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Scripture Reading: Exo. 37:10-29
Chapter 37 of Exodus is a record of the building of the contents of the tabernacle. The table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand, and the incense altar were the contents of the Holy Place. These three items formed one category of the contents of the tabernacle, and the other category was a single item, the Ark in the Holy of Holies. In this chapter and in the next, we will present the main features, the most significant characteristics, of these items.
The three items of the first group reveal to us three aspects of Christ for our experience and for the Father’s pleasure. In 37:10-29 the table of the bread of the Presence is mentioned first, followed by the lampstand, and then the altar. The bread set forth upon the table was the bread of the Presence (25:30), referring to the presence of God. The table of the bread of the Presence represents Christ as our life supply (John 6:33-35, 51), the lampstand represents Christ as our light (1:4; 8:12), and the altar of incense represents Christ as the sweet savor for us toward God (Eph. 5:2). John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” This verse corresponds to the order of our experience of Christ. We experience Christ first as life, and then this life is the light to us. The issue, the result, of our experience of life and light is Christ as the sweet savor to God for us. When we truly experience Christ as life to us, we are in the light of life, and when we are in the light of life, we share and experience Christ as the sweet savor to God. We become acceptable to God through Him and in Him as the sweet savor. He is the means by which and in which we are pleasing to God.
Life, light, and the sweet savor of the incense as aspects of Christ are significant and very full of meaning. The number of these items is three, the number of the Triune God. At the table, God the Son is our life; at the lampstand, God the Spirit is our light; and at the incense altar, God the Father is pleased with the sweet savor of Christ. These three items are very different from our own works, our own knowledge, and our own morality. We may be walking, working, and doing things according to our own knowledge and our own morality. We must be clear that such a work and walk are versus Christ. Our work is versus Christ as life, our knowledge is versus Christ as light, and our morality is versus the sweet savor of Christ. If we are going to enjoy Christ as life, as light, and as the sweet savor, we have to deny our own work, knowledge, and morality. If we depend upon our own work, we will not enjoy Christ as life. If we walk and work according to our knowledge, we could never enjoy and experience Christ as our light. Moreover, if we take our own morality for our acceptance to God, then we could not experience Christ as our sweet savor toward God. To deny and reject our own work, knowledge, and morality is to reject our whole self. There is no place for ourselves. There is only place for Christ—Christ as our life, Christ as our light, and Christ as our sweet savor to God. Everything must be Christ.
Exodus 37:10 says, “He made the table of acacia wood: two cubits was its length, and a cubit its width, and one and a half cubits its height.” The height of the table is the same as that of the Ark of the Testimony in verse 1. This indicates that the Lord comes up to the standard of the testimony of God so that He could be life to us. If He were short of the testimony of God, He would not be able to be life to us.
The table was one cubit wide and two cubits long, forming two square cubits. Because one square cubit represents a complete unit, the length and width of the table constitute two complete units, representing the testimony of Christ being life to us. Our experience always testifies that Christ is life. By experiencing Him, we could testify that Christ is truly life to us.
No measurement is given for the size of the lampstand, signifying that there is no measurement for the light. The light in the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. You may say, “I saw a great light” (Matt. 4:16), but you cannot say how great the light was. There is no measurement for the light, but there is a weight to the light. Exodus 37:24 says that the lampstand and its utensils were made of one talent of gold, which is close to one hundred pounds. With Christ as light to us there is no measurement, but there is always the weight. The more we are in the light of Christ, the more we experience Christ as the light, the weightier we are. We know this by our experience. When we are in darkness, we are a very light person. But when we are in the light of Christ, we become a man of weight. On the one hand, we may refer to someone as a man of weight, a weighty person. On the other hand, we may say of another person that he is too light. To be too light simply means to be too much in darkness. The more we are in darkness, the lighter we are. No one in darkness is weighty. But the more we are in the light of Christ, the weightier we are. We become men of weight. There is no measurement to the lampstand, but there is the weight.
Verse 25 says, “He made the altar of incense of acacia wood; a cubit was its length, and a cubit, its width, square; and two cubits, its height.” The incense altar was one cubit square and two cubits high. This is two units of a cube. One cubit wide, one cubit long, and one cubit high forms a perfect cube, a perfect and complete whole. Nothing can be added and nothing can be subtracted from it. Christ is so perfect and complete, just like a cube. He is so acceptable and pleasing to God because He is so perfect and complete. You can never add anything to Him, and you can never take away anything from Him. The height of the incense altar being a cube doubled indicates that the incense altar is a testimony before God.
