 |
| 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. |
Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matt
28:19-20)
In a day when instant gratification and well-meaning count more than absolute
obedience and exactly following instruction, it is difficult to convey the
importance of doing things exactly God’s way without any admixture of our own
volition and opinion. We are satisfied if we can understand the Gospel ‘approximately’
and will not study the Word to show our selves approved. “Study to shew
thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2:15) We have become spoiled by a
multiple-choice world that requires no subjective response to challenges. But
before we become the kind of teacher to which Christ refers in our opening
verse above, we must become masters of all that Christ taught – that is, “all things whatsoever I have commanded you”
- not MOST things, or SOME things, but ALL things.
The English Reformers were very diligent in replicating the form of worship of
the ancient Church Fathers. Those elaborate and superstitious practices
of the Roman Church were rejected in favor of a restoration of the ancient
forms practiced by the apostles. If we closely observe formal Anglican Worship –
and by that I mean precise worship in accord with the traditional Book of
Common Prayer – you will find a biblical basis for each and every rubric. Such
worship conforms closely to the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion and ads no
fantasy of man to its form. As we continue to examine this chapter of Exodus,
we will gain some insightful understanding of the manner in which primitive
Christian worship was conducted.
23 Thou
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. (Ex 25:23) This Table will be consistent
with the Lord’s Table of the Holy Communion in the traditional Anglican Church.
It was not excessively large or high. It was approximately one yard wide, 25
inches high, and a half yard deep. In order to emphasize the dignity and
reverence due this Table, it was overlaid and trimmed in precious gold. All who
worship God should do so in dignity and reverence of His Holiness. He does not
expect a poor man to wear a silk suit to church, but He does expect him to wear
clean garments of his Sunday’s best. The Lord’s Table was to be treated with
the same care as the Ark; i.e. it was not to be carried about by human hands,
but by the staves and rings attached thereto.
29 And
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. 30 And
thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway. (Ex
25:29-30) These
vessels on the Table comport with those of the Altar service used in our
worship services. The Shewbread was the unleavened Bread of the Communion
Service we observe. It stands for God’s constant Communion with His people, and
the Bread was always on the Table to signify a constant feeding, by His Word,
of His people. In the process of time, we learned that the Shewbread represents
the Body of our Lord sacrificed for us from before the foundation of the world.
The Table was position centrally in the Tabernacle just as the Lord’s Table –
not the pulpit – is centered in the forward most area of the sanctuary.
Why do we provide candles on the Lord’s Table? Because, like in the Temple and
Tabernacle, those candles represent the Light of God’s Word. In our reformed
tradition, the candle on the right side (facing outward) represents the Light
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the candle on the left represents the Light of
the Gospel as preached by the Apostles. I once had a good and biblically
centered Baptist minister accuse me of being Roman Catholic. When I asked him
why, he responded that we had a cross and candles on our ‘altar.’ I responded
that we did not have an altar as the Baptist and Romans had – it is the Lord’s
Table; and the cross was a symbol of what Christ had done for us (the same
which he displayed on the steeple of his Baptist church). I described the
meaning of the candles and reminded him of the descriptive words of Christ in
Revelations of St. John: I saw seven
golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like
unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about
the paps with a golden girdle. (Rev 1:12-13) 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and
the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven
churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
(Rev 1:20) 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. (Rev
2:5) I then very
lovingly pointed out to my Baptist brother that our Anglican Church still
possessed HER candles. I do not know what happened to his.
31 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. (Ex
25:31) All was to be hammered out by hand. The flowers, too, were
made of gold. Today, we may be disposed to place flowers on the Lord’s Table,
or above it, but God had no dead thing on His Table, and cut flowers are dead.
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: 33 Three
bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three
bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in
the six branches that come out of the candlestick. (Ex
25:32-33) Please
note the meticulous detail God demands. He desire absolute correctness in our
worship – not bringing in fables of men, but of His Word alone. The three
branches on each side constituted six candlesicks in addition to the central
candle – a total of SEVEN representing the perfection and completeness of God
and His Seven Fold Truth.
God leaves nothing to our imagination in the precise design of his implements
of worship in the Tabernacle. 37 And thou shalt make the
seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give
light over against it. 38 And
the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. 39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he
make it, with all these vessels. (Ex 25:37-39) These lamps are similar to our
Lord’s Table candle lighters used by acolytes to both light and extinguish the
candles. Purity in the precious gold represents the purity of God’s Word.
The candlelabra of the Tabernacle represents the Light of God shining in a dark
place for such a place was the Tabernacle – intentionally so to more fully represent
the darkness of the world in need of that Light of God. We have also a more sure word of prophecy;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark
place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. (2
Peter 1:19) Of
course, this heralds the coming in the Brightness of the Sun of our Lord Jesus
Christ!
The last verse in this chapter is a firm warning to Moses, and to us: 40 And look that thou make them after their pattern,
which was shewed thee in the mount. (Ex 25:40) Be sure, Moses, to make these
articles precisely as described to you on Mount Sinai. No human innovation in
worship is acceptable. It is likely that the Apostle Paul was mindful of this
particular warning when he said: Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou
hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 1:13) Do not ameliorate the Words of
God with those of men. Those Words are Holy and precise. The Tabernacle was a
foreshadowing of the Church of God whose strong foundation and Chief
Cornerstone is the Lord Jesus Christ. And are built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto
an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit. (Eph
2:20-22)
It is my prayer that we will remember to keep Holy our worship of the Lord and
attend our worship service with the reverence and dignity due His Holy Name.
