Bentley, Tom: The Tabernacle-04 ~ The Lampstand

Exodus chapter 35 and 25, verse thirty one. And thou shalt make a lampstand pure gold. Of beaten work shall the lampstand be made. His sap and his branch, that word should be in the singular, and his branch, bowls, his knops, and his flocks shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it, three branches of the lampstand out of the one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. Three bowls made like unto amons, with a knop and a flower in one branch, and three bulls made like amens in the other branch, with a knop and a flower. So in the six branches that come out of the lampstand. And in the lampstand shall be four bulls made like unto amens with their knops and their flower. And there shall be a knot under two branches of the same, and a knot under two branches of the same, and a knot under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the lampstand. Their knots and their branches shall be of the same, and it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. 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 snuff dishes thereof shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold shall... shall he make it with all these vessels. And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount. Now, we like to identify the occurrence of it in other portions, chapter thirty five, and notice, please, verse fourteen, where we have its position in the relaying of the message to the people of God, to Israel. Thirty five and fourteen, The tape, the uh, the lampstand also for the light, and his furniture and his lamps with the oil for the light. In chapter thirty seven, chapter thirty seven um and verses seventeen to twenty four, we have the making of the lampstand. In this we see the obedience of the workmen under the inspiration and power of the Holy Spirit of God. Now, chapter forty, verse four, at the second part of the verse, and thou shalt bring in the lampstand and light the lamps thereof. Verse twenty four, and he put the lampstand in the tent of the congregation over against the table on the side of the tabernacle southward, and he lighted the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. So in the setting, as in the making, there was prompt and complete obedience to the word and will of God. Now we trust the Lord will bless to us this reading and help us now to consider the passage together. As you look at the model, you can visualize very readily that in this whole system there were three forms of light. In the court, there was natural light, the light of the sun, and of course, at night, the light of the moon, and of course, also the pillar of fire. Let us not forget it in its more supernatural character. We'll come to that in a moment. But speaking generally, there was the light of the sun in the court. Then, as we come into the holy place, we have here the means of light in the lampstand and its seven lamps. We call that artificial. And then, when we come into the holiest of all, we believe that that sanctuary was alit with the glory of the presence of God. Absolutely divine and most s- singularly supernatural. Now, that's very interesting in itself, and so we think tonight that as in all houses, so in God's house there was light. Now, I trust that you are beginning to see the significance of the range that God is bringing before us in the story. The first item that we had from verse ten to the verse number twenty two was, of course, the ark. Last night we looked at the table, and now we consider the lampstand with its most significant light ministry. Now, what are we to understand in this order? I have thought that it's useful for us not only to consider the details of these items, but surely it is also important that we recognize the reason or the connection between this presentation of God to his people and, uh, to see what it means for us today. I have suggested that in the ark we have the message or the symbol of the divine presence, the presence of God. I have thought when we come to the table, as we saw last night, we have the principle of fellowship. Now, when we come to the last stand, of course, very, very simply, we have the principle of light. And when we speak of light, we immediately think of revelation, the outshining of the mind and will of God in all its radiance and in all its glory and fullness. Now, this is what we feel is the order at this stage of the divine communication. The presence of God, fellowship with God in the consciousness of divine light. Now, I think you can put those things together very, very beautifully in our new Testament, and indeed in the old as well. And I think you will realize that if we go about saying we have fellowship with God and walk in darkness, we lie and do not, and are not doing or not keeping the truth. We understand that. It is inconceivable to say that we're at the table of God in fellowship and still walking about in the darkness. Because it is inconceivable, if God has brought us to the table of an evening past, that we stumble in the dark, that we cannot find our way. Indeed, that would be inconceivable. And so God is putting these things before us, things which we know, things that we've understood, I thought, a long time ago. But it's good to see how they're placed before us now in the presentation of the, of the subject. The ark, the table, and now the lampstand. I would have thought there are various outstanding truths, or truth, I should