The Dwelling Place of God with man - The Golden Candlestick
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Text: Exodus 25:31-37
Intro:
The Golden Candlestick was both a light and the light bearer:
It was a perfectly fitting symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ! He is both the Light and the One which bears the light.
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Read: Isaiah 42:6, 49:6, John 8:12, 9:5, 1 John 1:5, Isaiah 2:5, Ephesians 5:8, and 1 John 1:7.
Jesus is the moral and spiritual light of the universe. The priests that entered the Holy Place walked in the light of the golden candlestick and under this light they performed their services to God.
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
The golden candlestick was a constant testimony to the priest. They were not to walk under the influence of the natural light or worldly light, they could only fulfill their service to God as they walked in the light the was provided by Him! The way that the tabernacle was setup and built it excluded all natural light, the only source of light came from the golden light bearer. If anyone serving God wished to no longer walk under this light, they simply had to just leave the tabernacle. However, in being outside with all of the natural light upon them, they were no longer able to see the wonderful instruments with in. The more one walked in the natural light, the less they would be able to see the things in the Holy Place. Which was the place of promise and was the place where God resided.
We must be so careful not to become satisfied away from the light of the Holy Place. When one does, they walk by the light of human reasoning. So quickly they no longer see Christ in the cherubim. They no longer see Him as over all, the Son of man, the Son of God, and that image of Him becomes far from their view. The light of nature is strong, and mesmerizing. It comes in many forms, religion, and science to name a few. How many today are too consumed with evolution that they cannot see the virgin birth? How many reason away God, and His Son whom He gave to be the sacrifice for their sins? So much so that the natural light has become spiritual darkness… So many walk in darkness and are bound by the limits of humanism. They see all of the glory of God as nothing more than badger skins and Christ to them is nothing more then despised and rejected.
When we as believers try to live in the Christian life or serve the Lord in the light of natural companionship then we are no longer walking with Christ and we are no longer in fellowship with Him and the Father. We no longer walk in accordance to His word, and we no are no longer in His will...
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
In order for one to be truly used of God and to be in fellowship with Him, we must walk in His light!
The golden candlestick was filled with oil which was given and ordered by the Lord.
And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
We know oil to be a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
It is also used in the spiritual practice of anointing.
The Lord Jesus was the anointed One from heaven!
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Jesus also had the Spirit without measure. (John 3:34) This is because He is the fulness of the Godhead bodily! He walked the earth as Spirit-filled-man.
Notice how the oil was to be brought forth and made to fill the candlestick… Ex. 27:20 “that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light” The olives were not put into a press but they were beaten until the oil came out of them.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,
He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Christ spoke of the Spirit many times before the cross. He knew how He would be sent to His disciples. It was through the agony of the cross that the Spirit came to the church.
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Jesus ascended to heaven 10 days prior to the Spirits coming and in leaving His disciples He said this;
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
It is by this that Peter stood up and declared
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
This promise was given 800 years prior at Pentecost through the prophet Joel. (Acts 2:16 (This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.)
AS the oil is to the candlestick so the Spirit is to the church and on the church. The church being that which is made up of many… The Spirit in the Christian makes him the holy temple here on earth.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
The Holy Spirit indwells every believer so that believers may be the agent by which the light of divine truth may be given to a spiritually dark world. We know from our Revelation study that Christ is in the midst of the seven candlesticks in Rev. 1. The warning given to the church at Ephesus is this;
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.