The Tabernacle; Lesson six: the Golden Altar of Incense.

When Isaiah prophesied of Jesus arrival here on earth he said it thusly from chapter 7 verse 14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” God is with us; can you say amen? Aren’t you that God is with us? Meditate on that thought for a moment or two. God, the High and Lofty One who dwells between the cherubim over the Mercy seat, the One who spoke to Moses and said, “see that ye make all things after the pattern shown you on the mountain”; that same God Almighty, Eternal, all powerful God is with us. Tonight I would like for us to look at the Golden Altar of Incense. As we look into His Word think about the fact that we are sitting in His very Presence tonight. He is here. In our midst. We are gathered in His name. Let’s invoke the Presence of God, let’s pray
Ex. 30:1-10 1 “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. 4 Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 6 And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.7 “Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. 8 And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. 10 And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

As you read this portion you can see that this altar wasn’t very big in size…actually it was the narrowest and yet the tallest of the furnishings of the tabernacle, and we have so far concentrated our study on the furnishings and what they represent. The High Priest burned sweet incense every morning and every evening upon this golden altar of incense. The Bible tells me that the prayers of the saints are as a sweet incense unto the Lord See Rev. 5:8, Rev. 8:3, 4. David said in Psalm 141:2, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Isn’t that a beautiful portion of scripture? The lifting up of my hands, my prayer unto God…a sweet incense unto Him. Every time you ask the blessing on your food, every time you ask His presence in to our services, every time we lift our needs up in prayer, every time we pray for each others needs; that is offering up incense unto the Lord and every time we lift up our hands in praise it is as the evening sacrifice…now wouldn’t you think that praise would be the sweet incense? And wouldn’t you think prayer would be more sacrifice? No, the Bible says that prayer is as a sweet incense. I think if it is a selfish prayer that it doesn’t count and that gets us into a whole other subject where we won’t go just now. But when we lift our hands in praise and worship it is sacrifice. In Hebrews, which is still our study book; we have not abandoned that study just paused for a while; it says in ch.13, vs.15, “By Him therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Do you have a hard time lifting up your hands? Some folks do because they feel conspicuous but as you do, it is a sacrifice in which God is well pleased and as you do He will help you, so that every time it gets easier. Many times when no one else has their hands lifted, the Spirit will prompt me to get them up AND WHEN I DO I know the touch of His presence.
I know that it can be a fake on the part of a hypocrite. I think that is like offering strange fire if your heart is not right.
The High Priest burned incense every morning and every evening because God required that special incense be burned on this altar continuously as He requires of you and I tonight. It was a special sweet incense, a mixture of sweet spices to only be used in the Tabernacle ceremonial worship. It was God’s recipe and nothing else was to be burned on this altar. Anything else or less was considered strange fire…and I have likened that to a pretense of worship…when it is offered with our hearts not being cleansed before the Lord and we shall talk about cleansing as we continue to study the furnishings. But for this study we need to look at what the consequences are for offering strange fire. Jesus said “not every one who says, Lord, Lord will make it in” words to that effect. He says there will come a day when He is going to say, “depart from Me ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you!” What an indictment! What a terrible sentence, but there will be those in that category, sad to say. Let us insure that we won’t be in that group of people and let us endeavor never to offer strange fire upon the altar of incense of our hearts. Read Lev. 10:1,2. The Bible warns us to be careful what we offer unto God as a sweet smelling savor and that is our worship out of a pure conscience. Hebrews 10:19-22 19 “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” Again referring to a good conscience look at 1 Peter 3:16 I like
Those verses 3:16, sometime I would like to do a study on them…John 3:16, 1 Tim 3:16 1 Peter…the list goes on. I think it would be very interesting. The new and living way. That is what Jesus obtained for us at Calvary.

At the Altar of Incense there are a few things we need to see.
It was made from the acacia tree and overlaid with gold as was the Ark and the Table of Showbread, the bread of His Presence, it had two staves made from acacia wood just like those used in the Ark and the Table had, it was not solid gold like the candlestick was because in it we can see the humanity as well as divinity…we see man offering up spiritual sacrifices of praise and worship as a continual, morning and evening sacrifice. Even the fruit of our lips we read it in Hebrews ch. 10
This blending of wood and gold was a preparation for Jesus and His priestly work. Look up John 17:4,5.

It was placed directly in front of the Ark of the covenant just outside the veil and it had a constant column of smoke ascending to God day and night, mixed with the sweet incense
that was made from mixing four kinds of spices which we shall discuss a little later on.

