Let Your Light Shine

http://www.gloriadei-sd.org/let-your-light-shine/

We had some pretty violent thunderstorms this afternoon.  I was in the basement when the lights went out.  I had an immediate concern as to how long this darkness would persist.  Thankfully, they blinked back on in less than a minute so I didn't really have to go upstairs and start searching for candles, matches, flashlights or anything else I needed in the dark.  How ironic that I was experiencing total darkness right before writing about the lampstand in the tabernacle for my Numbers Bible Study! 

Numbers Chapter 8 talks about the lampstand.  The seven lamps on the lampstand need to light the area in front of them.  The direction of the light is important.  If you have ever been in a completely dark room, you know that a light in one area does not illuminate another.  If we are trying to see something that is not near the light, we need to bring it to the light or bring the light to it.  In our country, we would just turn on a second light in the room if we needed it. Either way, direction of light makes a very big difference in its effectiveness.  Aaron made sure the lamps were filled daily, lit at dusk, stayed lit until dawn and lit the area in front of them, in the direction of the bread of the Presence.   

Many of us have sung the song "This little light of mine." Jesus talks about not covering up our lamp in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:14-16).  Just like the lamp that gives light to everyone in the house, we are to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.  Jesus says in this same passage that we are the light of the world. 

How do we shine God’s light?  How can we do a better job of shining His light? I am sure you have been around people who just lighten the mood of a room and put everyone there in a better mood.  If we can be encouraging and joyful despite our circumstances, we shine the light of Jesus.  If we help others in need willingly and cheerfully, we are shining the light of Jesus.  If we pray with someone in distress and share the gospel to those without hope, we are shining the light of Jesus. 

The seven lamps of the lampstand are focused on the bread of the Presence.  The lamps never go out; they are lit at dusk and the priest makes sure they are full of oil so that their light lasts till morning.  God never sleeps but always watches over us.  This is a very comforting thought to me.  God never sleeps and always watches over me.  At my age, I wake up in the middle of the night quite often.  I know God is awake and that comforts me.  I talk to Him until I fall back to sleep.  Sometimes this is a very long time.  When I was young, I was afraid of the dark.  The Light of the world (John 8:12) was unknown to me.  But God called me to follow Him when I was older.  He has helped me to deal with my fears. 

In Zechariah chapter 4, the prophet is shown a vision of a lampstand and God gives him this word, “Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit…”  (Zech. 4:6) God is telling us that His Spirit is the light.  The Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and He lives in us!  The very same power that conquered the grave.  This is quite an astounding fact! Living in the power of the Spirit inside us, we can be victorious over personal struggles.  What is one thing you need to be victorious over in your life that the Spirit can help you overcome?  Commit this to prayer and memorize verses that God can bring to your mind to give you strength when you are struggling.  Keep track of your progress in this area.   Ask a friend to help you be accountable for this change in your life.  

Jesus is the light of the world.  Walking with Him means never walking in darkness.  Darkness is equated with sin.  Sin hides in the darkness.  We need to bring our sins into the light and confess them to expel the darkness (1 John 1:7-9).  His Spirit within a believer is the continual light shining in the world, leading the believer and teaching him from the Word. God’s Word illuminates our way as it says in Psalm 119:105.  For the Israelites in the wilderness, this is literal as God lights their way with the cloud of fire and also speaks to His people from the cloud. 

Jesus walks among the lampstands in Revelation 1.  They represent the churches.  Our churches should be lights to those in darkness, leading them to Jesus. Numbers 8 goes on to say that the lampstand is made from hammered gold from its base to its blossoms.  Surely the beauty of the lampstand designed by our Creator was amazing.  The gifts of craftsmanship which God gave to Bezalel enabled him to ornately design such a beautiful work of art in worship to God (Exodus 25:31-40). Our gifts are for the benefit of all we come in contact with, especially in the church.  They are not just for us and they are never for our own glory.

The lampstand had almond flowers, buds and blossoms.  The almond tree buds in the spring first of all the flowering trees and its blossoms are of the purest white.  The symbolism is of first importance and purity.  The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern God had shown to Moses.  Hebrews 8:5 says the priests served at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.  God may have shown Moses the lampstand that is in heaven.  This had to be incredibly beautiful!  Hebrews 8:5 continues, saying, “this is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: ‘See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’”   

And we know Moses did everything God instructed him to do.  What about today?  If we want to make it our goal to please Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9), we must also do what God tells us to do.  We have His Word and we need to spend time in His Word to hear Him direct us.