say, uh, linked with the lampstand. As you look at it, as insofar as we could visualize it, it does look like a tree. And by the description that is given in this lovely passage, it appears to be a very fruitful tree. And that's what we would expect because in the lampstand there is the evidence of life. Life. It has these fruitful evidences, almond blossoms, the very evidence of productive life. That's in the subject. And then, as we read of the lampstand and its shaft or its branch, singular, and then we read of six branches coming out, three on one side and three on the other side. We have in the very subject, in the very symbol, one of the greatest tokens of divine union in the whole of the Old Testament. And so you get the idea of life, and you can see the principle of union, the branches coming out of the center shaft, all of one piece. And so we are learning not only the principle of life, but the glorious reality of union. And that, of course, with our Lord Jesus Christ. And then there is not only life, not only union, but let us not forget the most important, which is, of course, the very meaning and the very purpose of the lampstand, that is to give light, to give light. So can you see the pressure, the, the, the, the tremendous issues that flow freely from this subject. I would add that not only is there life, not only is there truth of union, not only is there radiance of divine light, but I would have thought with the presence of the oil, and that of course speaking to us, as it always does, of the Spirit of God, there is evidence of divine energy, and thus divine liberty. Now, these are some of the precious ideas that I find associated with the subject of the lampstand in the Word of God before us. Now, I want just to follow one or two simple points tonight and try to get to something of a practical nature in the ministry, because the details are very interesting and very instructive, but I would have thought the application is what we certainly require as well. And so tonight, let us think right away of the formation of this lampstand, the formation of the lampstand. That's a simple word, because we know that it is made of gold, of pure gold. And then, of course, what we find now in distinction to the ark of an evening or two past, and in respect of the table yesterday evening, we discover this, that this lampstand is made of one material, one material. It's not a composite making. It's not made of various materials. It is made of one single material. And I drew attention on Monday evening to those things in this whole system that are thus made. For example, the lever is made of one material, as you know. The sockets that you cannot see, but we'll see later, eh, for the boards are made of one material. The sockets agreeing to the brazen altar and the laver, of course, these sockets of brass or copper are made of one material. And there are interesting items, as you can see, that relate to this principle in the whole of the structure. One material, and that, of course, is gold. It would here be called a lampstand of pure gold, and I think that's very precious. But remember, when we come to Leviticus, it is simply called the pure lampstand, and I like that title as just as we had it last night in respect of the table. It is called the pure table, and that's a lovely word in the context of the Levitical book. But now let us get to the formation. It is of gold. My brethren have already asked me, one or two, what are you going to say about the dimensions of the lampstand? And I know that they are reading your Bible, and I know they have other items like this with which no measurements are given. So the question is, how are we going to know what size to make it? How are we going to know, uh, what to, what to do when there are no measurements governing the making of the lampstand? Now, I think that's a very important thing. I would remind you that the good man Moses, and even more responsibly, Bezalel. These men were not left to their imagination as to what to do under these circumstances. I don't think God would leave that to their imagination at all. But may I point out, brethren, that we have the answer to this and to the associated problems in the passage we have read tonight. Because if you have been with us in nights that are past, and those that have been will easily recall that I've drawn attention to a re- a repetition of a most simple word and yet a very vital issue, and that is this. That in verse nine of chapter twenty five, we have in this communication the first reference to the Mount. The Mount. And now when we come to the last verse of chapter twenty five, the verse number forty, we have the second reference to the Mount. Now, that is doing work for us. As I pointed out on Monday evening. For, as you will know again, in verse thirty of chapter twenty six, we have the word mount or a reference to the mount yet again. And when we come to chapter twenty seven and verse number eight, we have the fourth reference to the mount. What are these for? I have told my brethren, and no one has objected so far, that these punctuate the divine communication and give us it in four sections up to this point. And that to me is very instructive, and I trust you're pondering the reason why these are put in this way. But now, why do I refer to the verse number forty for the answer in regard to the measurement. Well, read the verse with me again. And look that I'll make them after the pattern which was seen