THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #203 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #184
Pastor Christopher Choo,
Lesson 3889
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #203
THE LIFE OF MOSES #184
MOSES AT MT.SINAI#83
THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES ( Part 42)
THE MENORAH #12
THE MENORAH AT SHILOH
Our tour group often visit Shiloh where the Ark of the Covenant was kept ( including the Menorah ) in the days of Samuel.
His mother Hannah had kept her promise of dedicating her first child to God's service when her prayer that the curse of barrenhood be lifted from her was answered by God.
"And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli ( The High Priest ). And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the LAMP OF GOD went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep:" (1Samuel 3:1-3).
I told my students that the Menorah becomes identified as "THE LAMP OF GOD" in the reading of this scripture.
As such, the Menorah is a timeless symbol.
This seven-branched candlestick has been regarded by many Christians as little more than a Jewish relic or souvenir trinket.
However, this God-given symbol should not be considered something "out of date" nor simply Jewish but of divine origins.
The Menorah was not referred to as the "Lamp of the Jews" or the "Lamp of the Temple" nor the "Lamp of the Synagogue" but the LAMP OF GOD.
Why? Because it was God who designed it, had it constructed, and commanded its use (Ex 25:31, Number 8:2-4).
The candlestick, perhaps better than any other item that God commanded Moses to make, serves the ends and purposes of revelation by symbolism.
We will discover that the Menorah symbol regularly surfaced in the spiritual experiences of many other prophets and visionaries as it did with Samuel.
Notice the circumstances surrounding Samuel's prophetic call and the existing condition of Israel. The lamp of God was going out and soon afterward the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. Eli, the judge and High priest of Israel, had died and a child was born to Phinehas his son who's name says it all, Ichabod meaning "The glory of God has departed."
In principle this story could very well parallel many of the conditions within the Church in history and serve as a prophetic picture of our own time.
The setting was at evening time, the light from the Lamp of God was shining less brightly in the temple and there was "no open vision" (revelation).
It is very unusual that the lamp of God would have been going out at the very time of day when it normally should have been freshly fueled and burning its brightest.
The Church can learn valuable lessons from this story. We could very well be approaching the end of the age (evening). The Lamp of God, which is the Word of God (Psa. 119:105) and our understanding of it, has been seriously eroded due in great part to our forsaking the foundations of our faith rooted in the Hebrew heritage. The judgment of God is at hand.
And we need a spiritual revival to galvanise the Church to rise up and light up the Menorah as the burning Light of God.
Jesus said that we were to be the "light of the world." And that we were to put our light on a candlestick (Mt. 5:15).
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a CANDLESTICK; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." ( Mt. 5:14-17)
The Church here is represented by the symbol of the candlestick. The lesson is that the Church must become the light of the world and we as His servants must be His light to turn away the darkness of sin, death, disease and demonic oppression at such a time as this.
