Schoolmaster to Christ
NUMBERS CHAPTER 8
Schoolmaster to Christ
NUMBERS CHAPTER 8
Scripture Reading: Numbers 8 (KJV)
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the Lord commanded Moses. And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the Lord had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick" (vv. 1-4).
On reading the foregoing paragraph, two things claim our attention: the position the golden candlestick type occupies; and the instruction the type conveys.
It is remarkable that the candlestick is the only part of the furniture of the tabernacle introduced in this place. We have nothing about the golden altar or the golden table. Only the candlestick is before us; not in a covering of blue and of badgers' skins as in chapter 4, where it is seen in its traveling dress. Here it is seen lighted, not covered. It comes between offerings of the princes and consecration of the Levites, shedding forth its mystic light according to the commandment of the Lord. In the wilderness, Light cannot be dispensed; therefore, the golden candlestick must be stripped of its covering and allowed to shine in testimony for God, which, be it always remembered, is the grand object of everything, whether it be the offering of our substance, as in the case of the princes; or the dedication of our persons, as in the case of the Levites. It is only in the light of the sanctuary that the true worth of anything or anyone can be seen.
Hence the moral order of this part of Numbers is striking and beautiful; indeed it is divinely perfect. Having read in chapter 7 the lengthened statement of the princes' liberality, we, in our human wisdom, might suppose that the next thing in order would be the consecration of the Levites, thus presenting, in unbroken connection, "our persons and offerings." But no; the Spirit of God causes the light of the sanctuary to intervene in order that we may learn in it the true object of all liberality and service in the wilderness.
What lovely moral appropriateness. Can any spiritual student fail to see it? Why the golden altar, with its cloud of incense, omitted here? Why not the pure table, with its twelve loaves? Because neither of these would have the least moral connection with what goes before or what follows after; but the golden candlestick stands connected with both, because it shows us that in order to ascertain its real worth, all liberality and all work must be viewed in the light of the sanctuary. This is a grand wilderness lesson, and it is taught here as blessedly as type can teach. Thus far in our progress through the Book of Numbers, we have read the account of the large-hearted liberality of the great heads of the congregation, on the occasion of the dedication of the altar; and we are about to read the record of the consecration of the Levites. But between the one and the other, the inspired penman pauses, in order to let the light of the sanctuary shine on both.
This is God's order. We are bold to say, it is one of many illustrations that lie scattered over the surface of Holy Scripture, tending to demonstrate the divine perfectness of the volume as a whole, and of each book, section, and paragraph therein. We are intensely glad to point out these precious illustrations as we pass along in our study of this precious book our Father has graciously provided for us. Constantly before us is the fact that it does not need our testimony or that of any mortal pen or mortal tongue. Still, it is our joy to render testimony in the face of the enemy's manifold but futile attacks on its inspiration. The true source and character of all such attacks will become more and more manifest as we become more deeply, livingly, and experimentally acquainted with the infinite depths and divine perfections of the Holy Word of God. Hence the internal evidences of Holy Scripture – its powerful effect on us; its intrinsic moral glories; its ability to judge the roots of character and conduct; its admirable structure (in all its parts) present the most powerful arguments in defense of its divinity. A book that exposes each of us to self, that tells us all that is in the heart, that lays bare the deepest moral springs of our nature, that judges us thoroughly and at the same time revealing One who meets our every need – such a book carries its own credentials. It craves not; it needs not, letters of commendation from men. It stands in no need of our favor; it stands in no dread of our wrath. If we were to reason about the Bible as the woman of Sychar reasoned about our Lord, we would reach as sound a conclusion about it as she reached about Him. "Come," said this simple and happy reasoner, "See a man which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" May we with equal force of reasoning, say, "Come, see a book which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Word of God?" Yes, truly; and not only so, but we may argue, a fortiori, because the book of God not only tells us all we ever did, but all we think, all we say and all we are (See Romans 3:10-18; Matthew 15:19).
But is it that we despise external evidences? No; we delight in them; we value every argument and evidence calculated to strengthen the foundations of the heart's confidence in the divine inspiration of Holy Scripture; and, without a doubt, we have abundance of such material. The history of the book itself, with all its striking facts, furnishes a broad tributary stream to swell the tide of evidence. The history of its composition; the history of its preservation; the history of its translation from tongue to tongue; the history of its circulation throughout earth's wide domain – in a word, its entire history forms a powerful argument in defense of its divine origin. For example, take one fact of commanding interest: its having been kept for over a thousand years, in the custody of those who, if they could, would have gladly consigned it to eternal oblivion. Is not this a telling fact? Yes; and there are many such facts in the marvelous history of this peerless, priceless eternal Volume.
But after allowing as wide a margin as may be desired to insert the value of external evidences, we return with unshaken decision to our statement, that the internal evidences – proofs gleaned from the book itself – form as powerful a defense as can be erected with which to stem the tide of skeptical and infidel opposition.
However, we will not now pursue any further this line of thought, while contemplating the remarkable position assigned to the golden candlestick in the Book of Numbers. We felt constrained to add the above in testimony to our most precious Bible, and having said it we will return to the chapter now under consideration, seeking to gather instruction contained in its opening paragraph.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, when thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick." Those "seven lamps" express the light of the Spirit in testimony. They were connected with the beaten shaft of the candlestick that typifies Christ, Who, in His Person and work, is the foundation of the Spirit's work in the church. All depends on Christ. Every ray of light in the church and in individual believers flows from Christ.