It had four horns…the horns of the altar. Horns speak of power in the Word of God and they were located squarely on the four corners speaking of the four square gospel and the power of prayer. The four square gospel sees Jesus as Saviour, BAPTIZER, HEALER , and soon coming King.The horns, trimmings, were of solid gold and it was on the horns of the Altar of Incense that the blood was applied. The blood of the sin offering both for the priest as well as the people. Ex. 30:10 and Lev. 4:7 and also the 18th. Verse
Then once a year on the day of atonement the blood was applied on these same horns…look up Lev. 16:18.The very fact that prayer could be effective on this Altar was based on the shed blood applied there; before the Priest could enter the Holy of Holies on the day of atonement, the blood had to be applied; remember we have approached this study with a God coming to man format(computer generation) and we have not talked about the Brazen Altar as yet; that is actually the next item after we have covered this golden Altar of incense. So let me try to explain here what took place as far as the atoning of sin at the golden altar was concerned.
The sacrifice, that being an animal, was made at the Brazen Altar which was just inside the entrance to the outer court, but the atonement for sin was not effective until the blood was applied to the Mercy Seat between the two cherubim. After that it was applied to the four horns of the altar seven times
and the Tabernacle and all were cleansed when there were no other priests in the Holy Place. Read about it in Leviticus 16:15-20. There are several points to consider that this scripture reading points out:
1.A complete sacrifice was made.
2. Complete cleansing has been accomplished.
3. Complete atonement has been accepted.
4. Prayer is offered in complete confidence.
5. Answered prayer is guaranteed.
I said that this altar represents the four square Gospel of Saviour, Baptizer, Healer and soon coming King. It was the narrowest of the furnishings and this Gospel message is a narrow way the Bible says and it was the tallest of all the furnishings as this Gospel is the highest of all proclamations.
Jesus said it in Matt. 7:13,14. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there be many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Read Eph. 3:14-19. “That you might be filled with all the fullness of God” Is that what you want tonight? To be filled with all the fullness of God? That is my desire.

Let’s look at the Incense again. Ex. 30:34-38. These sweet spices mixed together were an acceptable sweetness before God. I spoke earlier of the fruit of our lips being that sweetness, prayer and thanksgiving. praise…is what we say acceptable to God? Once I say something…I CAN NEVER RECOVER IT. Think about what I am saying. There have been a few things over the course of this study that I wish I could take back. BUT THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. ONCE you say a thing it is impossible to take those words back…that is why forgiveness is so very important. Sometimes we speak before we think about what we are going to say. Sometimes you may have heard somebody say…might as well say it as think it.
No, if it is going to hurt someone else, then you hadn’t better say it. It becomes a serious thing just how we use the God-given ability to speak. Do we use this privilege lightly? Do we use it to murmur and complain, to find fault, to gossip, to curse or blaspheme? Or do we use it to bless God? to worship Him or to bless others? To exhort one another daily, the Bible says…it’s all right there in Hebrews. The fruit of our lips giving thanks as the song says. Come let us offer the sacrifice of praise…let’s do just that right now.
This blending of these ingredients was so carefully protected that it could not be duplicated, it could not be used for a common or ordinary purpose…are you getting the picture?
Ex. 30:34-38. Equal amounts of statche…what is statche?
It is derived much the same as frankincense from the gum of a tree. While frankincense comes from the sap or gum of the boswellia trees, statche is said to come from the gum of a storax tree, which probably means nothing to you and I except the word for storax was in the original Hebrew called “nataf” and means “to drop”…read Job 36:27 and also Job 29,22&23.
The dropping of rain is pictured here as sometimes the gracious words that fall from some people’s mouths…serious words and not foolish jesting..words of life and virtue. Do you know folks like that? Their speech is gracious, serious? No one was more gracious in His speech than Jesus was. Look at Luke 4:22. His words were compared to the distilling of water. We used to use distilled water in large battery instillations when I worked both for N.B.Power and at the Irving refinery and those distillation units just let out a drop at a time and it is pure water. As is needed in those batteries , it has to be pure water. Jesus’ words are like pure water, His words are carefully thought out beforehand. Remember the woman who wa taken in adultery, how Jesus just wrote in the sand while these religious men were ranting on and accusing her? Remember the words of Jesus? He that is without sin…let him be the first to stone her. Amen? Let us be careful when we are tempted to accuse or retaliate when someone does accuse us.
His words were pure, no intent to harm in them, I don’t think He would have wasted His time telling jokes, do you? Read Matt. 5:37 Also James 5:12
God speaks and He has given us that capability also. The Psalmist said, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD my strength and my Redeemer.” Let our words drop down like rain and be Christlike.
The next spice named in Ex. 30 was “onycha”and the same word is used for a herb and also a shellfish found in the Red Sea and when ground up gave off a special fragrance. If the shellfish was what they used it would be a costant reminder of God’s deliverance from the bondage they had faced DAILY IN Egypt and Egypt in typology is a type of sin. The bondage of sin is gone as we surrender to Jesus.
Next is “Galbanum.” It seems hard to identify but it had an odour that drove away vermin and destructive pests and when mixed with the other three it gave off a sweet smelling savour. Prayer and intercession can sometimes seem hard to do also but when mixed with thanksgiving it will yield the peace of God that passes understanding Philippians 4:6
We have already talked about the frankincense in another session so I won’t spend a lot of time with it except to say it
was costly. Prayer will cost you something if it is the kind of prayer that is effective. Prayer that is TO BE EFFECTIVE MOST TIMES IS THAT PERSISTANT, INSISTENT kind of praying PERSERVERING prayer and that will cost time but it is worth every moment in His presence. “In HIS PRESENCE THERE IS FULNESS of joy and at His right hand there are pleasures evermore.” And I need to do more of that kind of praying. You know Bible study is wonderful but unless you are spending time in prayer and in His presence then your spiritual life is out of balance…that’s where the staves come in…the poles for carrying the altar. They provided the balance that was necessary to move the altar. And as we pray and intercede the Holy SPIRIT WILL PRAY AND INTERCEDE THROUGH US AND WHEN HE mixes his prayer with ours it truly is a sweet smelling savour.
Jessus is praying for you and I tonight…John 17:9 and Hebrews 7:25. Jesus is our High Priest and He intercedes for His own…He didn’t promise to intercede for the world; that is our job On the basis of HIS sacrifice, His shed blood, His atonement for sin and His resurrection, He effectually presents our requests with much incense before the Father.
The burning on this altar never ceased; it was continuous. Read again Ex. 30:8. Jesus our Lord and High Priest never slumbers or sleeps. He is continually offering up intercession on our behalf. He never changes. He is no longer bound by human frailty, He is not that Babe in the manger, in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, He is Onicient, Omnipotent, Omni present, He is God Almighty and He sits on the throne tonight ever making intercession for you and for me. Look at OPsalm 139:17,18 and Heb. 4:15,16

