In Monday's study we learned that the Lord would speak to Moses from between the cherubim atop the ark of the covenant when Moses would go into the tabernacle to seek His will. Today we'll see what He said to Moses during one of these times.
"The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to Aaron and say to him, 'When you set up the lamps, see that all seven light up the area in front of the lampstand.' Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses. This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold---from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses." (Numbers 8:1-4) We studied the lampstand's design in more detail while we were in the book of Exodus, when the Lord described to Moses the way it was to be constructed.
This was a seven-branched candlestick and it was the only source of artificial light within the tabernacle. You'll recall from Exodus that the Lord instructed Moses that the tabernacle was to have four coverings over it: one of linen, one of goats hair, one of ram skins dyed red, and one of "durable leather" supposed to have perhaps been badger skins. The interior of the tabernacle would have lain in deep shadows and could have been quite gloomy if not for the seven lights burning brightly atop the candlestick.
Nearly all of the commentaries I consulted regarding verses 8-14 spiritualized this passage in various ways, with none of them in complete agreement with each other, and with some of them spiritualizing these verses to the point that all practical meaning was lost. We could spend a great deal of time discussing the specifics of the lampstand's design and why it had seven branches and what the gold may have symbolized and what the oil may have symbolized. But it seems to me that in these verse the Lord wants to make certain the lampstand is set up in a certain way so as to provide the maximum amount of light for the space in which the priests must work. These men have duties to attend to in the tabernacle and the Lord doesn't expect them to perform their work in the dark.
It's never the Lord's will for us to stumble about in the darkness. He has provided us with His word which is "a lamp for my feet, a light for my path". (Psalm 119:105) Neglecting the reading of the word of God is like trying to navigate a steep and rocky path at night without a flashlight. The Lord is a good father who doesn't want His children stumbling and falling and hurting themselves. He has provided us with an awesome instruction book---the Holy Bible---to help us make the best and most godly choices in life. "The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." (Psalm 19:8)
The Lord Himself is also a light for us. He provides the bright spot we need in a dark and fallen world. He enlightens the darkness of the human experience on earth with His love, His presence, His favor, His comfort, and His power. King David, a man who endured several dark times in his life, had this to say of the Lord: "You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light." (2 Samuel 22:29, Psalm 18:28) The prophet Ezra thanked the Lord for being the light in troubled times, "Our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage." (Ezra 9:8b) The prophet Micah trusted in the Lord to avenge Israel upon her enemies and raise Israel back up again and he said, "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light." (Micah 7:8) This verse from the book of Micah was a great comfort to me in a troubled season when each day seemed to dawn dark and oppressive and when my problems seemed unending. If the Lord had not been my light during those days I'd have sunk into hopelessness and despair, but He cast a glow of hope and comfort all around me, just as the lampstand cast a glow all around the priests as they did their work in the tabernacle. In my time of darkness the Lord reminded me that He is the true source of all light and hope and comfort and help. I like to think that the light of the lampstand reminded the priests of this same truth.
During David's lifetime there were plots to take his life and plots to take his crown. He could easily have given in to fear but instead he reminded himself that if he reverenced God he need not fear anyone else. With God on his side, there was nothing his enemies could do to him, so he comforted himself with these words: "The Lord is my light and my salvation---whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life---of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1) With the Lord on our side, we need not be overcome with fear. We are to focus instead on Him, the light. The world around us can seem pretty dark. We could easily fall into the trap of thinking solely about bad news or worrying about all the "what ifs". But somehow, when we gaze upon the Lord, these anxieties recede into the shadows behind us. When the priests entered the tabernacle, the outside world receded behind them and they performed their duties within the circle of light cast by the lampstand. They focused on the Lord---the source of light---and this helped to remind them that He is the light of the world.
We find two references to the "light of the world" in the New Testament. God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) As the word of God made flesh (John 1:14), and as the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3), the Lord Jesus was literally the light of God on earth. If we place our faith in Him for salvation and follow Him, we will never find ourselves stumbling around in the darkness. Jesus also says that we---those who place our trust in Him---are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14) As Christians we are His representatives. We are to do what He would do. We are to say what He would say. If people do not see the light of Christ in us, and if they do not feel like we love and care about them, we can hardly expect them to want to hear the gospel message from us. To lead people to Jesus we must be like Jesus, who is the light, and in whom is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
The world has seemed a more dangerous place than ever this year, but the Lord never changes. The best thing we can do for ourselves and for others is to place our focus and our hope in Him (the light) and to shine the light of Jesus on those around us.
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