NOTES OF AN ADDRESS BY J. B. J.
(Read Ex. 25:31-40.)
The golden candlestick affords a clear and comprehensive figure of Jesus as the True Light, and is also a figure of His people as identified with Him in resurrection and testimony. The candlestick proper (the shaft) is distinguished from " the branches that come out of the candlestick:" the "shaft" representing Christ Himself, while the branches represent His people. Another distinction we likewise must make, viz., between the candlestick itself and the light which it bears. The light is maintained by the oil, and the oil, the regular figure for the Spirit of God, supplies the concentrated light of the seven lamps upon "the face of it " (or " him," ver. 37, marg.). It suggests the full testimony of the Spirit to Christ risen and glorified.
Light supposes darkness; it is the antidote to it; in the physical world its presence dispels darkness. Darkness is never absolute as we know it; it is always relative, being mitigated by the presence of sun, moon, stars, etc.; these may be obscured, but their existence modifies the darkness to a greater or lesser extent.
In Genesis i, we have what we may consider absolute darkness. "The earth was without form, and void:and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Light had not been introduced into the scene, the sun, moon and stars were not shining upon the earth, and its darkness must have been absolute. What "a horror of great darkness " must have existed upon this globe at that time-who can depict or even imagine it ?
A parallel to it is given in John i:9-11 where, speaking of "the True Light which coming into the world lighteth every man," it says:"He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own; and His own received Him not." Could darkness be more intense than that? "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not " (vers. 4, 5).
Light must come from outside-from God. God speaks, and at once there is light. Here in John i, the light shines, but it is not received. " This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (3:19). Light was in Him -not in the world, not in men. The darkness of man was the darkness of death; man's real need was life (comp. Gal. 3:21), and it is the True Light which makes this manifest. His coming into the world proves conclusively the condition in which man is, as stated in John i:9 (comp. 2 Cor. 5:14).
Light makes manifest "For whatsoever doth make manifest is light" (Eph. 5:13):and light not only manifests the character of the scene upon which it shines, but it makes itself manifest. By coming into the world, our Lord both manifested its condition, and His ability and desire to deliver from that condition. Let us clearly understand that life was in Him, not in the scene into which He had come-not in man, save in those who received Him. There were those who received Him, who "believed on His name; to them gave He the right to become the children of God " (to take their place as such) '' which were born, not of blood [of natural birth], nor of the will of the flesh [of fallen man's will], nor of the will of man [of man's efforts at all], but of God" (vers. 12, 13).
Here was the Life, with full power to give life to all who received Him. How His very presence makes manifest the condition of every one in that presence! In Luke 7, the Pharisee whose guest He was is manifested (ver. 39); the woman, a sinner of the city, who washed His feet with her tears, was manifested (vers. 37, 38, 48, 50), as also those who sat at meat with Him (ver. 49); the scribes and Pharisees in John 8:9 are manifested; they demonstrated that Jesus was "the Light of the world," and that, as He said, "he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (ver. 12). However cultured, however moral, or religious, or eminent of birth, or charitable, or benevolent, every soul that has not bowed to Christ is in the darkness of death. He may think and say he is in the light, but man is born blind, and like the blind man of John 9, must wash at Siloam-the Sent One from God-or remain in the outer darkness. There is no middle ground.
Being rejected by the world, He who was the Light upon earth goes back to the Father who sent Him; from thence He communicates this precious grace and power to others, saying of those who had received Him," Ye are the light of the world" (Matt. 5:14); "As my Father hath sent Me, even so send I you " (John 20:21).
The branches of the candlestick were intimately connected with the central stem, their light supplied by the same oil which illumined the central shaft. It furnishes a clear illustration of i Cor. 12:12, 13:"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body:so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." This again is like 2 Cor. 4:6:"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the radiancy of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ." And again, as in chap. 5:19-21:"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by us:we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."
