Starting all the way from Friday >_> Sorriez again...

God bless!

-Love, GinniePark

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Memory Verse of the Week:

“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not ert justice by siding with the crowd.” – Exodus 23:2

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Everything Sacred – Exodus 25:23-40

The Bread Table

23: “Make a table of acacia wood – two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.”

24: “Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it.”

25: “Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.”

26: “Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are.”

27: “The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table.”

28: “Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them.”

29: “And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings.”

30: “Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.”

 

The Lampstand

31: “Make a Lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds, and blossoms of one piece with them.”’

32: “Six branches are to extend from the sides of the Lampstand – three on one side and three on the other.”

33: “Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the Lampstand.”

34: “And on the Lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.”

35: “One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the Lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair – six branches in all.

36: “The buds and branches shall all be of once piece with the Lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.”

37: “Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it.”

38: “Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold.”

39: “A talent [seventy-five pounds] of pure gold is to be used for the Lampstand and all these accessories.”

40: “See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

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Reflection

The Bread Table (25:23-30)

The tabernacle and its furnishings teach us many lessons. The table for the bread of the Presence is in the Holy Place, on the right. It is located opposite the Lampstand. Beyond this altar is the veil of the tabernacle that hides the Most Holy Place from the eyes of everyone except the High Priest. In the Most Holy Place, we find the Ark of the Covenant, which is the earthly dwelling place of God. God prepared the tabernacle, not just for worship and sacrifice, but also as an illustration of the Son He would send to earth. We read in the Gospel of John that Jesus is the Bread from heaven and gives life to the world (John 6:32-32, 50-51). As the Living Bread of Life, Jesus proclaimed that whoever eats of Him would never hunger and would live forever. Unlike the manna given in the desert, Jesus is simply enough.

 

The Lampstand (25:31-40)

The Lampstand is the second of three items we find in the Holy Place. Like the other pieces in the tabernacle, it is made of pure gold. The Lampstand provides light for the priests and is to be kept burning nonstop. The symbolism of the tree is possibly reminiscent of the tree of life in Genesis 3:22, symbolizing the life-giving power of God. The bread table and the Lampstand comprise the main items of furniture in a home, but this home is God’s home. As such, they indicate clearly that God lives within the tent, and the abundance of gold emphasizes the importance of the occupant. The provision of bread and light are symbolic reminders that God is there at all times, both day and night. The Lampstand also foreshadows Jesus as the ultimate Light of the world (John 8:12).

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Application

-If you struggle with emptiness, disappointments, and dissatisfaction in life, pray to the One who fills and redeems. Pray that Jesus will fill the void in your life, and put your faith and trust in the Bread of Life.

-Do you have the light of life in you? Are you shining the light of Jesus brightly in the world? Pray and ask God to make you into a light that shines His love all over the world.

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“I have a great need for Christ; I have a great Christ for my need.”

-C.H. Spurgeon

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Christ the Lampstand

The meanings behind religious traditions are often lost over time, but every tradition exists for a purpose. Every tradition in Christianity has a back story. There is a reason why we go to church on Sunday. There is a reason why the bread is sometimes broken during communion. There is a reason for everything.

The same holds true for the articles in the tabernacle. Everything in the tabernacle represented something; everything was ordained for a specific purpose, by God. The golden Lampstand is no exception. This passage seems to be irrelevant or unimportant, and yet God chose to include it in His Word; everything recorded in the Bible is there for a reason. There are plenty of prophecies, lives, and deeds of kings and men, and even works of Jesus Christ which were not recorded. Yet God took the time to explain the Lampstand in great detail.

Although the Lampstand certainly had a functional value within the tabernacle, it had a deeper meaning as well. As Henry Law writes, “A Lampstand alone lifts high a seven-crowned head – and night is no more known. Faith looks, and soon discerns the truth of the bright vessel. Glad memory recalls the word, ‘The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.’ It sees that this must be an image of that heavenly home in which Christ is the full light.” The Lampstand was not placed in the tabernacle simply to provide light. It was intended to be a symbol that would point forward to the ultimate light – Jesus Christ.

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A Letter to God

Dear Jesus, thank You for making Your home in me.

May You be the One who satisfies the deepest longings of my heart.

May You shine Your light brightly in me and use me to be Your witness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.