This is not all we learn from our type. "The seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick." To clothe this figure in New Testament language, we quote our Lord's words when He says to us, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Wherever the true light of the Spirit shines, it always yields a clear testimony to Christ – calling attention solely to Jesus Christ; and this is the only way to glorify God. "The seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick."
This is a great practical truth for all Christians. The finest evidence that can be afforded true spiritual work is that it directly exalts Christ. If attention is sought for the work or the workman, the light has become dim and the minister of the sanctuary must use the snuffers. It was Aaron's province to light the lamps; and he also trimmed them. In other words, the light which as Christians we are responsible to yield, is not only founded on Christ, but from moment to moment, throughout the entire night, it is maintained by Him. Apart from Him we can do nothing. The golden shaft sustained the lamps; the priestly hand supplied the oil and applied the snuffers. It is all in Christ, from Christ, and by Christ.
And further, it is all to Christ. Wherever the light of the Spirit – the true light of the sanctuary – has shone in this wilderness world, the object of that light has been to exalt the name of Jesus. Whatever has been done by the Holy Spirit; whatever has been said; whatever has been written, has had for its aim the glory of that blessed One. And we may say with confidence, that whatever does not have those tendencies – that aim, is not of the Holy Spirit, no matter what it may be. There may be an immense amount of work done, a great deal of apparent result reached, a quantity of that which is calculated to attract human attention and elicit human applause, and yet not one ray of light from the golden candlestick. And why? Because attention is accepted and sought for the work, or for those engaged in it. Man and his doings and sayings are exalted, instead of Christ. In other words, the light has not been produced by the oil that the hand of the great High Priest supplies; and, as a consequence, it is false light. It is a light that does not shine over against the candlestick, but over against the name or the actions of some mortal.
All this is most solemn, and demands our deepest attention. There is always danger when a man or his work becomes remarkable. When attention is drawn to anything or to anyone but the Lord Jesus Himself., we may be sure Satan has gained our object. A work may be commenced in the greatest simplicity, but through lack of holy watchfulness and spirituality on the part of the workman, he himself or the results of his work may attract attention, and thus he may fall into the snare of the devil. Satan's grand and ceaseless object is to dishonor the Lord Jesus; and if he can do this by what seems like Christian service, then he has temporarily achieved the greater victory. He has no objection to work, provided he can detach that work from the name of Jesus. If he can, he will mingle with the work; he will present himself among the servants of Christ, as he once presented himself among the sons of God. But his object is always one and the same – to dishonor the Lord. In Acts 16, he permitted the damsel to bear testimony to Christ's servants, and say, "These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation." But this was simply to ensnare those servants and mar their work. However, he was defeated because the light that emanated from Paul and Silas was the genuine light of the sanctuary, and it shone only for Christ. They sought not a name for themselves; and, because it was to them and not to their Master that the damsel bore witness, they refused the witness, choosing rather to suffer for their Master's sake than to be exalted at His expense.
This is a fine example for all the Lord's workmen. And in Acts 3 we find another striking illustration. There the light of the sanctuary shone in the healing of the lame man, and when unsought attention was drawn to the workmen, we find Peter and John at once, and with holy jealousy, retiring behind their glorious Master and giving all the praise to Him.
"And, as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them, in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus."
Here we have in deed, "the seven lamps giving their light over against the candlestick;" or, in other words, the sevenfold or perfect display of the Spirit's light in distinct testimony to the name of Jesus. "Why," said these faithful vessels of the Spirit's light, "look ye so earnestly on us?" No need for the snuffers here. The light was undimmed. No doubt, it was an occasion the apostles might have turned to their own account, had they been so disposed. It was a moment in which they might have surrounded their own names with a halo of glory, raising themselves to a pinnacle of fame, and drawing around them the respect and veneration of wondering if not worshipping thousands. But had they done so, they would have robbed their Master; falsified the testimony; grieved the Holy Spirit, and brought down on themselves the just judgment of Him who will not give His glory to another.
Those honored servants sought no glory for themselves – they put forth all their energies averting the wondering gaze of the multitude from themselves, fixing it on the only worthy One, Who, though He had passed into the heavens, was still working on earth by His Spirit.
Many other illustrations might be drawn from the pages of Acts of the Apostles; but the above should suffice to impress on our hearts the great practical lesson taught in the golden candlestick, with its seven lamps. There is always a danger of the work and the workman being more the object than the Master. Let us be on guard against this. It is a sad evil. It grieves the Spirit, Who always labors to exalt the name of Jesus. It is offensive to the Father, Who would always be sounding in our ears and deep in our hearts those words heard from an open heaven on the mount of transfiguration: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him." If who we are and what we do becomes more the object than the Master, then we are in direct hostility to the mind of heaven where every eye is fixed on Jesus – where every heart is occupied with Jesus, and where the one eternal, universal, unanimous cry is always, "Thou art worthy."
Let us think deeply and habitually about this; so that we may shrink from everything bordering on, or savoring of, the exaltation of man, of self – our doings and sayings and thinking. May we all more earnestly seek the quiet, shady, unobtrusive path where the spirit of the meek and lowly Jesus will always lead us to walk and serve. In other words, may we so abide in Christ, so receive from Him day-by-day and moment-by-moment the pure oil so that our light may shine, without us thinking about it, to His praise, in Whom alone we have all, and apart from Whom we can do absolutely nothing.
The remainder of the eighth chapter of Numbers contains the ceremonial record connected with the consecration of the Levites, to which we have already referred in the consideration of chapters 3 & 4.
