And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
As I was saying before, I never thought of myself as the temple of God more than just the simple doctrine that the Holy Ghost dwells in me. I never thought the dwelling place of the Holy Ghost to still be patterned after the tabernacle, with the instruments, the vessels, the furniture and such. So, I’m really trying to study this in that light. Here’s the passage in it’s entirety.
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers. And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount. (Exodus 25:31-40)
So I know that there are several common types regarding the candlestick. Jesus is the light of the world. The lamps on the candlestick are of course powered by oil which is a type of the Holy Ghost. Beaten gold speak of the sufferings of Christ. The branches from the side of the candlestick are the church that came from the side of Christ. It’s all good stuff but we’re not necessarily going to go that route with types and all.
If you were to look at pictures and representations of what the tabernacle was believed to look like: drawings, models, paintings, etc., one thing you would notice is that the holy place and the most holy place were together under one tent, separated by a veil. This tent-like place though was covered in many curtains and veils; too many to name right now. Lord willing, we’ll look at that later. But I say all this to say this: It was dark. The candlestick and the lamps were a necessity. You needed light to do the service of the priest, even during the day I would think. You wouldn’t want to accidentally stumble into the most holy place and touch the ark. You know that would be bad. I would personally prefer some light in there.
The tabernacle was the house of God; and of prayer and worship. (1 Corinthians 3:16) Ye are the temple of God, the tabernacle of God, a place of prayer and worship; communion and fellowship. And the light of the candlestick is within; behind the curtains. So this is not (Matthew 5:16) Let your light so shine before men. No. This light is for holy place. This light is for the secret place. The verse that comes to mind in this is (Psalm 139:23,24) Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Oh Yes! Lord turn on the lights! (John 3:21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest.
The Israelites were instructed And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof. Seven lamps to light the temple of God; even the hidden part of the sinner saved by grace. David said (Psalm 56:13) That I may walk before God in the light of the living. I’m glad that God has turned on the lights on the inside. Seven lamps to reveal the inner parts of man. (Genesis 16:13) Thou God seest me…
The seven lamps speaks to us of God’s perfect knowledge of us. The bible says of Jesus (Luke 6:8) But he knew their thoughts… We cannot hide from God in the holy place. Worship of God is a time of truth and openness; to bare one’s soul before God. Now there is a negative side to this in that (Psalm 90:8) Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. God sees and knows all, so why the lamps? Are they for God? Or is that for us? God knows our sins, our faults, our failures. We’re the ones that are without understanding. (Psalm 19:12) Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. But when God shines the light, it’s so that we could see the truth about ourselves; and not our brother or our sister. But God says (2 Samuel 12:7) Thou art the man.
But there’s also the positive side of what light reveals. (Proverbs 15:3) The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. Can I just say this? Maybe the lamps are in the temple of a necessity so that we might see God. When God shines the light, it’s not just to see the truth about ourselves, but the truth about God. (1 John 1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light… If we can just get hold of that; that He is in the light. He is in the light, and I am in the light! (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness… Ye are all the children of light… Thank God for the revealing power of the candlestick and the seven lamps in this temple of God. Paul said (Romans 8:10) And if Christ be in you… It’s very hard to locate something, to find it, without light. God has got to provide that light. Back in Exodus, it was thou shalt make a candlestick. But this temple is a work of God. (Philippians 1:6) Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: