Burn Brightly

"BURN BRIGHTLY"

Exod 25:31-32 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. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:

Exod 25:37-38 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, [shall be of] pure gold.

Pure gold candlesticks were to be made as part of the furniture of the Tabernacle of Moses.

One staff with six branches protruding from the sides.

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Jesus said He is the vine, the main staff.

We are the branches.

Six branches.

Six is the number of man.

Man was created on the sixth day.

That is why the mark of the beast (man-worship) is 666.

Jesus is the vine in the middle.

Six branches on the vine makes a complete unit of SEVEN.

Seven always meant "complete" in the Bible.

Without Jesus we are incomplete.

The candlestick was of "beaten work."

The gold was not melted and poured into a mold.

It was hammered and beaten.

Without this candlestick, one could not have light to see while in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle.

Jesus was "beaten" and wounded for our transgressions.

He was whipped and buffeted.

And because of that we can see His light.

We can be branches in Him.

He said, "I am the light of the world" (John 9:5).

And He also said, "Ye are the light of the world" (Matt 5:14).

He and us together are vine and branches giving light, like the candlestick.

The lamp is Jesus Christ.

Each lamp had WICKS on them.

Olive Oil was added to the wicks, and the fire burned the olive oil.

The Olive Oil and the Fire speaks of the Holy Ghost.

The gold is Jesus Christ.

But there are the wicks.

What does the wicks represent?

YOU AND I.

The oil would saturate the wicks.

Literally, the wicks were immersed, or baptized (Greek meaning of baptized is "immersed").

The wick is soaked in oil.

That would allow the oil to burn on the wicks.

God created man to be baptized with His Spirit.

And we are meant to be set ablaze with the fire of His Holy Spirit.

There is a lesson to learn in the picture of the wicks.

When such oil is all over a wick, the part that burns is the oil.

But the wick carries the oil.

And the wick CHARS in the process.

The wick keeps charring until the fire cannot burn brightly any more.

The Pure Olive OIL is not the problem.

The Pure Gold is not the problem.

As the wick chars, impurity collects.

WE, the wicks, ARE THE PROBLEM.

The lamp may be pure gold.

The oil may be pure olive oil (Ex. 27:20).

But a charred wick stops the light from shining.

Instead of light, a charred wick causes smoke and an odour to fill the room.

So the wick had to be dressed.

Exod 30:7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

The lamp actually went out in Eli’s day.

1Sam 3:3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God [was], and Samuel was laid down [to sleep];

The priests were supposed to extinguish the lamp in the morning with snuffers.

They would trim the lamps.

The ashes and the char from the wicks were carried away in golden dishes.

And a fresh new supply of oil was applied at the same time.

The Bible mentions snuffers and snuffdishes.

Exod 37:23 And he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuffdishes, [of] pure gold.

Natural light is not in this holy place.

Only unnatural light from the candlesticks.

The holy place where the candlesticks were, was a room to be traversed immediately before one entered the Most Holy Place behind the veil, where God’s Presence actually dwelt.

There is a message here.

As you come near to God, you need illumination from His Spirit because natural illumination (opinions of God) cannot help you.

The wicks were then lit in the evening time.

Then extinguished again in morning.

Tongs removed the charred matter.

Tongs lifted up the wick to a fresh position for the oil and the fire to burn upon them brightly again.