thee in the mount. You see, when God committed this to Moses, it had a twofold means of communication to Moses. God used his voice, and he communicated by his voice, and Moses heard. But God did something else. It may be hard for us to visualize, but God had a pattern, a pattern, and God showed him the pattern. So God not only registered his message on his ear, God registered his message on his heart. There are the two things, on the ear and on the eye. He heard the voice of God, and there were things, the pattern was shown to him. He saw it. What the, uh, what this good man did, of course, was to relay what God spoke. Now, when it would come to this problem, or this difficulty, or the sight, all that these men had to do was to come to Moses. And Moses has already seen. Moses has already had vision, and because he's a man of vision, he is a man for the moment when the moment comes for them to construct this vessel. They are not left to their imagination as to what size or whatever to make it, but they call upon the man of vision. And Moses, who saw that lampstand in model form, if you will, in the very presence of God, in pattern form, to use the word, he is able now to relay that to the immediate workman that will form this holy vessel for God. My brethren, I feel that this is something we need tremendously in our day, men of this caliber. There are circumstances arise in the testimony of God today, and we need men that are in touch with God to such a degree as to be able to advise. That is, according to the word of God. We need men of vision. We need men that are in closest touch with God, and our problems today magnify and multiply because we lack this kind of caliber on men today in our midst. That's not casting a reflection on any brother in the meeting, God forbid. I'm speaking generally, and I trust I'm speaking helpfully. So there would be no difficulty when Bezalel would come to the lampstand, Moses would be approached, and Moses would be able to give the directions necessary for this and for any other item that God has not specified measurements for. We will come to other items where we have to do a little bit of honest conjecture in order to arrive at certain dimensions within this sanctuary, and I would believe when that moment would come in those days, Moses had the answer. Moses had the answer. And the answer that Moses would give would be in keeping with what he saw on the mountain of God. Else, when the moment came for God to fill it with his glory, he would have shrunk from doing so had there been a particle not in keeping with his mind and will. So while it is mysteriously hidden from our eye, we recognize the answer is in the passage. For God had reserved the right to withhold what he will, that men would know what it means to depend upon him in communion with himself. Now, verse thirty nine, the verse before this, tells us something new. I looked at verse forty with you, now look at verse thirty nine. All the talent of pure gold shall he make it with all these vessels. Now, up to now, with the ark and with the table, we have been given dimensions. Now, this is the first time we have been given weight. So it's not so much the dimensional aspect of the lampstand with which we are involved tonight, but it is the basic weight of the lifespan God has us engaged with. Don't worry, when you come, if you're reading all in the story, and I trust you are reading whether morning or night, I have to bring that in now because some didn't think it was a good thing to read at night. I'm not saying they fell asleep, but they fell sleeping and all, and uh, maybe the morning, well, it doesn't matter whether morning or night, you make sure you read it anyhow, and if you do, you'll find that all the weight of the whole system is tabulated for you before you come to the end. So don't worry about that. But this is the first time in the communication that weight has come in, and thus we're focusing now not on dimensional standards, but the weight of the lampstand is what God would have us consider. My brethren, I think you recognize that as far as this talent of gold was concerned, approximately three thousand shekels of gold in weight. You will know this, that my and your ability weathered individually or collectively, lies in the value of the weight of the truth you carry. You got that? If the truth of God is having no weight in your soul, it is having no weight in your life. Remember, your ability to reflect the glory of God is sadly reduced. Some of us can talk about these things, and it's a most responsible thing to come, brethren, to a platform of this dimension and even minister as I'm ministering now, if the thing has no weight in my life for God. My way on a practical issue now, aren't we? If it's not governing me, if it's not directing me, if it's not influencing me, how will I be able to radiate the light of truth if truth hasn't got a weight in my soul? My, we treat things lightly. This is what's happening in the testimony. Valued truth that was once held as a precious, precious weight has been loosely treated now, lightly treated. You remember when those vessels, these vessels and others such like them were weighed in the book of Ezra, it was a weight that counted at the end of the journey. Do they have the same weight as when they've begun? Or in the counting, has there d- has there been diminution? The apostle says, I have kept the faith. What God laid out to him that day on the Damascus