The altar of incense is a testimony before God, whereas the table of the bread of the Presence is a testimony toward us. The table was two cubits long and one cubit wide (v. 10), constituting two units of one square cubit each, placed next to each other horizontally. The altar, on the other hand, was of two cubes placed vertically. Both the table and the altar were two cubits by one, but the table was doubled horizontally as a testimony to us, whereas the altar was doubled vertically as a testimony to God. What Christ is as a testimony to us horizontally comes up to the standard of what Christ is as the testimony to God vertically. The length of the table is the same as the height of the altar. Both the table and the altar signify the one Christ. When He comes to you as the table, He is horizontal, but when He goes to God as the incense, He is vertical.
Exodus 37:3-5 tells us that there were four rings in the Ark through which poles were placed so that it could be carried by four men. According to verses 13 through 15 there were also four rings in the table of the bread of the Presence. Furthermore, verse 27 says that two rings were placed under the rim of the altar for the same purpose. The Ark and the table probably required four people to carry them. However, it may have been that only two persons were required to carry the altar, since both its length and width were one cubit. The two poles in two rings could have been borne upon one man’s two shoulders at either end. Nevertheless, the Ark and the table required at least four men to carry them. This points to the coordination of the Body of Christ. On one side of the Ark and the table were two rings, indicating a testimony. A pole was placed through the two rings, and two men formed a group to bear the one side. Another pole was on the other side within the two other rings, and another two men bore that side. These two groups formed one group of four. This signifies the coordination of the creatures to bear the testimony. The four men had to be nearly the same size. One could not be too tall or too short, lest they not be able to coordinate. They had to coordinate and walk together in the same steps (2 Cor. 12:18b).
The table and, in principle, the incense altar were borne in the same way as the Ark. Second Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13 record how David brought the Ark to Jerusalem, not borne by men but upon a new cart. That displeased the Lord, and His anger was kindled (2 Sam. 6:7). From this, David learned a lesson. The next time the Ark was moved, David realized that the divine way to carry the Ark was not by a cart but upon the shoulders of the Levites (1 Chron. 15:2, 13-15) for the testimony of the Body.
Although there is no measurement for the lampstand, there are many occurrences of the number three in the description of the lampstand. Exodus 37:18 says, “There were six branches going out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand out of one of its sides, and three branches of the lampstand out of its other side.” The lampstand had six branches, three on two sides. Three, here, represents resurrection, and two represents a testimony. On each branch there were three cups shaped like almond blossoms with calyxes and blossoming buds (v. 19). The calyx is the leafy green layer of a flower, and the blossoming bud is the flower itself. The word cup is used to describe the whole flower, including the calyx and the blossoming bud. In addition to a calyx and the blossoming bud, an almond blossom also has the almond fruit. The whole flower, including calyx and blossom, was a cup to bear the oil for lighting.
According to Numbers 17:8, Aaron’s rod budded, blossomed, and bore almonds. This is a picture of resurrection, life coming out of death. Aaron’s rod was a dead stick, but through resurrection it brought forth almonds. The almond blossoms with the calyxes and blossoming buds depict the issue of the resurrection life of Christ. Christ as light to us is the issue of Christ as life to us. The resurrection life of Christ is for the light. Christ could be light to us by passing through resurrection.
The lampstand is full of symbols of resurrection. Every branch of the lampstand is like a branch of an almond tree. Furthermore, the many occurrences of groups of three on the lampstand indicate resurrection. On each branch of the lampstand were three almond blossoms with a calyx and blossoming bud. When the flower blossoms, it yields the almond as fruit. This indicates that the resurrection life is the light to us.
Exodus 37:20-21 says, “On the lampstand were four cups made like almond blossoms, its calyxes and its blossom buds; and a calyx under two branches of one piece with it, and a calyx under two branches of one piece with it, and a calyx under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of it.” There were six branches, and at the base where each pair of branches met there was a calyx. On each of the six branches there were three calyxes. Three branches were on one side, and three branches were on the other side. At the base of three pairs of branches there were three calyxes, and on each branch there were three almond blossoms. This totaled to seven groups of three blossoms.
On the shaft of the lampstand there were an additional four almond blossoms (v. 20). It is very meaningful that there is at least one mention of the number four in the lampstand. If there had been no number four, the lampstand may have had nothing to do with us as the creatures. Thus, with the lampstand there are the number three and the number six, and with the stalk of the lampstand there is the number four. The basic number is three, signifying that the entire lampstand is a matter of resurrection. But this resurrection is for man, the creature, because Christ as light is a man, that is, a creature, as signified by the four almond blossoms on the stalk. If He were not a creature, He would be the light, but He would not be light to us. Because He is a creature, He is light to man, who is signified by the number six, since man was created on the sixth day. The light of Christ is wholly a matter in resurrection. Christ is life and light in resurrection, but He is also a creature so that He may be light to man. Moreover, verse 24 says that the lampstand was of a talent of gold, signifying the divine nature. The light of the lampstand is the divine light of the divine nature.
