Lampstand

Jesus spoke to those who believed in Him as the Messiah, the Son of God, and told them: "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill..." (Mt. 5:14-17). Jesus said, "Let your light so shine...", which means let it shine in the same manner (as being placed on a lampstand). By placing ourselves as light upon the lampstand, we become a very effective light, even to the glorifying of God by men. Our "good works" are seen by men when our light is lifted up and placed on the lampstand. This week's sabbath reading, which includes Exodus 25, is titled T'rumah, which means "offering", and it will help us to understand the meaning and the importance of the lampstand. This is what the Law of Moses, as commanded by God, required in constructing the Lampstand, which would be placed in the first chamber of the Tabernacle, and also later in the Temple in Jerusalem, when it was constructed by the son of David, King Solomon. "You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered/beaten work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece..." (Ex. 25:31). The description continues, but we will start here. The Lampstand is made of pure gold, or taor zahab in Hebrew, which means "clean, pure, purified, purged splendor or brilliance like the golden splendor of the heavens". The Lampstand must be of "hammered or beaten work", in Hebrew, miqsa/qasa. The Hebrew means that the work is beaten out of one piece. The root meaning includes "hardened, stiffnecked, grievous, make severe, ill-treated, be cruel, fierce, be harsh, a heavy yoke, a difficult burdensome thing, the heavy hand of God in punishment". We can already see a pattern of Christ and His sacrifice here in these meanings, and we can understand why the Lampstand is part of a Sabbath reading titled "Offering". Let's continue with the description from Ex. 25. The Lampstand has six branches, three out of one side of the Lampstand, and three out of the other side (v. 32). The Hebrew word and its root used for "branches" is qane/qana, which means "measuring rod, shoulder joint, reed, beam of a balance scale, purchased, redeemed, recover, create, of God originating, creating and redeeming His people. The branches therefore represent the measuring device for the redemption cost to be paid by Christ for God's people. There are to be three bowls shaped like almond blossoms attached to the three branches from one side of the Lampstand, and three bowls shaped like almond blossoms attached to the branches that come from the other side of the Lampstand. In the Hebrew word and its root used for the term "almond blossom", saqed/saqad, we can see the reference to resurrection. The Hebrew word means "early waking, the earliest or first in bloom out of winter's sleep". It makes sense that the almond blossom (resurrection) bowl holds the oil that fuels each individual lamp. Oil represents the Holy Spirit in scripture, and the Holy Spirit is the power that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 6:10-11). Also interesting is the fact that the root meaning of the Hebrew word for almond blossom is "watch, wake, hasten, be alert, sleepless, on the lookout". We are reminded of this "almond blossom" root meaning as Jesus instructed His disciples: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (Mt. 25:13, 24:42), and also "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master...that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching...And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch (late in the night), and find them so, blessed are those servants." (Lk. 12:35-38). The Apostle Paul also wrote: "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand..." (Rom. 13:11-12). Continuing our description of the Lampstand from Exodus 25, we find that the Lampstand is decorated with knobs and flowers (v. 34). The flowers are perah/parah in Hebrew, meaning "to flower, bud, sprout, to flourish, break forth, burst forth, abundantly, spreading, to fly (with wings)". We, the light of the world, when placed on the Lampstand of Christ, which is His offering in crucifixion and resurrection, cause the Gospel to break forth and spread abundantly, to fly as if it had wings. The Hebrew word used for the Lampstand is menora. The root words that make up the word menora mean "a beam of wood, a yoke used for plowing, the wooden frame of a loom used for weaving, to break up, to freshly plow, the gleam of a freshly plowed furrow". We can see in these meanings that the menora, or Lampstand, is like a tool used to change one thing into something else - into something that will produce a benefit. We often consider what it means for believers to be the light of the world, but we are only effective as that light when it is placed upon the Lampstand of Christ. This is what gives the light in us the ability to have our good works seen by men, and they, in turn, then glorify God. It is only when placed upon the Lampstand of Christ as our offering that the light in us can give light to all in the house. If you would like to experience the meaning of being the light of the world, and the importance of the Lampstand upon which we are to be placed, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, Jesus came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. He fulfilled the Law as He became the Lampstand for the light that He placed in us. He gave Himself as an offering in order to become that Lampstand. By His resurrection, He becomes the almond blossom bowls of oil on the branches of the Lampstand that keep the light in us shining. When I place my light upon Him, as the Lampstand, I can bring light to all in the house, and bring glory to the Father. Father, let my light always be lifted up upon the Lampstand of Your Son, Jesus. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."