road, in all its fullness and in all its weight, he maintained it right until Caesar's block. Brethren, that's what we need, and that's why that life was so radiant. That's why life issued from that life, because the weight of truth was maintained to the very end. I have kept, I have kept the faith. So we recognize the formation is very, very important. Now, of course, it is of one piece. That's lovely, isn't it? We have mentioned that already, not in, in separate sessions. Why is that? Well, while you can prismaticly break up the beauty of light and see its variety. When you put the prism to the sunlight and you turn it round and you see the beauty of that light being broken up to you, you're not breaking up light. Light is indissoluble. Light is indestructible, and thus it's of one piece. You see, brethren, this is something that's eternal in him. It's not something, it's not something, friend, that began in, in, in death. See, one piece, one piece. This is something that has been his, essentially and eternally. His divine. That's what we see now in this world. And we can see him in all the fullness of his glory, of gold, of one piece. And I think that that is tremendous because I can see that while indeed in incarnation and in his manifestation, he'll say, I am the light of the world. But when we read in the epistle that we have read so often, God is light. We're entering into the uncreated. We're entering into the sphere where there is no beginning, and we're in the very radiance of divine glory as it ever existed. And then, of course, it is of beaten work. That is tremendous, brethren. We were trying to talk about that tonight. It's not molded like the golden calf, but it's beaten work. And if the gold is essence, and if the one piece is existence, I would have thought the beaten work is experience. For all this is taking shape under a skilled hand, and it's of one piece, and of course it's of beaten work. Now, when we think of the beaten work, we're going to have to look at the oil olive beaten. We're going to see the work of the Spirit of God here, and we're going to see something in relation to the Lord Jesus that manifests itself in this, to make the author of our salvation perfect. But I thought he was perfect. I thought he is already that. Thank God he is. But brethren, in the Hebrews epistle, in the Hebrew epistle, where these verses occur, you're looking at the beaten one. To meet the captain, the author of our salvation, perfect through something. And that this vessel might hold its lamps in radiation, it comes under the hammer. It comes under the firming power of that striking power, that striking force that shapes it into such beautiful, beautiful symmetry. Now, this is what I want you to see, that having been made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. We thank God for the fact that though he were a son, yet learned he obedience. And that this, that this may be taking its stand on the sands of the desert. It required the blow upon blow of the hammer to be shaped into this wonderful structure and bear light in the sanctuary. We think of this in relation to our Lord Jesus. Now we move from the formation to its fashion. The fashion is very simple because there is, first of all, the shaft. That's an interesting word, this word shaft. The central shaft, or the central stem, if you will. That word shaft is translated nineteen times thigh, and uh, twice loins, and once body. And uh, you'll notice that the word should be singular, as it says here, branch. Now that's an unfortunate mistake. Often I think it's a printing error because in chapter thirty seven and verse seventeen, it's singular. It's branch. For the Spirit of God is speaking of this central portion here, which he calls the lampstand, and he speaks of this as its shaft. Now you can see the idea of a thigh because it's out of the thigh we have power to produce, or out of the loins of his father, whoever that father may be, you know the expression. Now you can see that, that this shaft is, as it were, producing these branches, as we have seen on either side. And so the shaft, translated thigh, has got that productive power as seen in the work, and thus is the fashion of the, uh, of the lampstand in its shaft. Then I want you to notice there are four cups or bowls like almond blossoms in verse thirty four, and that's very precious. The almond is what is called as the wicker tree, the wicker tree, that is, it is the first tree to awaken after the long winter. And thus, it is a very precious symbol, as we know in its use in Numbers seventeen, And of course again in Jeremiah chapter one. two of the great outstanding portions in the Old Testament where the amon blossom is used in, uh, in significant way. Now, to me, it carries, I would have thought, a hint of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. After the long night of darkness, this is the first tree to awaken to us, to the life of spring, and therefore it would appeal to me of the Lord Jesus as the one risen from amongst the dead. The word not carries a real problem. It may well be the word for pomegranate, and thus it speaks of fertility and of fruit. And is not this what the Lord is in resurrection? For he's the first fruits of them that slept. And thank God he's bringing many sons, as the fruitfulness of this lamp would suggest, many sons unto glory. The word flowers that's in the construction here is usually translated by the word lilies. Also, the word lily, of