning before the LORD continually; it shall be a statute forever in your generations. He shall be in charge of the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually. Leviticus 24:1-4 (parenthesis mine)
Remember that there were no windows in the Holy Place, so the priests had to light the lamps, or they would not be able to see. They lit the middle lamp first and then lit all the other lamps from that one. For that reason the lamp that was in the middle became known as the "servant lamp." The servant lamp came to represent Jesus Himself for He said, "I am the light of the world." Jesus is the one who lights our lamps. "You will light my lamp, The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness." Psalm 18:28 Jesus said...
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me (walks in union with me), will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12) (parenthesis mine)
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. (John 9:46)
note: The Hebrews always understood "light" to be a reference to the Messiah. So, for example, "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light" would mean "The people who sat in darkness have seen the Messiah." Or for example, "For with You is the fountain of life: In Your light (the Messiah), we see light." Psalm 36:9 (parenthesis mine)
God had originally called the whole nation of Israel to be a holy nation, and to be priests. As such they were to be the light of the world. (see Exodus 19:5-6) The olive oil in the lamps on the lampstand was brought from every part of Israel. The Hebrews understood this to mean that Israel was to be a light to the world.
Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Mathew 5:14-16
As already explained in a previous lesson, the Hebrew word "Qorbanot" really does not mean "sacrifice" or "offering." What it really means is to "draw near." And Moses' tabernacle was called the "tabernacle of meeting." The whole sacrificial system of the Old Testament and the tabernacle itself had everything to do with drawing nearer to God and meeting with God face to face. So perhaps we have to dig a little bit deeper to find more meaning in the menorah. After all, it did stand in the Holy Place.
The menorah is a picture of Jesus. We read...
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jess, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Isaiah 11:1-2
These seven aspects of God's Holy Spirit are represented in the seven branches of the menorah. It is interesting that Isaiah 11:2 starts with these words, "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him." (italics mine) That's an interesting prophesy. It was fulfilled when Jesus was baptized. As John the Baptist said,
I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. John 1:33 (italics mine)
In other words Jesus wants to baptize us with that same sevenfold Spirit of God that rests upon Himself. The main idea is increased communion with God. Coming face to face with Him.
Speaking expressly of the Holy Sprit, Jesus said these things,
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that he may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:16-20
How will we see Jesus? By the Spirit. How will we know the truth? By the Spirit. How will we know that Jesus is in us? By the Spirit. How will live? By the Spirit. How will we know God? By the Spirit. How will we know that we are not orphans? By the Spirit. How will we be a light to the world? By the Spirit that Jesus gives. He puts His Spirit in us. Then we can meet with God and see Him face to face.
Then there is this: The menorah was to be made of one piece of pure, beaten gold.
You shall make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece. Exodus 25:31
I had to think about this verse a lot. There must be some reason God gave Moses these specific instructions. Then God revealed something to me that was so deep, it changed my life fundamentally at the core. Here it is: The entire menorah was hammered into shape from one solid piece of pure gold. That means the entire menorah was made of one substance. Then it hit me. God is love. Love is what He is. He has power, and might. Wisdom belongs to Him. But He is love. That's His substance. And He has integrity. There is no variableness or shadow of turning in Him. He changes not. The gold of the menorah represents the substance of God, which is love. But the gold of the menorah was beaten, just like Jesus was beaten. In that Light, we see light. There we come face to face with God. And it changes us.
next lesson: Brass Laver
previous lesson: Showbread
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