The Candlestick

The Tabernacle: lesson Five: The Candlestick

First things first…setting the record straight. There were some questions last week about what I said notably that frankincense was a vegetable and I was quoting Dr. Alex Ness from his book “Pattern for Living” who said, and I quote “In Smith’s Bible Dictionary Frankincense is referred to as a vegetable of the purest and whitest kind, bitter to the taste.” Unquote.
Dr. Ness, whose book I have BEEN USING to this point says, “It is said the frankincense aroma filled the room, keeping bugs, ants and other creatures away from the bread. The fact remains that it was bitter and when the priests ate the bread it was like the Passover with bitter herbs. Jesus sufferings was a bitter experience.”
Last week some of you challenged my statement about the frankincense being a vegetable…and you were correct. I was simply quoting Dr. Ness, who by the way was the founder of Lakeshore Gospel Tabernacle in Toronto and also the Queensway Cathedral in Toronto as well. He was a world evangelist known far and wide as an author, Bible teacher,
Missionary and the list goes on. I understand he is with the Lord now so I shall have to wait until I see Him to straighten him out. So if I make a mistake every now and then I am in good company. I AM GLAD NONETHELESS THAT YOU ARE KEEPING TABS ON WHAT I AM SAYING AND KEEPING ME STRAIGHT.
I DID FURTHER research on the subject and this time I found that frankincense is taken from trees.
Frankincense is tapped from the very scraggly but hardy Boswellia tree through slashing the bark and allowing the exuded resins to bleed out and harden. Sounds similar to tapping Maple tees. We used to scrape off the balsam from spruce trees and under the balsam you would find a gum and we would chew it. These hardened resins are called tears. There are numerous species and varieties of frankincense trees, each producing a slightly different type of resin. Differences in soil and climate create even more diversity in the resin, even within the same species. These trees are also considered unusual for their ability to grow in environments so unforgiving that the trees sometimes grow directly out of solid stone, which the tree attaches to by means of a sucker-like appendage. The deep roots and its sucker like appendage prevent the tree from being torn away from the stone during violent storms; the tears from these hardy survivors are considered superior due to their more fragrant aroma. The aroma from these tears are more valuable for their presumed healing abilities and are also said to have superior qualities. It seems that the highest qualities come through adversity doesn’t that seem like that to you? And that is the way it is in the lives who have known adversity…it’s like these trees. You get better quality.
I hope this clarifies and corrects my mistake, my purpose in doing any Bible study must be as accurate as possible. I shall continue to strive for perfection. Accuracy…let’s get to the Candlestick. Again we are reading from Exodus ch. 25 beginning at verse 31 and reading down to and including verse 40. Exodus 25:31-40 (New Living Translation)
Plans for the Lampstand
31 “Make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. Make the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece—the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals. 32 Make it with six branches going out from the center stem, three on each side. 33 Each of the six branches will have three lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 34 Craft the center stem of the lampstand with four lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 35 There will also be an almond bud beneath each pair of branches where the six branches extend from the center stem. 36 The almond buds and branches must all be of one piece with the center stem, and they must be hammered from pure gold. 37 Then make the seven lamps for the lampstand, and set them so they reflect their light forward. 38 The lamp snuffers and trays must also be made of pure gold. 39 You will need seventy-five pounds[a] of pure gold for the lampstand and its accessories.
40 “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain. (One estimate put the Lampstand at 125lbs. either weight makes its value extremely high.)
Exodus 25:31-40 (New King James Version)