course, makes it very precious, a symbol of purity, of dependence, and that, of course, is ever so typical of our blessed Lord Jesus. And now then we have the six branches that carries the si- the lamps, and the seventh one, of course, the stem, the sh- the shaft itself. And with this beautiful description of its fashion, making a seven-branched lampstand, I think my brethren will be able to draw a direct line between this and Isaiah chapter eleven, where the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking, and he speak- the the the Spirit of God is speaking, I should say, and he speaks of him as having the Spirit upon him. And seven terms relating to the Spirit of God are seen in that lovely portion in Isaiah uh eleven verses one two. to two. Now, I thought that as far as the fashion was concerned, we have the thought of fullness, that great central shaft. We have the thought of fruitfulness in the almond. We have the thought of fertility in the pomegranate. We have the truth of faithfulness in the beautiful lily, and when it's all put together, I write over this lampstand as I think of the Lord Jesus as the faithful and true. That brings us to Revelation chapter one. And there in the lampstand, every aspect of it, we're looking at the person of the Lord Jesus in his fullness, in his fruitfulness, in his fertility, in his faith, and in his faithfulness. So now, I trust the fashion will impress you very, very truly. The next issue which I feel is very important is its fluid. Its fluid. There is special ministry here in regard to the oil for the seven. Now, why did God select the olive for this occasion? I think it was vital because when I looked at the olive, I sort of realized the value of it in regard to the subject. Now, I hope you will take time to work out these verses, these passages I'm going to give you just now, and I trust you'll, uh, consider them. In chapter twenty seven, just look at this verse for a moment before we proceed. In chapter twenty seven, we have these words, verse twenty: And thou shalt command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light to cause the lamp to burn always, or continually. So this oil comes to the lamps as the direct result of obedience. Notice that. Now look at chapter thirty five and listen to the verse number ten. And let every wise-hearted man, um, let every wise-hearted among you, and every wise-hearted among you shall come, that's the word, shall come and make all that the Lord hath commanded. So the very presence of the oil is, first of all, as a result of obedience, and it came as a response of the wise and the A willing-hearted. willing hearted. Now let us go on a simple journey through the scriptures and ask ourselves why God chose this for the land. I think you better go with me to the first mention of the olive in the word of God. That, as you know, is the book of Genesis, chapter eight, and verse eleven. And there we remember the dove returned with the olive leaf in its mouth. Because we are told it wasn't the, for the dove to go floating on the debris, if such there were at that time with the flood. It could only rest on something that answered to its own very nature, but it has the olive leaf in its mouth. Genesis 8 and verse 11. I thought that reminded me of the sensitiveness of this olive oil in the dove. Actually, no matter where you would find the dove in Israel, it would always be among the olive trees. That's significant. Now, in chapter eight and verse twelve, when the dove did not come back, it showed that it had found a place upon which to rest, and it rested upon all the features of the new creation. So in the first passage, it's sensitiveness where it could not last. And now secondly, it's newness where it did last. And you see, this is the very thing, this is the very fluid. This is the very source from which God is going to bring this, which is going to radiate its light throughout the sanctuary. Not by sensitivity, not by newness, my brethren, as you can see the dove in the new creation purged by judgment. When we come to Judges nine, we listen to a parable called Jotham's parable. And Jotham, he speaks of the trees, you remember. And when this olive tree is invited to become ruler, it says, shall I leave my fatness? Now hold on to that word. Fatness. Brethren, I would take it to be a challenge to my soul in this meeting tonight as I look at you and you look at me. And this to me is one of the areas in which the servants of God have failed miserably, and those that serve in this capacity, whatever form. Never let the demand of service drain you of spiritual resource. Never let the pressure of the work of God drain you of spiritual vitality. Why is it that so many servants collapse? I tell you, busy attending everybody else's vineyard but their own. Shall I leave my fatness? No. Brethren, never minister at the expense of your own soul's health. That is something I have to look into very, very constantly. Constantly ministering to God's people, constantly on the move. Is it possible I could be dreamed of spiritual vitality? Very possible. But listen to the parable, listen to the message, man. Shall I leave my fatness? And so the oil that gives light in the sanctuary is marked by sensitiveness, is marked by newness, and is marked by fatness. Now move on with me, please. I'm in Psalm fifty two verse eight, I hope you're noting these. And you remember the a- the apostle, I was going to say, the psalmist said that he