A) NOT CANDLES BUT LAMPSTAND.

B) THE MAKEUP OF THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK.

C) THE SNUFFERS.

D) THE IMPORTANCE OF ALMONDS.

E) TO THE KEY OF THE ALMONDS.

F) TO THE OIL.

G) THE CHRISTIANS RESPONSIBILITY.

 

 

A) NOT CANDLES BUT LAMPSTAND

 

 

I will continue to call it the Golden Candlestick simply because that is how it is expressed in most translations of God’s Word.  However, as we shall see, or as you know, there were no “candles” at the end of Its shafts.  Instead, the light was provided by oil (discussed later) that sat in a type of bowl retainer at the end of Its shafts.  Thus, the translators mistranslated the Hebrew word, “menorah,” meaning “lamp stand,” as “Candlestick.”  This is not to be confused with Revelation 2:1 & 5, in which “lampstands” are used as a symbol for the “seven Churches,” Revelation 1:20.  By contrast, Revelation 4:5 correctly places our Lord in the Holy Place, calling the fixture, “the seven lamps of fire.”

 

In a side note:  When the priests who conducted the services, whose garments became soiled or worn out, according to today’s Jewish Rabbi’s, these garments would be torn up and their pieces would form the wicks at the end of each shaft.  Also, we are not given the exact size of this piece of furniture.

 

 

B) THE MAKEUP OF THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK

 

 

Exodus 25:31-37:  “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. (32) 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: (33) 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. (34) And in the Candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers. (35) 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. (36) Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. (37) And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.”

 

As we enter into the Holy Place, we find the Golden Candlestick (“menorah”) on our left-hand side (to the South).  According to Exodus 25:31-40; 37:17-24; 39:37, the “lamp-stand” had one main shaft with three branches protruding outward on each side.  These six branches were all alike, each having “three bowls made after the fashion of almonds. . . a knop and a flower.”  Exodus 37:19.  The “flower” was “resembling lilies.”  Here is PP:348.1:  “On the south was the Seven-Branched Candlestick, with its seven Lamps.  Its branches were ornamented with exquisitely wrought flowers, resembling lilies, and the whole was made from one solid piece of gold.  There being no windows in the Tabernacle, the Lamps were never all extinguished at one time, but shed their light by day and by night.”

 

By contrast, the main shaft had four bowls made like almonds, with its knops and flowers.  The Candlestick was made from beaten pure solid gold (Exo. 25:31 & 36 & 38; 37:17 & 23-24), again representing Christ’s sufferings for us:  “wounded for our transgressions. . . bruised for our iniquities,” Isaiah 53:3-10.

 

Not only was the Golden Candlestick made of one talent of pure gold (Exo. 25:39), it weighed about 94 to 120 pounds (according to “Albert Barns Notes On The Bible”).  Also, the “snuffers” and the “snuffdishes,” Exodus 25:38 & 37:23, where made of pure gold.  This shows us the significance of this “Light” (discussed later) that was to be put out by this instrument.  By contrast, anything that was to touch or come in contact with that “Light” must be consecrated and sanctified (made holy) as if it were pure gold itself, before attempting to minister with that “Light.”  I hope you understand that this sentence is referring to your very own character when approaching Divinity.  Let’s look at it.

 

 

C) THE SNUFFERS

 

 

These “snuffers” and “snuffdishes” were used in trimming the Golden Candlestick and are typical of the cleansing needed of believers.  Daily the priests removed any dead material from the wick, which might prevent any light from shining brightly.  Therefore, Christians are the “wick” of God.  When the “Light” (Jesus) is shining brightly, the “wick” (Christians) is not seen.  However, if the “Light” goes out, only the black, charred “wick” is noticed.  Christians must continually be trimmed by the chastening, cleansing power of God (Heb. 12:5-11), which purges out the deadness of the old life.  “(1) I Am the True Vine, and My Father is the husbandman. (2) Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away:  and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”  John 15:1-2.

 

In the morning, the High Priest would trim the Lamps with the “snuffers,” and in the evening, he would replenish the supply of “oil” (Exo. 30:7-8), with “The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.”  COL:406.3.  The reason is, that the light thereof was to be perpetually burning (Exo. 27:20-21).