The Gold Lampstand
31 “You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece. 32 And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. 33 Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches that come out of the lampstand. 34 On the lampstand itself four bowls shall be made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower. 35 And there shall be a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of the same, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand. 36 Their knobs and their branches shall be of one piece; all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure gold. 37 You shall make seven lamps for it, and they shall arrange its lamps so that they give light in front of it. 38 And its wick-trimmers and their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. 40 And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.
I put a lot of time into this, a lot of research and I enjoy doing it but that is not my reason for doing it, not for personal gratification…it’s for Him; it’s for the Lord. The apostle said in Collosians 3:17 “And whatsoever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” That is my motivation. The reward of doing this is in itself….the praying over it for His leading in study is worth all the time and effort that goes into it, believe me. Isn’t Bible study great? Anyway …the CANDLESTICK. The Menorah the Jews call it…
The Candlestick was made of pure gold…notice there was no mention of it’s size or dimensions. The form and purpose are what we are given and also the weight. Depending on what a talent weighs it could have been any thing from 75 to 125 pounds of the purest gold. A Canadian gold coin is regarded as the finest in the world. And if you had enough to weigh 75 pounds it would be worth $981,240.00. (even though the face value of a one ounce coin is only $50.00)yet the value of an ounce of gold on the open market is astronomically high.
If a talent of gold weighed 125 lbs. it would cost you $1,635,400.00 cdn if you paid for it with the value of a new Maple Leaf gold Canadian coin. (I am talking about the Candlestick in today’s gold bullion prices.) Not the face value but the actual ounce value that dealers get for them. God does things first class doesn’t He? By the way the purity of a Canadian Maple Leaf gold coin is 99.999%. But the value of the Candlestick could not be measured in man’s values. The Candlestick as is the case with the rest of the furnishings, pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah Prophesied of Jesus as that Light in ch. 49 vs.6. Then in John 9:5, Jesus speaks of Himself. The Candlestick stood opposite the Table of showbread in the Holy Place, just outside the veil. It was the only light in the Holy Place and it provided light for services rendered, for the fellowship that the priests enjoyed there and it also illuminated the beauty of the interior of the Holy Place..
No outside light penetrated the interior of the Holy Place as the beauty of the interior could not be seen or understood in outside light. The light came from burning the oil in the candlestick lamp. The burning of the oil represents the Holy Ghost and Fire and this is how the Word is illuminated as revealed in Psalm 119:105 “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a Light unto my path.
The Candlestick was made from one solid piece of pure gold 100% pure…not like Ivory soap 99 44/100 percent pure nor was it like the Canadian gold Maple Leaf coin—99.999%. It was 100% pure. It was a hammered piece of work. We will see later in our study that the craftsmen whom God equipped and ordained knew how to do this work. It is considered an impossible feat by today’s craftsmen. I can understand why it would be. But God had given a man by the name of BEZALEL special wisdom to do this work. We’ll talk about him later.
God raises up people to work in various ways that we do not realize many times. You don’t always have to be a preacher to be used by the Lord. It may be that he has called you to do what some would not consider to be spiritual things but God has called you for that purpose. Maybe it’s to prepare a meal for someone or write a letter, send a card, make a phone call, repair a fence…fix a window…whatever it is …do it with all your might. Maybe it is just to be an encouragement in a way that only you can be to someone else. But you will brighten someone else’s life. It may be the means of someone finding the Lord. You can be that light no matter how long or how short a time you have been serving the Lord. God wants to use each one here; not necessarily all in the same way.
The Candlestick had seven branches…seven being the number of God. The book of Revelation ch 1:4 speaks of the seven fold Spirit of God. Some versions call it the seven spirits of GOD but the sevenfold Spirit is probably the better translation. As I said, this Candlestick had seven branches and the center shaft was taller than the other six; the center shaft or branch had four sets of bowls, knops and flowers, while the six branches that come from the sides of the center shaft have only three, so that on one set of branches you have six sets of bowls, knops and flowers. Here we see again a picture, portrait of Christ and the church…six is the number of man; seven the number of God, the church came out of His side as Eve came from the side of Adam(not his head), he was created on the sixth day
Man was created on the sixth day; he was created a little lower than the angels and therefore just short of God and perfection; remember seven is the number of perfection and the only way we can achieve Godliness and ultimately and eventually perfection is by being engrafted into the Vine, by coming out of the side of the center branch. The Candlestick represents Christ and His church, His body, His temple. It’s that picture John saw while he was on the isle of Patmos in Revelation 1:12,13 and verse 20. Notice that Christ is in the midst of the candlesticks. 1 Tim. 3:14,15 speaking of the church says “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth “ Jesus said “you are the light of the world” We have the truth, it’s the Word of God and we have Christ within living in us by His Spirit and we are called to shine forth as He has ordained it to be and I thank God for making me a member of this great body that is the church. We are the church of the Living God. Can you shout amen? The Lampstand was all one piece; it does not matter that you are called a Pentecostal…it does not matter that you may be a Baptist…it makes no difference if you go by the name of an Anglican or Roman Catholic…it only matters that you are in Christ…His body is not divided…oh, it may seem that way, but if any man be in Christ, Paul says, “he is a new creature, old things pass away, behold everything becomes new”…it is all of one piece. Do you get the picture?
It was the very epitome of craftsmanship, one piece of precious metal…gold…beaten, hammered into form and shape to the very “nth” degree; not cast into a mold and melted into shape but rather beaten and hammered. God the Holy Ghost is working in each one of us molding and shaping us to conform to the image of His Son through the process of beating. Every test, every trial, every sorrow every heartache and every misunderstanding and every false accusation …every Gethsemane brings us that much closer to God’s perfect plan and that is to be conformable to the image of Christ. Romans 8:29 , Eph. 1:4
The six branches were of beaten work as was the center shaft…the beating was the same. Do you think for one minute that we will escape the beating if we are going to conform to His own image? If we are to be like Him. Has life been a free ride for you? Haven’t you experienced some of this beating yourself? Paul wrote to Timothy and told him that all who live a godly life can expect persecution; now I don’t want to get sidetracked on the difference between persecution and afflictions, we’ll leave that for another time, but we ‘ll look at…2 Tim 3:10-12. And it does not always come from outside either. Look at verses 1-13 of 2 Tim. Ch. 2.
The knops, bowls and flowers:
It has been suggested that these knops were pomegranates that were worn on the hem of the priest’s robes. Other suggestions are the lily or a rose bud and you can see the types of Christ in all of these but the Bible says it was almonds and I feel that the almond fits here quite well. The almond was the first to bud in the spring indicative of new life in Christ; it goes with the scripture in 1 Corinthians 13:20; it bears the first fruit, John 12: 24; it was typified in Aaron’s rod that budded … the bud, the flower and the fruit.
