This golden lampstand has more to it than its outward appearance. Otherwise it would not shine. Its inner content is what makes it shine. In actuality the lampstand is a portrayal of the Triune God. The doctrine of the Trinity is not specifically described in the Bible, but that God is triune is made quite clear to us.
Our God is one; He is also three. He is the unique God, but He is also Father, Son, and Spirit. We must be careful in our choice of terms here. To say that God exists in three Persons is misleading. It is better to avoid the word Persons and simply say that He is three in one. This is what triune means; it is of Latin origin, tri meaning three and une meaning one. There is the aspect of the one and also of the three.
On the one hand, the Bible, in both the Old and the New Testaments, tells us clearly that God is one. Psalm 86:10 says, “Thou art God alone.” Isaiah 45:5 says, “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides me.” First Corinthians 8:4 tells us, “There is none other God but one.” On the other hand, there is clear mention of the Father, the Son and the Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).
Words cannot satisfactorily explain the mystery of the Trinity. Yet the lampstand does give us a picture of it. It was to be made all of one piece of pure gold (Exo. 25:36). There is only one lampstand for the tabernacle, yet there were seven lamps. Looked at as a whole, the lampstand was one. From the top, however, one could clearly see seven lamps. It was a seven-in-one lampstand.
The lampstand was to be made of a talent of pure gold. This means it weighed about a hundred pounds. The substance or essence of the lampstand, then, was gold. Gold typifies the nature of God. Unlike iron, it will not rust or change chemically, no matter where it is put. God’s nature is constant, unchanging, eternal. The gold, then, denotes God the Father as the essence and source.
The gold was made into a prescribed form, which indicated its function. This form is Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15). When God created man, He created him in His image (Gen. 1:26). Since Christ is God’s image, man was created according to Christ. In one sense God does not have a physical form, but in another He does have an expression of His image. Christ, the beloved Son, is the image of the invisible God. What function does this form denote? He expresses God. “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18).
Another characteristic of this lampstand is its seven lamps. These, the Bible clearly tells us, are the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 4:5), which are simply the Spirit of God Himself.
The golden lampstand, then, symbolizes the Triune God expressed. Its essence is the Father, its form is the Son, and its expression is the Spirit. In this first stage, the lampstand represents Christ. When He was on earth, the nature of God, the Father, was in Him. So was the Father’s image, because the Lord Jesus thoroughly manifested Him. As He mingled among men, Christ was also the seven lamps shining forth. Jesus Christ is the expression of the Triune God. God was in Him, upon Him, and was His very essence. Apart from Him, no one can find God.
In the second stage Israel is the lampstand (Zech. 4:2, 6, 10b). Israel is both individual and corporate. The individual Israelite is Christ. The corporate Israel, God’s chosen people, should be like Him, the true Prince of God. (This is the meaning of the name Israel.)
It was Jacob who was given the name Israel (Gen. 32:28). In his early years he surely was not a prince of God! He was a thief! God spent more than a hundred years working on Jacob, until he was transformed from a thief into a prince of God.
Jacob first stole from his brother Esau. Then he stole from his father. When he had to escape for his life, God spoke to him in a dream. Jacob’s vow in response to God was still in the principle of grasping something for himself (Gen. 28:20-22).
When he lived with his uncle Laban, He still connived to get what he could for himself. Laban, of course, tricked him in return by forcing him to take Leah when Rachel was the one he wanted to marry. But then he continued his scheming way by manipulating Laban’s flocks so that all the increase would be his.
God’s hand was on Jacob year after year. One thing after another was taken from him, till he was stripped of everything he valued. His beloved wife Rachel died. His favorite son was apparently killed by wild beasts. All that was left was Benjamin. Then even Benjamin was taken from him. In the end Jacob stopped struggling and surrendered. God had transformed him from Jacob the thief to Israel the prince of God.
Such people, who have been transformed into princes, are the true Israelites, standing as a golden lampstand. This is the second stage.
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