Finally! I can enter into the Tabernacle!” Aaron thought excitedly. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Standing in front of the door with the Lord by his side, his mind was still full of thoughts about the covering of the tent. Aaron had not stopped thinking about all the people covering the Body of Christ since he learned about them. However, no thought was now greater in his little mind than the thought of finally entering in…
“Aaron,” the young boy heard the well-known Voice say, “follow Me.” With these words, the Lord took Aaron through the door with its five pillars. (Seeing the pillars Aaron remembered that number five in the Bible represents the ministry God established in the earth.) As they entered into a place that looked like a room, Aaron’s joy began to dissipate. Was this what he had been looking forward to seeing for such a long time? He could hardly see anything! It was so dark in there! He could discern only a small light on his left. Was this supposed to light the whole place? A great disappointment entered his little soul.
The Lord smiled quietly. He knew Aaron’s thoughts well, but He also knew there was no need for disappointment.
“Aaron, welcome to the Holy Place,” He said with a joy in His heart. “What do you see in here?”
“Well, Lord, it is hard to see, but if I really focus hard, I can see a lampstand with a dim light on the left, a table on the right and an altar standing in front of something like a veil,” he answered with a disappointed voice. “But Lord,” he continued, “I thought this place was glorious, yet it is so dim!”
“You see, Aaron,” the Lord explained patiently, “the priest comes to the Holy Place every morning. Because the light burns the whole night without anybody attending to it, it grows dim by the morning. In order for the priest to be able to do anything in this place, he first has to work on the light. Let Me show you what he does.”
With these words, the Lord came to the Lampstand and began to trim the light. Very soon the whole Holy Place was full of light. Aaron’s heart leaped with joy at the sight. All disappointment immediately left him. What a glory! He noticed that the Lampstand was made out of pure gold, thus signifying the pure nature of God. It had no joints (that is, it was made from one piece of metal), and it was carved with buds and flowers under each branch of it. It stood on a square base on the floor of the Tabernacle and had six branches. Its seven lamps were leveled across the top. He learned that the Lampstand represented oneness with the Holy Spirit.
Aaron kept looking at the branches. It seemed to him that the whole Lampstand was somehow divided. Three branches were on the one side and three on the other. The Lord, being able to read his thoughts, entered into his thinking.
“You are right, Aaron,” He said, “the branches are divided. Three and three is six, isn’t it? Do you know what number six means?”
“Six is the number of man,” Aaron responded quickly.
“Very well, My young friend,” the Lord was pleased with Aaron’s answer. “But the seventh Lampstand, which is in the center, divides in two that which would be the number of man, making it three and three. Three is My divine order and three given twice shows that the church has the witness of God’s divine order within herself. When man (number 6) cooperates with Me (number 1), he produces light. You can see then that perfection only comes in Me, for I am the center Lampstand.”
Aaron very much wanted to be perfect. He, therefore, was curious to know what the Lampstand was all about. He learned that it was to bring forth the glory of the light. There were three things necessary in the Lampstand:
1. The gold, which represents the pure nature of God. This was covered with fruits and flowers, which shows the bringing forth of godliness. Aaron learned that fruitfulness is the nature of God and the flowers depict truth, which has been engraved deep within the structure. This speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians – deep marks of beauty sharply engraved in the skin of our consciousness and imprinted upon our souls.
2. The oil was pure olive oil. This oil was not manufactured but was obtained by beating the olive berries from the palm olive tree. The same way, Jesus’ life was pressed and thus brought the Holy Spirit to us. The oil is a type of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is in the soul, but He lives in the spirit of man.
3. The wick signifies humanity. The oil, which is the Holy Spirit, preserves it from being burned, yet it gives light.
Aaron was deeply in thought, “Hmm, it is very interesting. It seems that in order to create light you actually need the coordination of three things: the gold, the oil and the wick. Three working together produce the fourth.”
The Lord was very pleased with Aaron. He liked to see somebody who focused his mind on the things above. He was ready to share one more secret with Aaron.
“Aaron,” He asked, “when you look at the human being, his body, soul and spirit, which part do you think the oil represents? Where do you have the Holy Spirit running?”
Aaron first thought it was his soul. However, then he remembered that his soul was not yet perfect, but the Lampstand was made out of gold – the pure nature of God. “Well, Lord, if it cannot be my soul and it definitely is not my body, then it must be my spirit.”
“Very good, Aaron,” the Lord replied, “the Holy Spirit lives in man’s spirit, but it works in his soul so that the soul would become perfect, too.”
With these words, the Lord handed Aaron a big Bible. He asked him to open the New Testament in the gospel of Matthew chapter 25. Aaron sat down under the lampstand and read the parable about the five wise and five foolish virgins. He learned that the wise virgins had oil in their lamps and also in their vessels. The foolish, however, did not have oil in their vessels with their lamps and therefore, at midnight, when the bridegroom came, they were not ready to meet him.
“Aaron,” the Lord asked, “do you know what these things mean?”
“No, I don’t, Lord,” Aaron responded honestly.
“The oil in the vessel is a type of Christ in the soul of man changing the nature of the believer. Even though the foolish virgins had the Holy Spirit in their spirit, their nature was not changed and that is why the bridegroom told them, ‘I know you not.’ You have to make sure, My friend, that you allow My Holy Spirit to make you holy so that you would be as those wise virgins.”
Aaron really wanted to be wise and promised the Lord that he would love Him and obey Him so that He might be like Him. The Lord reminded him of one more thing:
“Remember, Aaron, My Word says in Matthew 5:14-16, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; 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. The lamp in the Tabernacle cannot work without the wick. But the wick cannot work without the oil and the lamp. Even though you are only the wick, yet you (and other believers) are My light in the earth. So go and shine!”
Oh, how much Aaron wanted to light the dark world! He thanked the Lord for showing him all these things. The Lord promised to come back again and teach him more about the Holy Place of the Tabernacle…
Answer the following questions to see how well you understood this chapter:
- Why was the Holy Place dim when Aaron entered in?
- What is the Lampstand made out of and how does it look?
- What does the Lampstand represent?
- What are the three things necessary in the Lampstand? What do they represent?
- Where does the Holy Spirit live and where does He work in a believer?
- Why weren’t the foolish virgins ready to meet the bridegroom?
- What does Matthew 5:14-16 say?
P.S. If you want to read about the Lampstand in the Old Testament, turn to Exodus 25:31- 40.