Light at the tabernacle - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 27:21,

"In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come."

In the planning of construction for the tabernacle, its courtyard, furnishings and so forth, the Lord prescribed the use of lamps to be kept burning from evening till morning. The place of the Lord was to be kept lighted at all times.

This speaks to me of the reality that with the Lord there is no darkness, no shadow. In John 8:12 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." This light was foretold in Isaiah 9:2, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned."

With the lamps of the Lord burning at the tabernacle all night, it served as a reminder of the presence of the Lord in the place he had chosen for himself among his people Israel. This light spoke of the radiance of his presence as seen on the mount of transfiguration, when Jesus displayed his glory to Peter, James and John, "As he [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning." Luke 9:29.

When Jesus was asked by his disciples about coming things, he told them his day would be marked by light, "For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other." Luke 17:24. 

The lamps at the tabernacle speak to me of these things. The radiance of God's glory was to be prefigured in light that was to be continually present in the tabernacle - a place with no darkness, a place with no shadow. It also prefigured the coming of light into the world, "In him [Jesus Christ] was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it..." John 1:4-5.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com