Story: The Golden
Lampstand
Passage: Exodus 25:31-40
Characters: God, Moses
Summary: God gives
Moses instructions for the Golden Lampstand.
Notes: Moses was
supposed to make a lampstand of pure gold.
It was to be hammered gold. It
would have six branches, three on each side of the center. These branches would look like almond
blossoms complete with petals and sepals.
The whole thing was to be a single piece of hammered gold. There were to be seven lamps placed in the
stand, designed to project the light forward.
Even the utensils for the lamp would be made of pure gold. The almond blossoms are significant because
almond trees were the first trees to bloom in the Spring. Almonds represent life and rebirth. In scripture, there are many references to
God being the light of the world. The
word is a lamp to our feet according to David.
Light is important because it allows us to see what is truly around
us. It gives us the perspective we need
to function. Without light, obstacles
are still in our path, we just don’t have the ability to work around them. When light is added, we are able to avoid
obstacles in our path and make observations of the world around us. The lampstand is intended to symbolize this
aspect of God. He is the light of the
world. His word is a lamp to our
feet. That is why the lampstand was designed
to cast light forward. His light is
intended to guide us. While the light
can represent Christ, I believe the lampstand is actually meant to represent
the Spirit. In Revelation 4:5, we read
that there are seven lamps burning before God in His throne room. These lamps are the sevenfold Spirit of
God. The Ark, Table, and Lampstand
represent the trinity. The ark
represents the holiness of God, the table holds the bread of the presence,
representing Christ, and the lampstand represents the Spirit. One of the functions of the Spirit is to
guide us. The first thing God wanted to
represent in the Tabernacle is His presence and the presence of the
trinity. Notice that these three items
are made of pure gold or overlaid with pure gold. The next few items we will read about are not
made of gold. This also demonstrates
that these three items are designed to symbolize God and His character.
Questions: Why did
God choose almond blossoms?
Lessons: It is important
to realize that when God gave directions for the tabernacle, He did not start
with the structure of the tent, He began with the items which represented Himself
and His character. I feel like a lot of
times we ignore the character of God and focus instead on the structure and the
logic of God and the lifestyle laid out in the Bible. Before we get into the structure, we need to
focus and learn about the person of God.
We need to meditate on His holiness, His presence, His guidance, etc.
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