We are to remember that responsibility is attached to this place of privilege and blessing:"Ye were sometime darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord:walk as children of light" (Eph. 5:8). If we have been called out of our darkness into His marvelous light, it is that we may show forth the excellencies of Him who has so richly endowed us (i Pet. 2:9). In order to this we must be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:15).
Let us see to it then that it is not self, but Christ that may be reflected in our ways. The seven lamps were to "light over against "-that is, upon the candlestick; they united in shining upon the face of that golden candlestick; it is a beautiful figure of how the Spirit's testimony is unto Christ-not to ourselves-not even to the Spirit's work in us. Those lamps must needs be lighted every night and trimmed every morning, that the flow of oil might be unobstructed, and a full, clear light maintained. It suggests the need of constant watchfulness over our ways, our habits, and our associations, that the Holy Spirit may fill every avenue of our heart and mind.
In a certain sense we are going through the night as we step out into the untried future, not knowing what is to befall us:so in faith we must light our lamp. In a certain sense the morning light is upon us as we experience the Lord's goodness:so we can trim our lamp, cutting off the charred wick of past experiences that there may be a fresh surface for a free flow of the divine oil. Golden snuffers are provided for removing what would prove obstruction for the fresh oil; the feeding upon past mercies needs to be removed; golden snuff-dishes are provided for preserving them, but they must not be in the way of present, living contact with the source of supply. The people could not live upon manna gathered the previous day, it must be freshly gathered; so we may not live upon what the Lord was for us in past days, there must be living touch with Him now. When Aaron dressed the lamps in the morning, and when he lighted them at night, he burnt sweet incense on the golden altar (Ex. 30:7, 8). How precious is this thought!-how naturally would one who is walking with God offer the incense of praise and thanksgiving at the thought of the mercies vouchsafed through past difficulties, or as he thought of God's boundless grace to count upon for whatever lies before!
The candlestick was of pure gold-not shittim wood overlaid with gold, as some of the other vessels. This may be to call particular attention to the divine glory of our Lord, as witnessed by resurrection (Rom. 1:4). He was ever the Life of men, He was ever the True Light, and manifested to men as such (i John 1:2):by raising the dead was marked off as Divine.
The almond was very prominent on both shaft and branches:seven buds, blossoms and fruits on each pair of branches, and seven on the central stem. The almond tree is the first to blossom in the spring after the long winter night; the Hebrew word for it is shaqed, from a root which means "to hasten," or "to be wakeful." In Jer. i:n, 12 we may see how the word is used both in the verb and substantive. Jeremiah says," I see a rod of an almond tree." The Lord replies," I will hasten my word to perform it." The force of this is somewhat obscured by translation. It is, really, "I see a rod of a shaqed tree." And the reply is, "I will shaqed my word to perform it." In Psalm 127 the word is rendered "waketh." In Num. 17 Aaron's rod that budded-the dead rod bearing almond buds, blossoms, and fruit-is used to indicate Jehovah's choice of the one who was to go in to God for the people. Life out of death was the sign, and the particular tree chosen was the " hastening tree," referring clearly to our Lord as "risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept" (i Cor. 15:20), and it is thus the Lord proposes to "quite take away their murmurings" from Him (Num. 17 :10). The precious death of Him who has gone in to God as our High Priest, fully atoned for our sins, and His resurrection has operated as clearance papers (Rom. 4:25). As this is realized in the soul, it will afford both motive and power for light-bearing.
The dimensions of the candlestick are not given, but the weight is, " of a talent of pure gold shall he make it" (Ex. 25 :39). This may suggest to us 2 Cor. 4:17, "For the momentary lightness of our affliction worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
May we who have "tasted that the Lord is gracious " see to it that every bit of what would hinder .the free flow of oil be removed; that vain thoughts, worldly ways, questionable associations, be not allowed, or whatever is unbecoming us as lights in a world which lies in the wicked one, that the light may be bright, in testimony to Him.