Verse of the day: Exodus 25:31 “You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece.”
There is one aspect of the Menorah that we did not extensively discuss; its construction of gold. It was made, as instructed by the LORD, of one piece of gold. In order to shape that piece of gold, it would have to be heated and purified by fire. The fire serves to make it pliable and remove the impurities from the precious metal. We have already said that the gold represented Jesus’ royalty and perfection, and that only in Him are we presented as perfect before the Father (Hebrews 10:14). However, there is another picture we see when we ponder the significance of the gold used to construct the golden lampstand. We see the picture of what Christ had to suffer for our sake, and how we will suffer for our faith, and His sake. Although Jesus Himself was perfect and sinless, He took on our sin, and suffered a torturous death on our behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:21 reads, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 1 Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit”. Jesus knew that He came for the specific purpose of suffering a painful death for us, in order to bring us eternal life (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). He also knew that, as His followers, we would suffer for our faith, and for the sake of the Gospel. The Menorah serves as a reminder for us today that we, the church, will suffer for Jesus, and our faith will be tried by fire. Jesus told us in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17:15-16, that they would be protected from the evil one, because He knew the attacks would come. In John 17:20, he included us in His prayer, “for those that will believe in Me through their word”, because He knew that we too would suffer persecution, and be tried by fire, as God’s children. It is in this testing that our faith will be perfected, just as putting precious metals, in their impure state, through a fiery process removes the impurities. We, in and of ourselves, cannot endure the fire of testing, but in Christ, the One whom the gold of the lampstand represents, is the One who gives us the strength to endure times of testing. The bottom line is that for us, the born again believer, if we are actively serving the LORD, and proclaiming the Gospel, we will suffer persecution. Rather than shy away from it, and try to avoid it, we should rejoice in those moments when we are persecuted for our faith. This is not a natural reaction to being rejected or injured (whether physically or emotionally) by others. Yet, Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” The Apostle Peter put it this way, in respect to our faith being tried, in 1 Peter 1:6-8a, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love.” If we are honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that none of us enjoy living with, or going through, difficult circumstances. However, this is simply a part of life, and will be amplified as followers of Christ. Nonetheless, it is far better to endure suffering in Christ, knowing that we have a Living Hope, and a home in Heaven, should we die, than to endure suffering, without Jesus, or with no hope of knowing what would happen if our circumstances caused our demise here on earth. Regardless of what God allows us to endure, know that He is the Refiner who watches over us as we go through this refining process that will make us more like Jesus; so that when others see us, they will see more of Him than they will of us in our words, attitude, actions, and deeds (Malachi 3:2-3; Romans 8:28-29).
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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