would be like a green olive tree in the house of his God. What's that? That's freshness. Freshness. Green olive tree. That's the kind of source God draws, draws upon for light. Where is our ministry, brethren? Is it coming from mere literature? Are we absorbing the ministry of books and then reproducing it? Can't be fresh. Get all the help you can from these, uh, uh, helps, I would suggest, as I would do myself. But brethren, when it comes to this box here, if I'm not giving what God has given me in freshness to my soul, what is it going to be worth? You are the judges. You will soon discover it. And if there's going to be radiancy in this assembly, it's going to be men that are coming fresh from the presence of God. That's what gives light to the testimony. That's what gives light to the testimony. Like a green olive tree, fresh. I want to say this, brethren, this oil is absolutely indispensable for Israel's spiritual life. Just the same as you don't have oil in your car, things will get too tight, and there'll be a jam and a bang. Won't there? Had a friend in Toronto, and he got into his father's car hurriedly one morning and got a few hundred yards up the road, and there was a terrific bang, and he just put a new car through the bonnet. Uh-huh. Everything seized, bong. Didn't notice there was an oil, some crack, oil pouring out. See? Well, take this oil from Israel, from this here. Take oil out of this system. No meal offering. Leviticus two. No leper cleansed. Leviticus fourteen. No priest anointed. You see with me? You see it? No light. And as you go right through for worship, for devotion, for restoration, for radiation, take it all away. Nothing. What's this? It's usefulness. It is such a valuable quality. It is such a necessary item. It would be impossible to function in this sanctuary without it. I think that should enrich the things of God in our soul, brethren, and give us a reason why testimony's failing. See? Come to Hosea Don't Nobody's sleeping, but it's good for us just to have a break. We'll have a wee read of it, eh? He, Hosea, Hosea, please. Hope, I'm sure you can find it without any delay, although it's a passage we're not often in. Hosea, please, chapter fourteen, and the verse will be very precious to you. Verse six: His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. His beauty shall be as the olive. What's that? Attractiveness, sensitiveness, newness, fatness, freshness, usefulness, and attractiveness. All these and much more in the oil. But, says God, when I brought it with all these characteristics bursting from it, it still has to be beaten. What's that? It's perfect evenness. I like that better. So we're looking now at the source of light. We're looking now at the fluid that will give light to this lamp. And this lamps, this lamp or light bearer is going to bear those seven lamps that will cast its light, first of all, upon itself. That good. And then throughout the holy place. Now, I'm looking at my brethren, and you're looking at me, and we're not done with the oil yet. I'm asking you, and I'm asking my soul, are you like the foolish virgins? No oil in your lamp. Hm? Now, not in the essence of the story, just in the application of it, eh? You mean to tell me you're in testimony and the oil is running out. Foolish thing to be in, isn't it? Now said the wise ser- the wise virgins, go to them and tell. Would you know where to go? You remember we were talking about this on Sunday afternoon. Where to get this gold from? Where to get this silver from? Where to get all these items that God enumerates in verses one to nine. Right. Where would you get gold- where would you get oil? Now, I'm not talking about the verses I've brought you through. Where would you get it? I would suggest, brethren, one of the great sources for oil would be all of it. Wouldn't it? You ever been there recently? I'm looking at you young men now, and not so young men. What am I going to quote now? And the disciples went to their own home, but Jesus went to the mind of others. Have you been there recently? After, after a meeting like this, after a meeting like Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, in which surely the voice of God could have been heard. It was nice to go to one another's home and spend the night, no doubt, in, I'm not saying revelry, but, you know. The next morning was coming. Had we all? The reason why we hadn't. We went to our own homes, but he went to all of them. Well, what do you get out of that? What do I get out of that? Do you know where I'm quoting from? Do you know the message I'm quoting from? I'm quoting from John's gospel. And in the morning, he came into the temple. What did he say? I am the light of the world. That good. That's where you get it, brethren. And until you're prepared, until you're prepared to forego the social and get into an Olivet experience with God, not much chance you're getting oil. I'm telling you. There's no one loves more to play an organ or to play a piano than myself. I only do it when there's those around, uh, when there are those not around that can do it better than me, you know what I mean? And I could find if the devil could keep me playing hymns all night. Now that'll be no good when I come to minister on the Sunday morning or the Sunday afternoon or the week following, I can't get up and tell the saints, I'm sorry, I was praying to the saints all night. Get the point now? You see, I want to make it practical. And you see, the