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In Isa. 11: 2 we have the sevenfold anointing of Christ:--
"And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the Lord."
He is pre-eminently "the faithful witness", and all other witness must draw its
inspiration from Him, the great Anointed, and receive its light from Him, the true light.
In the description of the lampstand we sometimes use the expression, "The seven
branched candlestick". This is incorrect.
"Six (not seven) branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches . . . . . out
of the one side, and three . . . . . out of the other side" (Exod. 25: 32).
Though there were seven lamps, there were but six branches, the central stem
supporting both its own lamp and the remaining branches. It is a fit symbol of the
essentials for witness, whether in Israel or the church. The central supporting and uniting
shaft is the Lord Himself; the oil for the light, the Holy Spirit; and apart from union with
the Lord, and the Spirit of God, we shall have neither light nor testimony. This sevenfold
arrangement is well seen in the special testimony for the church of the mystery as given
in Eph. 4: 4-6, where the one Lord is in the midst with the two sets of three on either
side. "Oil for the light" is a word that should make us examine our own testimony to see
that the source of our illumination is that of which God can approve.
The two features of the holy place specified by Exod. 25: are the table of shewbread
and the golden lampstand. They stood over against each other. The light from the lamps
would shine upon the pure gold of the table, the twelve unleavened loaves and the pure
frankincense. Testimony in the holy place is not taken up with flesh and failure, but with
the purpose of grace as seen in Christ.
[* - Both in the Hebrews and the Greek, witness and testimony are the same.]
One more article of furniture that was found in the holy place, viz., the altar of
incense, is not mentioned here, but its description is deferred until after chapters 28:
and 29: These chapters are devoted to the consecration of the priests, and then, with
the opening verse of chapter 30:, comes the first reference to the altar of incense. The
reader will realize the necessity to abide by this divine order, and we therefore follow the
leading of the Lord and likewise refrain from comment upon this third item until the
proper time, which will be after chapters 26:-29: have been considered.
No. 61 The tabernacle, its fabric and foundations (Exod. 26) See first the missing page!