The Tree of Life

You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it. Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold. It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent of pure gold. And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain. (Exodus 25:31-40)

He also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it. And there were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it. Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. And he made its seven lamps and its tongs and its trays of pure gold. He made it and all its utensils out of a talent of pure gold. (Exodus 37:17-24)

The two Scriptural references listed above are similar in its outlook. The difference between the two is that the Lord has instructed Moses the way the Tent of Meeting is to be erected and the latter Scripture shows Bezalel and Oholiab constructing the lampstand just the way the Lord had commanded. It is this sort of descriptiveness, detail and repetition that makes an important event in the life of Israel become redundant, banal and dull to our modern ears. Yet this is far from the way we were meant to approach this key piece of narrative. This is must stuff for us to recover biblical literacy that illuminates the way this lampstand does for Israel.

The Tent of Meeting is of seismic importance for the Biblical story. Recall in the Garden of Eden the shrewd serpent deceives Eve and Adam subsequently eats of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In this event the primal couple loses its fellowship with the Lord. In contrast, what was lost in Eden is being regained in the wilderness. The importance of recovery is why not only does it need to be detailed commands given by the Lord, but also we need to hear of its fulfillment in terms of human obedience. This is what is held out to us here in the Book of Exodus.

Going further then with this approach, the lampstand is of peculiar interest. The hammered gold of one piece is representative of the Tree of Life. It is lit continually before the Lord and offers us a look into the promise of life held out for those restored to fellowship with the Lord. The lampstand is a shining symbol of God giving us hope. In effect, the Lord is showing us early on in Israel’s history that the Tree of Life will be ours one day. In Christ we partake of this tree which holds out hope for what is to come. In the Spirit, the oil provides the light that shines for others. The lampstand in Israel’s life is well known as a menorah. This seven branched lighting tree is a witness of God’s saving faithfulness.  May the people of God be a shining light for others who dwell in deep darkness. 

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