devil can get our young men and young women and can occupy them with those very good things. Halfway houses, if you like, that holds them back from the best. There's no oil. Where would you get oil? At all of it. Now, what I want you to do is this. You see, what I want you to do is to take up every reference to all of it. Come back, if you like, to me, and tell me if you can't get some more in there. His solitude, Johnny. His supremacy, Luke nineteen. His sorrow in the same chapter. His suffering in Luke twenty two. Oh, that's the verse I remember, says someone. What verse? They sung a hymn and went out of all of it. Very well spoken, but you've made a make big, a big mistake. I g- I could almost... No, no, no, no, no, don't, don't jump, don't jump. It does say that, it does say that, brethren, but not in Luke twenty two. Well, I'm almost sure, well now you take a chance and have a look, and you'll find there's no hymn singing in Luke twenty two. They go to all of it already. No hymn singing. Why? Pardon me now, brethren. Pardon me when I say this. There is no point in me standing on the floor of this beautifully carpeted hall singing hymns and at war with my brethren. See. There was a reasoning amongst them who should be the greatest. No hymn singing then. Hymn singing won't cover that up, brethren. See, that's what you learn at all of it. See? When this light's going to shine, when the testament of this assembly is going to be down to its real essence, this is where you get oil. This is where you learn it. But if I'm not right with you in this company, there is no point in me standing piously raising my voice to God. Well, he's not listening. Pardon me saying it, he's not listening. The Lord doesn't sing a hymn in that passage. I'll tell you why, and you know why. There was a reasoning amongst them who should be the greatest. That's no condition for him singing. Matthew twenty four will bring you to a secret, won't it? Look now, you know the story. How shall these stones and so on? What shall be the sign of thy coming? And he brings them to the Mount of Olives, and in that mount he shares his secrets. Oil for the light. When we look on to the prophetic, we need light for that too. That will bring us to Zechariah fourteen won't it? When his feet will touch the mount again, the place of his deepest agony is going to be the scene of his manifested glory. All of it. Where he wept, he'll walk in power. Now, what is the function? Wow, what time is it? Hmm, quarter to nine already. Terrible. Uh, it's its function. The first aspect of its function, brethren, is seen in the passage, verse thirty seven. Verse thirty seven, and thou shall make the seven lamps to rot, and they shall light the lamps to rot, that they may give light over against. Now get that very clearly, that they may give light over against it. The light will radiate, the light rather will reflect upon, will shine upon the glory of this lampstand, and the lampstand will reflect its beauty through the light shone upon it. That's the first. That it in itself, that its glory, that its beauty will be seen the moment you enter in to that holy place. That's as Exodus twenty twenty five and verse thirty seven. That's interesting. These branches shone upon it. In Revelation one, he is shining upon them. See that? When John sees that person, when John gets a glimpse of that glory, he sees something of the light that's shining upon the seven lampstands. In the passages in Exodus forty, Leviticus twenty four, and Exodus twenty seven twenty one, Those passages will show that it's radiating its light through the sanctuary, through the holy place. That's important. So that when a priest or the high priest moves in, the path to the table is a lit. The path to the brazen altar is a lit. And so this light will illuminate his path as he functions in that sanctuary. There's no stumbling. There is no darkness. There is no fear. There is no difficulty. The light will radiate and illuminate the sanctuary for the priest. In Numbers chapter eight, it is mentioned, rather number seven, uh, it is mentioned, uh, Numbers eight rather, sorry, Numbers eight. It is mentioned just before the consecration of the Levite. Numbers eight, one to four. A Levite never was allowed to go in there. I would tell him about the light of this lampstand. That as he looks up, as we saw the other night, he sees the eye of the cherubim. As he looks forward, he sees the eye of the cherubim on the tail, and as he looks on either side, as you can see by the chart, he'll see the cherubim, and that shows him that in that sphere he must be regulated in his service. Now we're going to come to that another night, but I trust my brethren will appreciate reflection, radiation, regulation, regulation of service with the eye of God upon us. In Leviticus twenty four, the lampstand is mentioned again. At the end of that, uh, chapter, there is all the symptoms of apostasy. All the symptoms of apostasy. But brethren, however dark the night is out there, however confusing Christendom is fast becoming by the help of supposed people gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, unfortunately. Remember, there remains the lampstand. You can still have light in the midst of the darkness. It remains. And then, of course, it has relation. I better close, I'll be here all night. A relation to the altar, as we will see when we come to the altar, and I suppose we can keep it then for that occasion. Shall we pray?