LESSON 26
THE FURNITURE FOR THE TABERNACLE
—by E. L. Bynum
Memory Verse: Exodus 25:40 (N.W. 26:14)————Lesson: Ex. 25:23-40
I. THE TABLE OF SHEWBREAD. v. 23-30
A. The Table. v. 23-29
1. Dimensions. v. 23. It was about 36″ long, 18″ wide, and 27″ high.
2. Made of shittim (acacia) wood. v. 23. This speaks of HIS humanity.
3. Covered with gold. v. 23. This speaks of HIS deity.
4. The crown. v. 24-25. This speaks of HIS kingship.
5. Golden rings and staves. v. 26-28. This would reveal to those that carried it, that they were on a Divine mission.
6. Dishes, spoons, and bowls of gold. v. 29
B. The Bread.
1. Made of fine flour. The recipe is found in Lev. 24:5-9
a. There were twelve loaves representing one for each tribe, before the Lord.
b. The frankincense shows us that it was offered to a king. Lev. 24:7. Matt. 2:11, And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
2. Bread removed every Sabbath day and placed in a basket for the priests to eat. To be eaten in the Holy Place only.
C. The Bread a Type of Christ.
1. Christ as the corn of wheat. John 12:24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He was ground in the mill of suffering. John 12:27, Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. He was brought into the fire of judgment. John 12:31-33, Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.
2. Christ the living bread from heaven. John 6:51, I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
3. We are to feast upon the living Word as revealed in the written Word.
D. Leaven A Symbol Of Evil.
1. Jesus warns of leaven. Matt. 16:11-12, How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. I Cor. 5:6-8
2. Bread on table 7 days, which is God’s number of perfection. Christ spent a whole life here on earth and no leaven was found in Him.
E. Christ As Food.
1. Only the priests could feed upon the shewbread. Lev. 24:9; Matt. 12:4, How he (David) entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
2. Every saved person a believer-priest. I Pet. 2:9, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Rev. 1:6, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
3. The bread cost the priest nothing.
4. The sustaining food of the believer is: the written Word and the Living Word.
5. Only bread on the table. Nothing fancy such as pie etc. Why is it that people want a carnival atmosphere, joking, entertainment, movies, and magic tricks when they come to Church? WHY is not CHRIST and His Word enough?
F. They Were To Eat Standing Up.
1. Not one chair in the Tabernacle. It was not a place of ease. They were to be ready to move on a moments notice.
2. Passover was to be eaten with shoes on, loins girded, staff in hand, ready to leave on a moments notice.
3. Lord’s Supper looks forward to His coming. I Cor. 11:26, For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. When He comes, will he find us standing, loafing, sleeping, or serving.
4. Bread is a product of death, crushing, baking in heated oven We need to see Him being crushed, dying, and suffering for us. If so, we will be busy standing, going, and serving.
II . THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK. v. 31-40
A. The Purpose Of The Candlestick. v. 31-40
1. The candlestick was the symbol of a person. Note “his” in v. 31 . John 8:12; 9:5, Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Isa. 42:6, I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles. Isa. 49:6, …I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles….
2. The candlestick to furnish light on shewbread and for priests.
a. We are not to worship in ignorance, but in the light of truth. John 4:24, God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
b. To do this, we need the light of the Word of God to lead and guide us in our service. Prov. 6:23, For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.
3. No windows in the Tabernacle, but there was the candlestick for the Holy place and Shekinah light for the Holy of Holies
B. They Were Not To Walk In The Light Of Nature Or Reason.
1. If they walked in the light of nature or reason, they had to get outside the Tabernacle.
2. Outside they could not see the beauty of the inside.
3. The light of reason invents evolution, Fatherhood of God, and a bloodless religion.
a. Instead of blood as the remedy for sin, it is religion, morality, ethics, ordinances, education, psychology, and psychiatry, etc.
b. The natural man does not receive spiritual things. I Cor. 2:14, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
4. The believer walks in the light of the Word. Psa. 119:105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
5. Natures light becomes spiritual darkness to the unbeliever. Matt. 6:23, But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
C. The Candlestick.
1. Made of pure gold which speaks of the deity of Christ.
2. The gold was beaten, the oil beaten, both speak of the suffering of Christ.
3. That which symbolizes Christ, sometimes symbolizes His body, which is the New Testament Church. It also sometimes symbolizes individual Christians.
4. One central shaft, and the 6 branches were hooked to it. Six is the number of man. Incomplete unless attached to the central shaft which typifies Christ.
5. It was to give light over against it. v. 37.
a. The light was to reveal the candlestick which was a type of Christ.
b. The seven individual candlesticks (not a seven branched) represent the seven churches of Asia. Rev. 1:12, 13, 20, And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, 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. 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.
c. Each individual church is the body of Christ, and without Him in the midst, there is nothing to honor God. I Cor. 12:27, Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. This was addressed to the church at Corinth. I Cor. 1:2, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth….
6. The Candlestick beaten. It was hammered on the anvil. God’s great men experienced this. Moses, Joseph, Daniel, and Job all had this experience. Perhaps the worst part was not the hammering, but the pecking to make flowers, knops, etc. [Knop is “knob, bulb (as ornament)”]
D. Are We Shining?
1. God wants the Christian to Shine. Matt. 5:14, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Phil.2:15, That ye may 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.
2. Where can we shine best? In the Church. Rev. 1:20, …the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
3. The Holy Spirit in us is the oil. Rom. 8:9, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. I Cor. 6:19, What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
4. The purpose of our shining. Matt. 5:16, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
5. Lamps must be cleaned and adjusted to burn properly.
6. The old oil lamps of yesterday had to be cleaned, trimmed, and adjusted. If too high they exalted self, if too low the flame was smothered and they would smoke.
—by E. L. Bynum
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What was the dimensions of the table?
2. What two materials was it made of, and what did they typify?
3. What was the bread made of, and what did this symbolize?
4. When and where was the bread to be eaten, and who was to eat it?
5. What are we to feast on?
6. Leaven is a symbol of _________?
7. Why coup they not eat sitting down?
8. What or who does the candlestick symbolize?
9. What was it made of?
10. What does the Bible say about Christians shining?
11 . Where can the Christian shine best?
12. What is the oil for the candlestick a type of?