There is a picture of the branches in Isa. 11:1-4. We see in this portion of scripture the relation to the branches of the Lampstand or Candlestick: the center shaft is the rod out of the stem of Jesse whom we know is the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him. The first two branches that come out of the center stem are symbolic of the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. The next two represent the Spirit of counsel and might, the final two represent the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. These are characteristics of our Lord, amen? He is qualified to be the true ruler and judge! Let’s look at these seven things that make Him that Ruler and Judge:
The Spirit of the Lord it says shall rest upon Him so that 1.Shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.
2.Shall not judge after the sight of His eyes.
3.Neither reprove after the hearing of His ears.
4.With righteousness shall He judge the poor.
5.He shall reprove with equity the meek of the earth.
6. He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth.
7.With the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.
The bowls, knops, flowers and fruit are in all the branches just as they are in the center stem. They are all one because they are of One and that One is Christ.
Let’s look at the bowls…I can’t wait to look at the oil but first the bowls. In the original the word for bowls is “calyx” and it signifies a cup shaped formation that protects the bud and flower and ultimately the seed. Think about the seed because it is the seed that is reproductive. Again a picture of Christ and the Church. The Church came out of Christ, amen?, the branches came from the stem, each branch is reproductive , so we see the necessity of protecting the seed, that which reproduces. Jesus taught that any branch that does not reproduce is to be cut off. Let us pray and endeavor to be reproductive.
Again we see in the Ark that it held something…the Table upheld something and in the Candlestick; it to is holding something; each branch holds a lamp which in turn holds the oil to give the light. So let’s take a look at these lamps.
The lamps were made of pure gold. They were designed by God to contain the oil that would burn and produce light. Without these vessels…there would be no light . Jesus is the Light of the world and He has given us, the branches, the privilege to uphold the vessels (to actually be the vessels through whom the Light shall shine into dark places.) Wherever there is light, darkness has to disappear. We met a man while we were in Spain who is taking the light through an organization called enlace which is Spanish for link into the Muslim world and our missionary council has endorsed that ministry. They are taking Light, the Light into an extremely dangerous and dark world. It’s these kind of ministries that are deserving of our prayers.
To be most effective this light was to shine “against itself.” The lamps are to “give light over against it.” The light of the Church, the pillar and ground of the truth’ is from Him for Him. As the light shines on the center shaft, it lights itself and dissipates all darkness and as it shines in the Holy Place the food from the Table is shared and praise and worship covered with prayer ascends as sweet incense to the very throne of grace. The light has to shine in the Presence of God and the Church before it can be effective in the world…we need the Church folks tonight …you can’t get this by staying home. We need the Light and we need it to shine in us and on Jesus. (song: let it shine on me, let it shine on me, let the Light from God’s lighthouse shine on me)
Jesus said, “I Am the Light of the world” John 8:12 and in Matt. 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world” and in verse 16, He says “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” That is how our light will shine when men see your good works. Some of the richest teaching that I for one have received up until now has to do with the truths contained in this Golden Candlestick…the Ark…what a subject…the Table…so beautifully representing sweet fellowship, but there is something about this Candlestick that goes down into the very innermost recesses of my soul and my spirit that changes me and causes me to rejoice in its truths. It is a picture of Christ and His Church and I am a member of His body…I am a partaker. Hebrews 3:1. Now the Oil:
You may have the stands, lamps and the wicks(we’ll be talking about the wicks later on), but unless you have the oil and the fire…there will be no light. Think about what I’ve just said…the stands(branches) lamps and wicks are oh, so necessary but without the oil burning in your soul tonight there will not be any light to shine in our midst. The oil is the key ingredient. The oil represents the Holy Spirit and as I said if He is not burning His fire in us, there can be no light. The oil was to be the very best golden variety made from olives, and it had to be pure. Every impurity had to be beaten out of it. Ex. 27:20, 21 “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of compressed (beaten in KJV) olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. In the tabernacle of meeting outside the veil which is before the testimony.” You and I have got to bring the oil folks. We are the vessels and we have the oil and if we don’t have it we had better get it quickly before the bridegroom comes or we shall be left out. We’ll miss the wedding and what greater tragedy could there possibly be? We bring the oil. He is the light and He is the oil, we are the vessels, the bowls. We can’t bring the oil if we don’t have it. Remember the five wise and the five foolish virgins?
We need the oil…you can’t do it on your own…we need the oil. We need the oil …you can’t make it by yourself you need the oil. Pray that your lamp is full of oil. Amen? The oil is our source of fire and our source of light. The Holy Spirit is our source of fire and He is our light. His fire burns in us…His Word is like a fire burning within us…it is that lamp unto our feet and that light for our path. You can’t separate God from His Word. David said in Psalm 39:3, “My heart was hot within me, while I was musing, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue” Jeremiah speaking in ch. 20 vs. 9 says “Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name. But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary of holding it back. And I could not. Jeremiah could not stop proclaiming the Word of the Lord. It was a fire within his bones. Hallelujah!
Oil was also used for food. The widow of Zarephath had only a little oil in a cruse 1 Kings 17:12. In 2 Kings another widow, ch. 4 vs. 2 had nothing in the house except for a pot of oil…they use it on bread for breakfast in Spain. In fact they use it on most everything they eat. It was used for anointing also. And we will come back to the oil in a later lesson.
Lastly tonight I want to mention the wicks, tongs and snuff dishes; the utensils…If you don’t get anything else I say tonight, get this. The wick is the human portion of the lamp. The tongs and snuff dishes were used to trim the wick and store the burned part. Every day, morning and evening the wicks were trimmed and adjusted. Do any of you remember the old oil lamps? I REMEMBER THE Alladin lamps. Where I came from there was no electricity until I was eight years of age. You had to refill the lamp with oil repeatedly…it did not stay full on it’s own. You had to clean the shade repeatedly… it could not clean itself…if it burned all on one side the shade would turn black from the smoke because when it was lopsided it would not burn clean.. so you had to adjust the wick and trim it with a pair of scissors or such like…round off the edges and clean the shade and then it would burn clean for a while. It gave a brighter light when it was clean burning. Balance in our walk is extremely important.
We are the wicks, the channels through which the light flows as well as the oil and for that light to flow there must be oil burning and as it burns the wick burns. In order for clean burning and good lighting the wick must be trimmed daily. Only the priest was allowed to do this. If the wick could talk and if it had feelings then no doubt it would say to the priest, why do you have to trim me so often? Am I not shining brightly enough? The oil does not flow well through the burned portion, it must be cut off. The burned part will not keep on burning…it must be trimmed…cut off. That which burned yesterday…has to be trimmed today Skillfully the priest’s trained hands would cut it off and place it in the golden snuff dishes. Past victories, past accomplishments, past successes and past blessings will not suffice for today. We have to be put into the snuff dishes, they are but history. They cannot be channels for today’s light; they are but history. We need a fresh anointing.The only source of light is Jesus and we need to abide in Him if we are to shine as lights in this world…we need the trimming. We need the old burnt portion cut off.

