The Tabernacle of God: The Golden Lampstand (Menorah)

Exodus 25:31-40

Hanukkah, the feast of dedication, is actually older than Christmas. In 168 B.C., Antiochus Epiphanes conquered the land of Israel. In an attempt to Hellenize the Jews (make them Greek), he offered a pig on the altar of the Temple, then poured the blood in the Most Holy place of the Temple. He also poured grease from the roasted pig on the Torah.

Later, the Greeks tried to force Jewish priests to offer sacrifices to Zeus. Mattathias Maccabee, a priest, refused. When others agreed, he killed both the Greeks and the idolatrous Jews. His son, Judah Maccabee, led a revolt, and after 3 years, the Greeks were driven from Israel. At the rededication of the temple, there was only enough pure olive oil to light the menorah for one day, but the oil burned for 8 days. Thus the celebration of Hanukkah was born. Interestingly enough, Jesus celebrated this in John 10:22-23.

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“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.  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.  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. On the lampstand itself four bowls shall be made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower.  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.  Their knobs and their branches shall be of one piece; all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure gold.  You shall make seven lamps for it, and they shall arrange its lamps so that they give light in front of it.  And its wick-trimmers and their trays shall be of pure gold.  It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils.  And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.

Exodus 25:31–40

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While the story of Hanukkah is interesting, and we have no reason to doubt that God performed a miracle, if all we see is this miracle then we miss the most important aspect of the menorah. Almost 1,500 years before Hanukkah, God had Moses build the tabernacle and its contents. Each piece of furniture was beautiful, but also served to point to the coming Messiah. The Menorah is no different. Just before Jesus celebrated Hanukkah in John 10, He made one of his "I Am" statements. In John 8:12 He said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Jesus did not want people to walk in darkness, so He gave His light. However, He knew that some would not walk in the light. While talking with Nicodemus in John 3, He said, "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (v.19). Depending on our perspective, light can be blinding, exposing, and painful or it can be illuminating, liberating, and comforting. Those who embrace the light find it to be the latter. They run to it, or perhaps I should say they run to Him.

Many times we think of this as a figurative statement, but it is not. Jesus is literally light. In Genesis 1:3, God gave light to the world (day 1), but it was not until day 4 (v. 14-19) that He made the sun, moon, and stars. He was the light of the world. John 1:14 tells us that Jesus made all things in creation. Also, Revelation 21:23 tells us that there is no sun or moon in Heaven because the Lamb (Jesus) is the light. In eternity past and in eternity future, Jesus will light His creation.

There is one more passage I want us to consider. In Exodus 33:18, Moses asked to see God's glory. God told him that he (Moses) could not see His glory and live, but He would let Moses see His back as He passed by. God then placed Moses in the cleft of a rock and Moses was able to see God's afterglow as He passed by. The brightness of God's glory was so intense that Moses's face glowed for days. Now consider that anytime people see God they are seeing Jesus, and we can understand that once again Jesus being the light of the world is a literal statement and this pure light is represented in the golden menorah of the Tabernacle.

Father, thank You for sending Your Son into the world to light the way for those of us who were wandering around in darkness. Help us to run to His light. May we bask in His glory so that His light shines in and through us. He told us that we are the light of the world now (Matthew 5:14), so help us to shine bright