Our chapter (after quite a while in Leviticus 23) begins with a bit of instruction regarding the “pure candlestick” in the “Holy Place” of the Tabernacle.
The Paragraph is brief and can be shared in its entirety. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.” Leviticus 24:1-4
I believe this candlestick is a Picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. This Piece of Furniture is the only source of light within the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. (Now in the Most Holy Place the very Shekinah Glory of God would have been the Light! At least at times.)
Jesus as Light? Of course so … John 8:12 … “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”
He too is the Light that burns “continually!” An adverb meaning “always.” That is, in perpetuity. Faithful Jesus!
This Beauty is also called the “pure” candlestick. And in Hebrew “tahor” means “clean, fair (as in lovely), free from any defilement.” That’s a Pattern of our sinless Jesus! (Our Saviour … “Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” Hebrews 7:26)
And the “oil?” I suspect an Emblem of God the Holy Spirit. Who empowered and sustained Jesus while He was on earth. (John 3:34 … “For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: FOR GOD GIVETH NOT THE SPIRIT BY MEASURE UNTO HIM.” Speaking of Jesus again, Whom God hath sent.) An immeasurable Supply of the Holy Ghost upon/within our Lord!
And yes, the Holy Spirit (the Oil here) is too “pure.” (After all, He is God!) And the Godhead is indeed impeccable! (Of Latin origin: meaning “not able to sin!”)
But the oil as “beaten?” I sense the Holy Spirit too (as was Jesus) was “grieved” again and again by the old sinful world … as the Darling Son of God walked its paths two thousand years ago! Hurt and crushed as men rejected Truth day after day.
But lastly, get this too. The Jewish “people” themselves were to bring the oil to the Sanctuary! “Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure OIL olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.” Verse 2 above.
Like the Tribe of Asher, for example … with its favorable location up north where olive trees grew so abundantly. (Moses blessing Asher … “And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, AND LET HIM DIP HIS FOOT IN OIL.” Deuteronomy 33:24, olive oil, and lots of it. To give to God for worship!)
Yes … God wants His people to be involved in worship!
To share in its delights!
In fact, ancient Israelites (as I suspect so do modern-day Christians) had a responsibility to bring something, a gift, when they came to worship God! Here’s proof …
“Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: AND THEY SHALL NOT APPEAR BEFORE THE LORD EMPTY. Every man shall GIVE as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.” Deuteronomy 16:16-17, and that giving apparently included “pure, beaten olive oil.”
Practical Lessons indeed.
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
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