Exodus Types: 6e. The Tabernacle In the Wilderness, A Manifold Type of Christ and His Church

We come now to the main part of the Tabernacle on the inside. Here are two rooms, the first a larger room into which only priests might enter for their service, and the second a smaller room where only the high priest could enter. God manifested His presence in this latter room. The first room was called the Holy Place, and the second room was called the Holy of Holies. The golden candlestick (lampstand) located on the left side of the Holy Place, represents the union between Christ and believers. "And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same" (Exodus 25:31). The central shaft or stem represents Christ, and the branches represent believers. The branches were not stuck on, or soldered on, or glued on. Rather they were one and the same piece with the central shaft or stem. Even so there is vital union between Christ and true believers. This suggests the reference of Christ to the Vine and the branches in John 15. The first result of the union with Christ thus typified is shining. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle [lamp], and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick [lampstand]; 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" (Matthew 5:1416). His lamp am I, to shine where He shall say, And lamps are not for sunny rooms, Nor for the light of day; But for dark places of the earth, Where shame and crime and wrong have birth; Or for the murky twilight gray Where wandering sheep have gone astray; Or where the light of faith grows dim, And souls are groping after Him. - Annie Johnson Flint The second result of union with Christ as pictured by the lampstand is fruit-bearing. The bowls, knops, and flowers suggest different stages in the process of growing fruit, i.e., almonds. And the Lord expects fruit from us as His followers who are united to Him. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples" (John 15:8). The fruits of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22, 23 should all be present in our lives, and if they are, then there will be converts to Christ. Such fruitfulness glorifies Christ. The fuel used by the candlestick (lampstand) is a type of the Holy Spirit as the source of the believers power for living and serving. "And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always" (Exodus 27:20). Absolutely pure olive oil was used in this lamp. And in the Bible oil is a type of the Holy Spirit. "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him" (Acts 10:38). If Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need to be anointed with Him for effective service. The table of shewbread, located on the right side of the Holy Place, is a type of the Lord’s Supper, or feeding on Christ. "Thou shalt also make a table of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof . . . And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway" (Exodus 25:23, 30). "Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute" (Leviticus 24:8, 9). The word shewbread means "presence-bread." It was kept in God’s presence. For wheat to become fine flour it must go through the process of sifting, rubbing, pounding, grinding, crushing, bruising. All this is descriptive of what Christ suffered on our behalf. "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Unleavened bread was used for the table of shewbread, suggesting that Christ was without sin. The bread was baked with fire, symbolizing the sufferings of Christ for us. The bread was changed every sabbath day, and thus no stale bread was allowed. So there is need for fresh, upto- date Christian experience. The priests ate the bread that was removed, thus picturing fellowship with God because of sins forgiven. The Lord’s Supper means feeding on Christ. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you" (John 6:53). This means to appropriate the result of His death in our daily experience. The golden altar of incense, located directly in front of them veil, is a type of Christian prayer to God. "And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it . . . And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense, before the Lord throughout your generations" (Exodus 30:1, 7, 8). The high priest was to burn incense on this altar morning and evening. Incense in the Bible represents the prayers of God’s people. "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice" (Psalm 141:2) "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints" (Revelation 5:8). "And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand" (Revelation 8:4). [Old Testament Types - FHW]