 

Especially does the Golden Candlestick represent Christ as “the Light of the world,” John 8:12.  And John also testifies that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all,” First John 1:5.  Also, turning it back to us and our responsibility, Christ admonishes us that “Ye are the light of the world,” Matthew 5:14, because we are only to be representatives of Jesus.

 

We can find Jesus walking “in the midst of the seven Candlesticks,” in Revelation 1:12.  “He is represented as walking up and down among the Golden Candlesticks. . . He is represented as walking, which signifies unrest, wakefulness, and unremitting vigilance.”  RH, May 31, 1887.  Walking shows of Christ’s continual watch-care over His flock.  “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we [will] have fellowship one with another [we cannot do it alone; we are a family of believers] and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”  First John 1:7.

 

“(11) Moreover the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou?  And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. (12) Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen:  for I will hasten My Word to perform it.” Jeremiah 1:11-12.  The Hebrew word for “almond,” which is “shaqed,” means, “to hasten.”  Indeed, we must “hasten” to bring God’s light to this darkened world.  Nevertheless, we must do this “in sincerity and in truth,” Joshua 24:14.

 

“Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the Lamps to burn continually.”  Leviticus 24:2; Exodus 27:20.  Notice that the oil was to be “pure,” “beaten,” and “to burn continually.”  For an explanation of the “pure oil” we go to Zechariah 4:1-2 & 6, which states:  “(1) And the angel. . . (2) said. . . What seest thou?  And I said. . . behold a Candlestick all of pure gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon. . . (6) Then he answered. . . Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.”  The Oil then, is the Spirit of God that causes the Lamps (the Spirit through us) to send forth light.  And Christ is the “Bowl” from which the “Oil” flows into the seven Lamps, for He it is Who sends the Holy Spirit “unto the seven Churches,” Revelation 1:11 & 20.  “Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”  Psalm 23:5.

 

 

D) THE IMPORTANCE OF ALMONDS

 

 

Let’s take a little look at, “Why Almonds?”  The almond blossoms are of a very pale pink color, and appear before its leaves.  Its Hebrew name, “shaked,” signifies, “wakeful, hastening,” and is given to it on account of it putting forth its blossoms so early; which is generally in February, and sometimes even in January.  In Ecclesiastes 12:5, it is referred to as illustrative, probably, of the haste with which old age comes.

 

In Jeremiah 1:11-12 we read:  “(11) I see a rod of an almond tree [“shaked”]. . . (12) for I will hasten [“shaked”] My Word to perform it.”  Thus, God’s Word is used as an emblem of the Almond.  Jacob desired his sons (Gen. 43:11) to take with them into Egypt of the best fruits of the land, almonds, etcetera, as a present to Joseph, probably because this tree was not a native of Egypt.  Aaron’s rod yielded almonds (Num. 17:8; Heb. 9:4), possibly to show the “haste” in which our Lord’s judgement would come for disobeying His “Word.”

 

The Hebrew word “luz,” translated, “hazel,” in the “Authorized Version,” or “KJV,” in Genesis 30:37, is rendered in the “Revised Version,” as “almond.”  It is probable that “luz” denotes the wild almond, while “shaked” denotes the cultivated variety.  It was the almond, and not the hazel nut, wherewith Jacob used as rods to secure the ringstraked and speckled offspring from the flocks (Genesis, Chapters 30 & 31).  Jordanian almonds were and are famed.

 

 

E) TO THE KEY OF THE ALMONDS

 

 

Herein lies our key.  The almonds growing on Aaron’s rod, when laid up over night before the Lord, denote the ever-wakeful priesthood, which should continue until the Antitype should Come.  It is also a type of the vigilance and fruitfulness which Christ’s ministers should exhibit.  It well represents the rod of Christ’s strength which shall finally destroy every adversary (Num. 17:8; Psa. 110:2 & 5-6).

 

However, there are other Bible commentators who still contend for the old interpretation here.  In other words, the almond tree bears its blossoms in the midst of winter, on a naked, leafless stem, and these blossoms (reddish or flesh-colored in the beginning) seem at the time of their fall to be exactly like white snow-flakes.  In this way, the almond blossom is a very fitting symbol of old age, with its silvery hair and its wintry, dry, barren, unfruitful condition. Whereas, old age can denote wisdom.

