Oh, how I have been waiting to begin this unveiling. The golden Candlestick or Lampstand, next to the Ark, is my favorite piece. There is so much detail, so many nuggets of priceless truth hidden in this glorious piece. I hope you are not in a hurry because we are going to camp out here for a bit. I am not sure how long it will take but I want us to access the feast God wove into this piece of artistry. There is treasure beyond your imagination and it all shines with Yeshua.

In this blog, we are going to take the first two verses of the description of the Lampstand found in Exodus 25:31-32. We will look at the King James Version and the New King James Version. Note the different choices of words

Exodus 25:31-32 KJV 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:

Exodus 25:31-32 NKJV “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.

Note that the KJV says ‘candlestick’ and the NKJV says, ‘lampstand.’ When you look up ‘candlestick in Strong’s Concordance, it is #4501 means ‘lampstand.’  It is pronounced, ‘menorah.’

While the menorahs we often see today have candles in them, the original seven-branch menorah was a ‘stand’ holding seven oil lamps. Those lamps looked like this:

The Lampstand was made out of one piece of gold. There was a central main shaft or branch and six branches that came out of the main shaft. On the top of each ‘branch’ was an oil lamp.

Note in the KJV it speaks of his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. His in this text points to the fact that the Lampstand/Candlestick/Menorah represents Yeshua.

In future blog posts we will dig into Isaiah 11:1-3:

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;

Jeremiah and Zechariah also speak of this Branch.

Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.”

Zechariah 3:8 ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.’

The only piece of the Tabernacle furniture that was solid gold was the Lampstand. This speaks of divine nature first seen in Christ –the Light of the world.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, “I am the light of the world.”

He also gave His divine nature to the church.

2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

There is one other description about the use of gold for the Lampstand and it is found in Exodus 25:36.

Their knobs and their branches shall be of one piece; all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure gold.

Isaiah 53:4-5 points to Christ.

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

If all this is not hammering, I don’t know what is.

The Bible also speaks of His church being one.

Hebrews 2:10-11 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

1 Corinthians 10:17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

And in Ephesians 2:19-22 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

And lastly these quotes from John 17 where Yeshua prayed that all believers be one.

John 17:9-11 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.”

John 17:20-23 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

I know there is a lot of scripture here, but it is important to see that not only is the Lampstand a picture of Christ. But it is a picture of God’s ultimate plan for His church—His family. As we continue to explore the Lampstand in these next few weeks, may we more fully see Whose we are and who we are in this world. We are all called to be a light to the world.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14

Shalom ♥