The Tabernacle lesson four
Continuing with the furnishings in the Holy Place was the Table of Shewbread.

I’m not going to proceed any further with the rebellion of Korah tonight; I’m sure that you have probably read it by now and although we did not get to Leviticus ch.17, I think our purpose was to show who was God’s choice through the budding of Aaron’s rod and we did talk about it last time.
Aaron’s rod budded; when God touches something, life
Springs forth; it blossomed, a life touched by God will have beauty and fragrance; it produced almonds; the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace and so forth. If the Spirit dwells within then there is evidence for all to see, amen? There should be evidence. You’ve got to like people, you just can’t dislike people. If you dislike people…that is not good evidence is it?
Now this whole thing came about when the rebellious uprising took place in the camp of Israel and this was God’s test to show the one He had chosen for the priesthood. Let us never be guilty of this type of thing. Let God do the selecting; it’s not up to us and we need to back God’s choice. Now the Ark was placed in the Holy of Holies or the Holiest place and to this point we have only talked about the furnishings, and the offering, we haven’t yet talked about the tabernacle or its layout. There is a reason for my doing it this way and I think we will see it as we study further.
Moving on in our study from the contents of the Ark, using Exodus ch. 25 as our guide, finds us looking at verses number
23-30 and this is a piece of furniture called the Table of Shewbread. Also called the Table of the Presence.
It is located in the Holy Place which was separated from the Holy of Holies as most of you know by the veil. But let’s get to the Shewbread first.
So let’s read Ex. 25:23-30. And I am reading from the KJV.

23Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
24And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
25And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
26And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
27Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.
28And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
29And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
30And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.
This is the Table, The Table of Showbread of the Tabernacle The table of showbread was a small table made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. It measured 3 feet by 1.5 feet and was 2 feet, 3 inches high. It stood on the right side of the Holy Place across from the lampstand and held 12 loaves of bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The priests baked the bread with fine flour and it remained on the table before the Lord for a week; every Sabbath day the priests would remove it and eat it in the Holy Place, then put fresh bread on the table. Only priests could eat the bread, and it could only be eaten in the Holy Place, because it was holy.
“Showbread” also was called “bread of the presence” because it was to be always in the Lord’s presence. The table and the bread were a picture of God’s willingness to fellowship and communion (literally speaking, sharing something in common) with man. It was like an invitation to share a meal, an extension of friendship. Eating together often is an act of fellowship. God was willing for man to enter into His presence to fellowship with Him and this invitation was always open.
Jesus exemplified this when He ate with tax collectors; to call sinners to Him, make them right with God, so that they could enjoy everlasting fellowship with God.
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. … Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.” (John 6:35, 49-50)
God so desires our fellowship that He was willing to come to earth from heaven as our “bread of life” to give eternal life to all those who would partake in it. At Jesus’ last Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus described Himself as bread again:
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’” (Matthew 26:26)
Jesus’ broken body is our only access to fellowship with God. Today, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or communion, to remember this important truth. And today, as in the day of Moses’ tabernacle, God still desires to have fellowship and sit down for a feast with His people.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelations 3:20)
We need to read another portion of scripture from the book of Leviticus in conjunction with the reading from Exodus because it gives us the purpose for the table and that purpose was a place on which to put the bread. Sometimes called “the bread of the face” (that’s what the shewbread means) it is also referred to as “bread of laying out” as well as “bread of His Presence” This is the bread.
Leviticus 24:5-9 5 and thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. The measure is always the same amount.
6And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. (Notice it is a pure table)
7And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (again it is pure frankincense).
8Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
9And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.
This is the bread…At this point it is difficult to decide whether to continue to study the furniture in the Holy Place and then the Tabernacle, the Laver, the Brazen Altar and the Outer Court or to start from the outside and work inward. What we must remember is that God builds His Temple in US; His temple will be a completed temple, not a half-built temple, and not a defiled temple. God said to Moses in Exodus ch. 25 here where we have been reading: “According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of its furniture, just so you shall construct it.” NRSV. This is to be our Christian experience…the pattern…sticks to the pattern and so as we look into the furnishings and all that it entails, we need to remember that God expects perfection from us just as He demanded for His Temple when He gave Moses the pattern.
Whoa! This is getting much too heavy now. What do I mean when I say perfection? Look at Ephesians 4:13. (read this verse from the amplified Bible also). “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,” (in the Greek which language this was written in the word for man is telios) and it means maturity, full grown, consummate human integrity and virtue, full age. Looking at that scripture again, it talks about the knowledge of the Son of God. We do achieve maturity by knowing the Son of God, amen? That is the only way it can happen, knowing Jesus. We must strive for and live to be that perfect, mature, full grown man / woman that God expects us to be. I haven’t met too many who can say they have arrived yet. In fact if I did meet that person, I would be suspicious of their claim. Humility is a mark of maturity I think. However we should not be in the same place in our journey as we were a year ago. Should we? We must enter in to a walk with God that leads to a more intimate relationship with Him and a more mature relationship. Paul said it in Philippians chapter 3 beginning at verse 1 through verse 21 and we will read from the NRSV. Here is the key found in verse 13 “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, verse 14 I press on” “I press on” says Paul. And that is how we come to mature in Him, amen? We press on.