 

It first wakes out of the wintry sleep and buds in January or early February.  In Ecclesiastes 12:5, instead of “the almond tree shall flourish,” the Bible commentator Gesenius translates it as, “the old man through want of appetite, even the sweet almond;” for the blossom is pink, not white, the color of the old man’s hair.  But as the Hebrew generally means, “bud,” or “blossom,” as found in Song of Solomon 6:11, it probably means here, “the wakefulness of old age sets in.”  Or, the color may not be the point, but the blossoms on the leafless branch, as the hoary locks flourish as a crown on the now arid body.  How old age applies in Sanctuary language and services I will leave you to decide if you like the second explanation.

 

 

F) TO THE OIL

 

 

The “Oil” was “beaten. . . to cause the Lamps to burn continually.”  Leviticus 24:2.  This indicates that the Holy Spirit has shared in the suffering that our salvation has cost.  “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.”  Ephesians 4:30.  That the Holy Spirit’s ministry is clearly taught here is seen and born out in Revelation 4:5:  “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices:  and there were Seven Lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God,” Revelation 4:5 (see also Isa. 11:2; Rev. 1:4; 3:1).

 

That the Holy Spirit played a major role in our Saviors life and ministry is seen in the fact that He was there when our Lord was conceived (Mat. 1:18-20), baptized (Mat. 3:16), anointed (John 3:34; Heb. 1:9) empowered for service (Luke 4:14 & 18) and present at our Lord’s resurrection (Rom. 8:11).  All believers are “born of the Spirit,” John 3:3-6, baptized in the body of Christ (1Co. 12:12-13), blessed with gifts of service (1Co. 12:7-11 & 27-30; Eph. 4:11), and empowered to witness for their Lord (Acts 1:8), through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

G) THE CHRISTIANS RESPONSIBILITY

 

 

We, as Christians, are instructed that the Christian is obligated to continually “shed their light by day and by night.”  PP:348.1.  No matter what our occupation in life, we need to “in the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand,” Ecclesiastes 11:6.  God has given us the tools with which to work with.  “Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a Light unto my path,” Psalm 119:105.  “The entrance of Thy Words giveth light,” Psalm 119:130.  Therefore, we, as taking upon ourselves the Name and responsibility or “Christians,” have no excuse not to shed His “light” to the world.  To take that Name upon one’s self and not properly represent It, is to break the Second Commandment.

 

Considering again what we have already learned, that the Golden Candlestick was not molded or pieced together, but was hammered out, or “beaten” out of a solid talent of gold (Exo. 25:31), this then is a most fitting symbol of our Lord, Who endured the biting whip of persecution, being “beaten” before His crucifixion (Mat. 27:26 & 30), and basically attacked from every angle during His ministry.  Are we ready to be “beaten” and molded for the service of Christ?

 

Let us not be like the five foolish virgins whose “lamps” finally burnt out.  Remembering the “oil” represents the Holy Spirit, and that they were professed Christians [they had oil didn’t they?], but they lost their first love.  No “Once saved Always Saved” here.  Instead, let us keep the pipes clear that provide the constant flow of “oil.”  Aaron, the high priest lit the lamps.  Therefore Christ, our High Priest, must light our lamps before we can shine for Him.  As Aaron trimmed the Lamps (Exo. 30:7-8), and then put in a fresh supply of oil, so as we kneel at our altar of prayer, morning and evening, our High Priest will give us a fresh supply of His Holy Spirit and a new fitting up for His service.  In addition, He will “trim” and prune us, constantly grooming us that we may be presentable and representative of the One we’ve grown to love and adore.

 

Finally, the purpose of the Golden Candlestick was to give light.  A lamp that does not produce enough light such that provides the needed vision in order not to stumble, is of no value.  And one that shines but dimly, is of little value when trying to see clearly the direction in which one should go.  These persons would be:  “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”  Second Timothy 3:5.  That we should be light-bearers is “the highest honor, the greatest joy, that it is possible for God to bestow upon men,” RH, December 6, 1887; CS:23.

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