The Golden Lampstand

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.

The Table for Bread

Story:  The Table for Bread

Passage: Exodus 25:23-30

Characters:  God, Moses

Summary:    God gives Moses instructions for the Table for Bread. 

  

Notes:  Moses was to build a table.  Like the ark, the table was to be made from acacia wood.  It was to be overlaid with pure gold and have a gold molding around it.  It would have legs but it would also be carried with poles.  It seems that like the ark, the table was not to be touched.  Everything would be overlaid with gold.  The plates and dishes and bowls for the table were also to be made of gold.  At the end of the passage we see what the table is actually for.  The bread of the Presence is to be on the table regularly.  God was now symbolizing His presence through bread.  This obviously is paralleled when Christ calls Himself the Bread of Life. 

Questions:  Why acacia wood?

Lessons:  The table was to be used to hold the bread of the Presence.  Once again, it is to be overlaid in gold.  Once again, God’s priority for the items of the tabernacle is the items which symbolize His presence.  Today, the Bread of Life lives in us.  God’s is always present.  We may not have a golden table to show it, but we have the Holy Spirit.

The Ark of the Covenant

Story:  The Ark of the Covenant

Passage: Exodus 25:10-22

Characters:  God, Moses

Summary:    God gives Moses instructions for the Ark of the Covenant. 

  

Notes:  The Ark of the Covenant is an interesting article.  It is the first item which God gives directions to build.  The purpose of the Ark is found in verse 22.  “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.”  This was to be where God presided.  The Ark was to be a physical object designed to show God’s presence and His holiness.  The ark was to be made from acacia wood, but overlaid in gold.  The entire thing would be covered in gold.  This would be an incredibly beautiful and precious item!  It appears that God saw gold as the metal which best captures His holiness.  Even though the ark would be made of wood, it would be covered with gold.  It was to be fairly simple.  It was a golden box with a golden lid.  The mercy seat is where we started seeing some intricacy.  There were to be two golden cherubim made of a single piece of gold as the lid of the Ark.  Their wings were to overshadow the Ark and their faces were to face the center.  God said He would meet them from the middle of the mercy seat.  These heavenly worshippers were facing the center and worshipping.  The lid is called the mercy seat.  I don’t know exactly why it is called that, but I suspect it is because mercy has to be involved whenever God directly interacts with humanity.  This was the seat where He would show mercy to Israel.  This is the first indication of how much mercy is an aspect of God’s character!  The first item He wants built for the tabernacle is one which directly represents His presence.  There are three main concepts which He wants portrayed with this Ark: holiness, worship, and mercy.  I find that incredible!  God was going to make Himself present to imperfect Israel and the attributes He wanted portrayed in His presence were holiness, worship, and mercy.  One other aspect of the ark is that Israel was instructed to place their testimony in the Ark.  God wanted this item for His presence to contain proof of His presence.  He would provide testimony of His presence and this belonged in the Ark.  The Ark is referred to as both the Ark of the Covenant, and the Ark of the Testimony.

Questions:  Why was everything overlaid in gold?  Why was the Ark to be carried with poles?

Lessons:  Holiness, worship, and mercy are the focus of the Ark of the Covenant.  Take some time to just think about why God would choose these things to communicate through the Ark of the Testimony.

Contributions for the Sanctuary

Story:  Contributions for the Sanctuary

Passage: Exodus 25:1-9

Characters:  God, Moses

Summary:    God tells Moses to take a collection of materials for the Tabernacle.

  

Notes:  At first glance, we are entering a boring part of the Bible.  Who really cares about all the dimensions and materials of a temple or tabernacle?  In reality, this is a really powerful section of the Bible.  The God of the universe has decided to dwell among humanity.  He can represent this any way He wants and He chose to symbolize His presence with a tabernacle.  Every detail of this tabernacle was laid out by God Himself.  Thus, the design shows us what was important enough to the God of the Universe to include in the symbol of His dwelling among Israel.  I am going to try to dig deep and try to learn about God’s character and plans for humanity based on what He specifically wanted in this sanctuary.  This passage just sets up the design by giving us a list of materials that would be needed for the tabernacle.  This is not a random material list; God has chosen specific colors and materials for His sanctuary.  God warns Moses to make the tabernacle and its furniture exactly like God says.  This is an important deal to God, so it should be to us as well. 

Questions:  The ESV calls for goatskins.  This possibly means dolphin skin or dugong skins.  What type of skin is this?  Why did God want Israel to build a tabernacle?  Why did God choose the materials He asked for?  Why did God choose blue, scarlet, and purple threads?

Lessons:   This is a big deal! Israel just made a covenant with God and God is going to dwell among them in a way that they can physically sense.  He has chosen to show His glory through a tabernacle.  When you think about it for a little bit, you can see how informative and important His description of the tabernacle will be! We need to be careful not to just discount parts of the Bible that don’t appear to pertain to us.  The entire Bible can teach us about the character of God.