We are studying this subject with the knowledge that God came to man first and foremost, not the other way around and that is the reason that we have started from the inside - In the Holy of Holies and work outward. After all isn’t that what happens in our lives? God in Christ (the Ark) comes in and does a work on the inside that changes us so that we reflect His beauty on the outside? He doesn’t change the outside first.
I want to say something here for the record and that is this: I have stated emphatically that Jesus was man and He lived without operating as God (that is, He laid aside His Deity to become a man so that He could taste death for every man) but
let me clarify just in case you may have missed this all important declaration…He is also God and He is the Son of the Living God. How many believe this is truth? I do not want to infer in any way that Jesus is just a man, albeit a perfect man, He is still God. God in the flesh, incarnate…”God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” And He has given you and me tonight the power or the right or the privilege to become the sons of God! I FELT THAT I MUST CLARIFY MY POSITION IN CASE THERE IS ANY DOUBTS WHATSOEVER AS FAR AS MY BELIEVING IN THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. HE was and is GOD ALMIGHTY.
We need to get to the Table of Shewbread, the Bread of His Presence. The Table was made from the same materials as the Ark. The Acacia wood which came from a tree (Emily) and the gold which came from Egypt. There is something we need to observe about the table that is significant in the observation of the Ark and that is this: the Ark was made to contain and preserve what was inside and the Table was made to uphold and expose that which was placed upon it. A crown of gold AND A MOULDING was all the way around the top to keep the bread from falling off and becoming defiled. Jude verse 24 says, “Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling (or stumbling) NKJV, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy…
The New Revised Standard Version puts it this way…to make you stand without blemish in the presence of His glory…” (repeat) Verse 25 goes on to say, “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. He wants us to be without blemish…you can’t be without blemish if you have a gossiping tongue. You can’t be without blemish if you harbor hatred or lustful thoughts, you can’t stand without blemish if you have an unforgiving spirit. You can’t stand without blemish if you don’t love your brother or your sister
I don’t know if any of these apply to anyone here or not. What I do know is we can’t stand without blemish if we harbor sin in our lives. I point the finger tonight at myself. The Bread of the Presence was continually before His face. What does this signify?
While this Table is first and foremost symbolic of our Lord Jesus Christ, it also includes the Church…you can’t separate the Head from the body and as a picture of the church, God is saying “you need food for your journey; here it is on the Table, which is Christ…the Table is Christ and the Bread is Christ.
We need the fellowship that the Table affords, amen? That is why the family eats at the table is it not? For fellowship…you can’t get it watching tv and eating off a tray…you need to sit at the table where you not only receive food for strength but you have fellowship. The family interacts around the table and develops a bond there. I remember wonderful times of fellowship around our table when I was growing up. It was a great time of fellowship and that is what the Table represents. It was a time of partaking and the showbread like the manna is partaking of our Lord Jesus Christ. The purpose of this table then was to uphold 12 cakes of bred…representing the twelve tribes and also the twelve apostles which again represents the church,. An elaborate piece of furniture some may think just to hold up 12 cakes of bread…it is what it represents. God gave His very, very best to redeem mankind. He gave His only begotten Son for you and for me tonight.
The table had two crowns on it. Read Ex. 25:24, 25.
One border, the width of a hand, went around the top of the table. Jesus, being God and yet as a man, was able to say in John’s gospel chapter 17, verse 4b, “I have finished the work which you gave Me to do.” The hand width signifies the effort and accomplishment of the human pat with His dependence on the Divine part…remember He laid aside His Divine attributes so that He needed to depend upon the Divine part.
In verse 5 of John 17, Jesus said “And now, O Father, glorify me with thine own self with the glory which I had with You before the world was” This is represented in the crown of gold on the Table. Read Phil.2:9-11. Then Heb.2:7-9.
The crown was all gold: ALL OF GOD. It is because of this exalted, immovable, everlasting crown position that we have assurance – 2 Tim. 1:12 B, John 10: 27 – 30.
The crown provided security for the bread which was continually before His face. Shewbread, bread of face was set before the face of God in security, acceptance and holiness. There were 12 cakes, the word cakes comes from CHALLOTH, which means pierced cakes. They were pierced to allow quick and thorough baking. These challoth were done by being quickly baked in a hot oven.
At Calvary- Jesus was pierced and passed through the fierce oven of God’s judgment and He became the bread of Life -- the sustainer and satisfier of all who feed on Him.
I mentioned before that there were these 12 cakes- they represent the 12 tribes as well as the 12 apostles- which represent the church. This is a picture of the old covenant being united with the new. When the priests ate of the bitter frankincense and drank of the wine they were looking ahead to the cross- to Jesus’ death on the cross. Acts 26:7 Paul refers to the 12 tribes.
The frankincense is referred to as a vegetable of the purest and whitest kind. It was bitter to the taste. It is said that the frankincense aroma filled the room – keeping bugs, ants and other creatures away from the bread. Being bitter when the priests ate the bread it was as the Passover – with bitter herbs – it was truly a bitter experience for Jesus to go His sufferings.
We need to remember His sufferings. Paul speaks of the fellowship of His sufferings that we read earlier in Phil. 3.
Let us never forget Gethsemane and Calvary.
When we read from the book of Ex.. at the opening of our study in the 25th chapter – where it talks about the table – it also speaks about the plates and dishes for incense and the flagons and chalices which to pour out drink offerings.
These represent the vessels of honor – which we are to be unto Him. 2 Tim 2: 20 -21, Zach 14:20, Titus 2:12. It is only as we live holy unto God and have a holy relation with one and another can we be fit for the Masters dwelling place.
There were no chairs because the priests were required to eat standing up so they could continue to serve God and the people. You cannot serve God and neglect the people.
As on the Passover night they were to eat the lamb while standing with their shoes on, their loins girded and their staff in hand so that they were always ready to go. Even so every priest must still eat for strength, fellowship and service.
For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show the Lord’s death till he comes 1 Cor. 11:26.
The call to move the tabernacle could come at any moment, the rapture of the church could come at any moment. I have already referred to this table as being a table of fellowship. The fellowship was as the priests gathered around the table and ate together, it was fellowship with God and one another. This signifies unity in the body of Christ. Jesus prayed John 17:21 that they all may be one -- As you Father are in Me and I in You.
Around the table they found communion with God and each other because they ate the same bread at the same table. Remember that Jesus is the TABLE and He Is the BREAD.
The more we feed on Him, the more we draw nigh to Him, the more we have fellowship and draw closer to one another.
Lastly at this table where the priests are fellowshipping and partaking together we will find Jesus to be our supply, our security, our sustenance and our sanctification. We can say with the hymn writer – He is ALL I need, JESUS is ALL I need.

Next week the CANDLESTICK.