So we're in Exodus chapter 25,
and we're going to read from verse 31 to the end of the chapter. And the Lord is speaking to Moses. We're still in the context of
the tabernacle and the instruments or the furniture of the tabernacle. And the Lord says, 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 snuff dishes 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 showed thee
in the mount. Amen. God bless to us this reading
from his word once again. Today we're going to be speaking
about the golden candlestick that was placed inside the tabernacle
or what is also called the tent of meeting. I do like that little
phrase the tent of meeting because while you Probably here, people
refer to this as the Tabernacle most often. The Tent of Meeting
is also a Bible phrase and it really just perfectly sums up
and describes what the Tabernacle was. So the Tent of Meeting,
I keep repeating that, but it's for that reason of explanation.
And this item is the third item in our list of seven pieces that
the Lord designed and had placed, commissioned to have placed in
the tabernacle and its precincts. And once again, we learn that
it was God who specified the candlestick's design. It had
branches, it had flowers, it had knops or knobs and almond
shaped bowls that would contain pure olive oil for lighting the
inside of the tent, the tabernacle. And God also specified the precious
metal from which this candlestick would be made and he specified
the way that it was to be made. It was beaten from a single piece
of gold. so that it wasn't made in parts
and then joined together, but it was made from a single piece
of gold. And really, that must have been
some quite wonderful craftsmanship that would produce such an instrument. And as we've seen, the tabernacle
was where God agreed to meet with his Old Testament people
during their wilderness travels. It was the one place on earth
where God's presence would dwell with his people and where God
would be approached and worshipped by men and women. And the tabernacle's
design and its materials and the instruments that it contained
were all pointers to these Old Testament people to help them
understand God's way of salvation through forgiveness of sin. And it pointed forward to the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ when God would no longer dwell
in spirit in a tent with his people, but would dwell with
us in real flesh. One of us and one with us. And how that by his death the
Lord Jesus Christ would make peace between sinners and God. Now we've spoken about two of
the instruments already. We spoke about a brass altar
for sacrifices and that reminded us that without shedding of blood
is no remission or taking away of sin. And it also taught us
that the wages of sin is death, not for the person who offered
the sacrifice, but for the sacrifice, and the sacrifice was slain for
the sake of the person who offered it. And it pointed us also to
a picture of Christ's death in our place, as God's provision
for our sin. And we also thought about a brass
laver or a washing pedestal for the priests to wash at after
they had made the sacrifice. So in order to clean their hands
and their feet before they entered the tabernacle, there was this
place for washing. And that pointed us to the cleansing
power of Jesus' blood and a reminder that we cannot enter God's presence
until our sins have been washed away in the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And now, thirdly, we're going
to think about this golden candlestick. And once again, we're looking
for pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ in this particular instrument
of tabernacle worship. Because each item pointed in
some way, sometimes in several ways, to Christ and revealed
something of his life and his death and his resurrection for
his people. And the golden candlestick doesn't
disappoint us either because it too points us to the saviour. And one of the first things that
perhaps we noticed about this candlestick was that it was made
of gold. Pure gold, costly, precious and
rare. And our Lord Jesus Christ is
precious to His people. He was precious to His Father
and He is precious to His people. And the Lord Jesus Christ paid
a costly price for our redemption. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
rare because He opened the only way of salvation. We're told
by the Apostle Peter that neither is there salvation in any other
for there is none other name under heaven given amongst men
whereby we must be saved. So just as the candlestick was
made of a rare, costly and precious and pure material, so the Lord
Jesus Christ is pure and precious, is costly and unique for his
people. And we're told that it was a
single piece of gold beaten moulded to create a single solid candlestick
with a central shaft and six branches that came out from the
shaft of the candlestick. So there were seven places it
would appear where the light would come from on this candlestick. Three branches from each side
and the central pillar. And perhaps there's something
here as well about the way in which the Lord Jesus Christ suffered
in his soul, was beaten in his body and in his soul, and yet
is inseparably united to all his people, all those who are
members of his body. And it is true that we are joined
to Christ when we are born again and converted. And yet what we
discover from the Word of God is that we have always been united
with Him. That there was a union forged
between God and His people, the Lord Jesus Christ and His people,
before time began in the everlasting covenant of God's grace. And so in the picture of this
candlestick, made all of one material, pure and precious,
we can see the Lord Jesus Christ united with His people. The candlestick has an obvious
purpose. What do you have a candlestick
for? Well, there were no windows in the tabernacle, so artificial
light had to be provided. And this light also is a picture
of our saviour. By nature, there is no spiritual
light or truth in us. Paul, the apostle Paul, speaks
of the light of the glorious gospel that shines into our hearts
and the Lord Jesus Christ must supply spiritual light. He must supply spiritual wisdom
and knowledge because sin has made us blind to truth and we
are lost in our souls in spiritual darkness. Now this candlestick
held pure olive oil that burned, producing light. And the Lord
Jesus Christ is the source of all spiritual light because he
said, I am the light of the world. And another thing We notice about
this candlestick is that it had these seven branches, we've already
mentioned to them, the central pillar and the three branches
on each side. Seven in scripture is a number
which often signifies perfection. And here we see that these seven
branches, they are all made of one piece pointing to the spiritual
body of Christ, the church. Christ is the head and we are
members united to him in a single body. And this reminds us that
while the Lord Jesus Christ said, I am the light of the world,
he also said to his disciples, ye are the light of the world. So that while Christ lightens,
the lives of his people by shining the gospel to us, we also have
a responsibility as the church and as gospel preachers to shine
with the light that Christ gives us in this world so that Christ's
works and his words may be known and seen and the message of the
gospel may be heard. One final picture. is to do with
that pure olive oil, which perhaps points to Christ's gift of the
Holy Spirit in our lives. You know, true faith and following
the Lord Jesus Christ that we speak so often about is not simply
learning stuff about the Bible and getting to know facts about
the Lord Jesus Christ. Useful as this is, True faith
is a living relationship with the Lord in a spiritual way,
as the Spirit of Christ lives in our heart and soul. It was
a beautiful candlestick, but it only had a usefulness when
that oil was lit and it gave off its light. So there has to
be that living relationship with the Lord and His people. and we look to the Holy Spirit
to enable that in us. In many ways, the tabernacle
was a strange and puzzling place. A visitor to it would find it
so. They would wonder what all these
things were about. But when we realise that that
tabernacle in its entirety and the various parts of it was symbolical,
of the revelation of Jesus Christ and shows us what is required
spiritually to be fit for God's presence. We see how its true
meaning was hidden in these pictures, in the shadows and the types. But now the Lord Jesus Christ
has come. And we can see clearly what he
has done for us on the cross and hear from his own lips and
the teaching of his disciples, the apostles, what Christ, the
light of the world, has accomplished for us. And as we think about
him and as we learn about him, May our hearts be touched by
God the Holy Spirit to bring us into that newness of life,
that relationship with him by which we are able to live to
his glory and shine in his presence as those lights in his kingdom. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us.